Stockfish is unsaltedfish, especiallycod, dried by cold air and wind on wooden racks (which are called "hjell" inNorway) on theforeshore. Thedrying of food is the world's oldest known preservation method, anddried fish has a storage life of several years. The method is cheap and effective in suitable climates; the work can be done by the fisherman and family, and the resulting product is easily transported to market.
Over the centuries, several variants of dried fish have evolved. Thestockfish (fresh dried, not salted) category is often mistaken for theklippfisk, or salted cod, category where the fish is salted before drying.Salting was not economically feasible until the 17th century, when cheap salt from southern Europe became available to the maritime nations of northern Europe.
Stockfish is cured in a process calledfermentation where cold-adapted bacteria matures the fish, similar to the maturing process of cheese.
In English legal records of the medieval period, stock fishmongers are differentiated from ordinary fishmongers when the occupation of a plaintiff or defendant is recorded.[1]
The wordstockfish is aloan word fromWest Frisianstokfisk (stick fish), possibly referring to the wooden racks on which stockfish are traditionally dried or because the dried fish resembles a stick.[2] "Stock" may also refer to a wooden yoke or harness on a horse or mule, once used to carry large fish from the sea or after drying/smoking for trade in nearby villages. This etymology is consistent with the fact that "Stockmaß" is German for the height of a horse at thewithers.[citation needed]
Stockfish isNorway's longest sustained export commodity. Stockfish is first mentioned as a commodity in the 13th-centuryIcelandic prose workEgil's Saga, where chieftainThorolf Kveldulfsson, in the year 875 AD, ships stockfish from Helgeland in mid-Norway to Britain. This product accounted for most of Norway's trade income from theViking Age throughout theMedieval period.[3]
Preserved cod fedIceland for centuries, to the extent that it has been described as a local equivalent ofbread.[4]
Stockfish is extremely popular and is widely consumed in Catholic Mediterranean countries, mostly inItaly. (Stockfish is calledstoccafisso in most Italian dialects, but confusinglybaccalà—which normally refers to salt cod—in theVeneto).[5] InRussian cuisine dried stockfish is a very popular dish which is often eaten with vodka and beer. In the 16th century Russian and Swedish stockfish were sold to many European countries.[6][7]
Stockfish is a staple of Nigerian cuisine.[8]
The science of producing good stockfish is in many ways comparable to that of making a goodcognac,Parma ham, or a well-maturedcheese. Practitioners of theSlow Food movement insist that all these artisanal products must be made on a small scale and given time to mature.
The fish is prepared immediately after capture. After gutting the fish, it is either dried whole, or split along the spine leaving the tail connected. The fish is hung on thehjell from February to May. Stable cool weather protects the fish frominsects and prevents an uncontrolledbacterial growth. A temperature just above zero degrees Celsius, with little rain, is ideal. Too much frost will spoil the fish, as ice destroys the fibers in the fish. The climate in northern Norway is excellent for stockfish production, and remains so even with changing climate conditions.salted/dried whitefish (klippfisk) was more common in the fisheries districts of Western Norway. Further south in Norway, the cod was salted in barrells from the 15th century.[9]
After its three months hanging on thehjell, the fish is then matured for another two to three months indoors in a dry and airy environment. During the drying, about 80% of the water in the fish evaporates.[10] The stockfish retains much of the nutrients from the fresh fish, only concentrated: it is therefore rich inproteins,vitamins,iron, andcalcium.[11]
Most of the Norwegian dried cod is exported to Portugal ($244M), Sweden ($76M), Nigeria ($30.5M), Brazil ($29.1M), and Italy ($23.2M).[12]InNorway andIceland, the stockfish is mostly used as a snack and forlutefisk production. In Italy, the fish (calledstoccafisso) is soaked and used in various courses, and is viewed as a delicacy.
Low-quality stockfish is also commonly used as supplementalfood for pets, primarily asdog food ordog treats.
The 2012–2015 project SafeTrackFood developed a method of indoor production of stockfish to accelerate the maturing and drying of the fish in a safe manner.
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Baccalà alla vicentina, an ancient and traditionalItalian dish native toVicenza, is made from stockfish (confusinglynot fromdried and salted cod, although the salted form is known in standard Italian asbaccalà), and is served on or next topolenta. In the Italian region ofBasilicata, the so-calledbaccalà alla lucana is prepared with typical peppers called "cruschi" (dialect word for "crispy").[13] InCalabria, stockfish is widely used, especially in the western side of the region: pasta with stockfish is a staple in Christmas Eve.
Dishes made from stockfish (locally calledbakalar) are traditionally eaten onChristmas Eve inCroatia, especiallyDalmatia.[citation needed]
InCatalonia, stockfish is an ingredient of a kind ofsurf and turf namedes niu.[14]
Stockfish is popular inWest Africa, especially in Nigeria where it serves as a flavor and fish in the many soups like Egusi, Edikaikong, Ofe nsala, Afang,Ukazi, Oha, Efo Riro, Okra, etc., that are eaten with fufu meals, such as pounded yam,fufu, andgarri meals. It is the main ingredient in the Nigerian delicacy called "Ugba na Okporoko" or "ukazi" amongst the Igbo, Ibibio, Efik, Annang, Kalabari, Igbani, Ikwerre, etc., people of south eastern Nigeria. Most importers of "okporoko" are based in the town of Aba in Abia State. Among the Nri, Aro, Nkwerre, and Umuahia people, at festive periods, the popular meal is the Ukazi soup which is usually well-garnished with okporoko orcod as it is popularly called. TheKwe people, who are a fishing people of the English-speaking part ofCameroon, use stockfish in flavoring theirpalm nut orbanga, which can be eaten with acocoyam pudding calledkwacoco. The name okporoko for stockfish, among theIgbo of Nigeria refers to the sound the hard fish makes in the pot and literally translates as "that which produces sound in the pot".[citation needed]
Both stockfish and salt cod can be made intolutefisk.[citation needed]
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