Cod (fish) : “Cod” is a noun vernacular designating in French fish of several species of the order Gadiformes. These fish live in cold waters.
The word "cod" comes from the Celtic mor which means "sea" and/or from Provençal bitten "gurnard") is a cold sea fish, of the Gadidae family, which is marketed under this name only salted and dried; sold fresh or frozen, it is called "cod" (See cod).
The Portuguese word cod designating cod is an alteration of cod.
Previously popular and despised, this great fish is present today on the menu of many restaurants for its flavor and the multiple preparations of which it is the object. Indeed, its flesh is particularly appreciated because, devoid of fine bones, it is easily detached from the backbone and the robust ribs. Excessive fishing is the cause of its rapid depletion, with the exception of cod stocks in the Barents Sea, the quantity of which has been increasing since the mid-2000s.
The term "cabillaud" appears in the French language in 1250. It seems of Flemish origin, from the Middle Dutch "cabbeliau", from the Latin baculus (stick).
As for the term " stockfish », less usual, it is a word of German origin used to designate fillets of cod (Gadus Morhua) air-dried. In Norway, the cod from the Arctic Ocean that comes to spawn each year in the Lofoten archipelago is called Skrei, a term derived from the old Viking expression "å skreide fra" (Skrida), which means an advance "to long strides”, fast.
In Norwegian, the word “skrei” (See Scream) refers to fish regardless of its shape and preparation, while the French language makes the difference between cod (fish alive or ready to be eaten fresh) and cod (cod salted, dried or salted and dried for preservation) .
Formerly considered a dish reserved for the most modest, cod (dried, salted or salted and dried cod) and fresh cod have, on the contrary, now become "noble" ingredients, the prices of which are often significant.
Thus, the Norwegian skrei, nicknamed the "king of cod" is considered by chefs around the world as an exceptional product, and is, in each season (January to April), offered à la carte in restaurants. luxury.
Presentation of cod : Codfish differ mainly according to the salting.
Green cod, salted but not dried, sold in barrels, with a strong smell, is almost no longer marketed in France, but there are many in the Mediterranean basin and in Portugal. Salted cod, the most traditional in France, is salted on board, rinsed and brushed at the port, then resalted (repacked); it is sold "in line" or packaged. Cod fillets, brushed, washed, peeled and deboned, blanched and salted less heavily, are sold prepackaged, in portions of 200 g, 1 kg and multiples of 1 kg.
Culinary uses of cod : Cod is more energetic than cod cod (350 Kcal or 1 ‹J per 463 g), because the dried fish is more "concentrated". Its liver, rich in vitamin A and vitamin D, was used for a long time as a remedy in the form of oil (cod liver oil).
It is reputed to help the growth and intellectual development of children, even if the latter, for its taste, do not always appreciate it. It is particularly rich in omega-3 essential fatty acids.
The oil is also traditionally recommended in case of osteoporosis or fracture (because vitamin D participates in the fixation of calcium in the bones). However, it may contain heavy metals or certain fat-soluble pollutants (POPs in particular, bioaccumulated by cod).
The liver is now canned, smoked, and used to prepare cold hors d'oeuvres.
Cod has been a staple food for centuries, especially on lean days.
Already in the year XNUMX, the Vikings, followed by Basque and Iberian fishermen, went as far as Newfoundland and the coasts of Labrador to fish it for trade.
It was, moreover, a "strategic" commodity, because it made it possible to hold out in the event of a siege. Cod tripe was also a popular delicacy; they got ready, after washing, like veal strawberry. Cod tongues always give rise to tasty recipes. We also use the salted cheeks, the head, the carcass. The heart was prized by fishermen in Iceland. The skin is now used in leather goods.
Before any preparation, the cod must be carefully desalted. You can then either poach it and serve it cold or hot, usually with a sauce, or sauté it directly in a fatty substance, or even serve it as a brandade.
Green cod is salted but not dried. Hake is cod sold dried and unsalted. Haddock is a fish similar to cod from which it is distinguished in particular by a black spot on each side. the haddock is fromhaddock smoke. In the kitchen we make the brandade (See Brandade) of cod. In Creole cuisine, acras are beignets of cod seasoned with aromates and mashed vegetables. In Portugal, cod brandade is called “bacalhau a braz”.
There are more than four hundred recipes. of cod. From preparations the most common types of cod are: in foam, riding a cold cream, riding a jelly, riding a terrine, riding a velvety hot, in spelled soup, in bouillabaisse, riding a stifling, in ravioli, in rolls, in candied (cassoulet of cod), in ventrèche, with mashedail pink in pavement coarse salt, crust byherbs, fried, in tempura, in accras or croquettes. Without forgetting the brandades : in bite, riding a candy, riding a cake, in a terrine,…
In Nîmes, the recipe for brandade of cod historically comes from barter which was practiced with fishermen from the Atlantic who came to look for salt from the Salins du Midi. (To see Food salt).
Quote from the French writer Alphonse Allais (1854-1905): “The sea is salty because there are cod in it”.
Related Articles: Brandade ; cod ; Estofinade ; Estofinado ; Scream ; Stockfish.
See as well Cod under Mouth slang.
And it smells of cod
Right into the heart of the fries
That their big hands invite
To come back more
Jacques Brel “Amsterdam”