CURED FISHERY PRODUCTS 



325 



Salt cod is the most commonly consumed cured fishery product in this 

 country, followed by pickled herring. A considerable part of the salt cod, 

 however, is consumed in the territory of Puerto Rico. Of the smoked fish, 

 salmon is the leading species, followed by certain lakefish, principally 

 chub; sablefish also has a sizable production. The total annual cured fish 

 consumption in the United States of about 150 million pounds represents 

 only about 5 per cent of the total human consumption of fishery products. 



Table 25.2. Imports of Cured Fishery Products into the 

 United States*^ 



Item 



Quantity- 



Value 



Dried cod, haddock, and other bottom fish 

 Dried fish, miscellaneous species 

 Pickled and salted cod and other bottom fish 

 Pickled and salted herring 

 Salted mackerel 



Pickled and salted fish, miscellaneous species 

 Smoked cod and other ground fish 

 Smoked herring 

 Other smoked fish 

 Total cured products 



88 . 20 



15.07 



Cured fish were formerly produced largely at the site of landing since 

 the curing was a necessary step in preservation. Today with more modern 

 refrigeration and transportation available, much of the curing is carried 

 out near important population centers throughout the country. 



Principles of Curing Preservation 



Preservation of fish by curing is achieved quite largely by retarding 

 the action of bacteria and, to a lesser extent, of enzymes which otherwise 

 would greatly limit the storage life of the fish to only a few days at room 

 temperature by decomposing protein and other nitrogenous components 

 of the fish. The oils contained in cured fish are not at all completely pre- 

 served by the curing process. Cured oily species, therefore, if held for 

 any length of time, are commonly quite extensively oxidized with rancid 

 oils being present, and ordinarily the flavor of such oxidized oil is con- 

 sidered a characteristic of the flavor of the cured product. 



By far the most important effect achieved in curing is the removal of 

 moisture from the fish. Lowering of the moisture content alone greatly 

 retards bacterial spoilage of the fish. Moisture is removed both by air 

 drying (either naturally by exposing to the air and sun or in more modern 



