herring are immersed in marinade (3 parts
fish to 2 parts of a 10% salt, 6% acetic acid
mixture) for up to a week, at a temperature
around 50ºF/10ºC; while for marinated
Japanese mackerel (shimesaba) the fillets are
first dry-salted for a day, then immersed in
vinegar for a day. In the case of precooked
fish, the initial heat treatment kills bacteria
and firms texture, so the subsequent
marination is a milder one, and there is less
development of texture and flavor.
Canned Fish
Because canned fish keep indefinitely without
refrigeration and in a handy package, this is
the preserved fish that most of us eat most
often. In the United States, it is the most
popular of all fish products: we consume more
than a billion cans of tuna every year. Fish
and shellfish were first heated in a
hermetically sealed container around 1810 by