Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Stockfish stays edible for years, and it's often eaten raw (a trifle chewy but goes
well with beer), salted or reconstituted with water. It's concentrated goodness; with a
protein content of 80%, 1kg of stockfish has the same nutritional value as 5kg of
fresh fish.
Even before drying, very little of a cod goes to waste: cod tongue is a local delic-
acy - children extract the tongues and are paid by the piece - and the roe is salted in
enormous German wine vats. The heads are sent to Nigeria to form the basis of a
popular spicy dish.
Then there's the liver, which produces oil rich in vitamin D that has long been
known to prevent rickets and assuage the depression brought on by the long, dark
Arctic winters. In 1854 Lofoten pharmacist Peter Møller decided to introduce this
magic-in-a-bottle to the world and constructed a cauldron for steam-boiling the liv-
ers. The oil he skimmed received honours at trade fairs in Europe and abroad. After
skimming, the livers were steamed in large oak barrels and then pressed to yield
every last, profitable drop. Every summer, thousands of barrels of it were shipped to
Europe, and the smell pervaded the village of Å, whose inhabitants liked to comment
that it was the scent of money.
And what of cod-liver oil's notorious taste? Locals will tell you that it tastes bad
only when it becomes rancid. Fresh cod-liver oil can be quite flavoursome, like salad
oil with a slightly fishy bouquet.
Modern Norwegian fishing folk are vociferously protective of this asset - in cer-
tain northern districts as many as 90% of votes were against EU membership. For if
Norway joined the EU, the Spanish fishing fleet and others would have access to
Norway's inshore waters - a potential modern-day Armada that Norway's fisherfolk
are determined to repel. There have also been skirmishes with Icelandic trawlers over
territorial fishing rights.
Fun cod fact: one in 20,000 cod is a king cod; the distinctive lump on its forehead
is said to indicate intelligence and bring good luck to the fishing family that catches
it. King cod are often dried and hung on a string from the ceiling; as the string ex-
pands and contracts with humidity, the fish rotates like a barometer, hence the nick-
name 'weather cod'.
The latest news from the world of cod involves the fishes' mating calls; it seems
that the grunts they use to attract mates can be loud enough to block a submarine's
sonar devices, impeding its underwater navigation!
Mark Kurlansky's book
Cod
(1999) is an excellent, thoroughly entertaining study
of this piscatorial powerhouse.
