CHAPTER 25 



Cured Fishery Products 



Maurice E. Stansby 



Cured fish include those products in which preservation is achieved by 

 reducing moisture content or by the addition of chemical preservatives 

 including salt, vinegar, or smoke. The common cured fishery products are 

 salt fish, smoked fish, pickled fish, dried fish, and certain specialty prod- 

 ucts such as lutefish. 



At one time, even in the United States, curing was the principal method 

 of preservation of fish, production exceeding that of products preserved 

 by refrigeration, freezing, and canning. Cured fish were prepared during 

 the main fishing season and were the chief form in which these particular 

 species were available during the remainder of the year. 



Cured fishery products, for the most part, possess flavors and textures 

 quite different from those of the original fresh fish. These changes result 

 from the presence of added preservatives which impart foreign flavors, 

 from irreversible changes such as alteration in texture, and from failure 

 of the curing method to completely preserve the fish, which in some cases 

 leads to off flavors such as rancidity. New methods of preservation, such 

 as canning and freezing, make possible a product much more closely re- 

 sembling fresh fish. In the more industrially developed countries, canning 

 and refrigeration have gradually displaced curing as the principal preser- 

 vation method. 



In the United States, cured fishery products are little used as the main 

 course of a meal. Except for certain ethnic usage, such products as smoked 

 or pickled fish are used principally as snacks or side dishes. The average 



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