Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World

Content Warning: This section discusses the European slave trade.

At the conclusion, the author includes recipes with historical context, organized into 10 subheadings.

The Correct Way to Flush a Cod

Flushing refers to soaking cured cod to soften it and clear away the excess salt. Hannah Glasse, in her 1758 British cookbook, stated that salt cod should be soaked in milk and warm water. In central France, supplies of cured cod bought in Bordeaux were dragged through the river water during the two-day journey to the locals. The fish would then be soft and ready to eat by the time it arrived. When the river became too contaminated, some turned to using the flush toilet. President of the ruling body in France in 1947 used a toilet fed from a separate water tank to soak cured cod, requiring that it be flushed once an hour for a week.

The Bad News At Walden Pond

In 1851, Henry David Thoreau was horrified by the rumor in Cape Cod that the cows were fed cod’s head. However, locals assured him this rumor was false. They did not feed cod’s heads to cattle because they ate it themselves. Several recipes using cod’s head are then offered: A version skinned, battered, and fried; a cod’s head chowder cooked with pork and onions; and a dried version that is shared by Norwegians as a communal snack.

Spare Parts

Many cultures, from Newfoundlanders to the Basque people, use every part of the fish. The recipes offered in this section use the parts of the fish left over after the more common parts—the body meat, head, and liver—have been removed. These include the throat and cheeks fried with a coating of corn meal, pickled cod roe in France, tripe (stomach) served Catalan style with squid, and dried skin which is eaten like jerky in Iceland.

Chowder

The word chowder comes from the French chaudiere, a large iron pot that was standard equipment on fishing vessels. Nearly every North Atlantic fishing community made some kind of chowder. The French and British settlers along the Grand Banks introduced chowder to Newfoundland, which then traveled south to New England. 

Chowder is popular due to its cheapness, ease, and versatility. The traditional ingredients are “salt pork, sea biscuit, and either fresh or salt cod, all carefully layered in the pot” (252). Lydia Maria Child, author of The American Frugal Housewife in 1829, suggests several additional ingredients one might include to their taste, including lemon, tomato paste, beer, and clams.

The Diaspora of the West India Cure

The influence of the slave trade on African and Caribbean culture cannot be overstated. One small but telling example is the taste for cured cod that remains in West African and Caribbean communities. The Senegalese and Nigerians in particular love cured cod. Additionally, it is used in a variety of dishes on the islands of Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and Guadeloupe.

The Great French Disguise

In France, salt cod is embellished with an array of additions because of its harsh taste. In the 1700s, the French invented a sauce specifically for salt cod, which is now called a bechamel sauce. Bechamel is made with cream, butter, egg yolk, salt and pepper, and flour to thicken it. It became so popular that it is now paired with many other dishes.

Balls

The most common dish is the codfish ball. It was so popular that in the late 1800s, Senator George Frisbie Hoare delivered a speech praising the virtues of “the exquisite flavor of the codfish, salted, made into balls, and eaten on Sunday morning” (263). In New England, cod is mashed with boiled potatoes and butter, molded into balls, dipped in egg, and fried. A version in Puerto Rico called Bacalaitos is more complex, with the minced fish mixed with wheat flour, baking soda, garlic, onion, tomato, and coriander before frying.

Brandade

A dish called brandade de morue originated in Nimes, France. It was so popular that it was considered an official part of “an enlisted man’s mess in the French Army” (267). It is made by soaking the salt cod for 12 hours, which is then deboned and cooked slowly in heated milk which is spooned over the fish. At the same time, the fish is crushed and softened with a wooden spoon until it becomes a creamy substance.

The Fish That Spoke Basque

This section offers several traditional Basque recipes that are still popular in restaurants throughout the Basque provinces of Spain and France. These include a salt cod omelette served with local Basque cider, and a dish that serves the whole fish, with the skin and specially made sauces. Versions of this dish led to heated arguments between Basque chefs on methods of preparation.

How to Cook the Last Large Cod

Locals believe that only those who live near the North Atlantic coast can understand the value of fresh cod. This quality has become a source of community bonding. For instance, Norwegian communities in New York and Minneapolis-St. Paul formed “cod clubs” that meet once a month to enjoy a meal of boiled cod and potatoes. Meanwhile, Stella’s is a local treasure in St. John’s where, on the rare occasions the Sentinel Fishery brings home a catch large enough, Stella’s puts an old traditional panfried cod dish on the menu for a single night.