THE PRINCIPLES OF FISH SALTING 



365 



blood and viscera be removed if decomposition is to be reduced to a minimum. 

 The amounts of amino acid nitrogen formed during the dry-salting of alewives 

 cleaned in various ways are presented in Table 88. Since amino acids are among 

 the end products of protein decomposition, the rate of their formation is an excel- 

 lent index of the rate of protein decomposition. 



Table 88. Development of Amino Acid Nitrogen in Fish Cleaned in Various Ways * 



(Fish Salted Four Hours after Capture, with Diamond Flake Salt Containing 



99.78 Per Cent Sodium Chloride; Salting Period, Nine Days). 



Amino 

 AcidN 

 Formed 

 During 

 Salting 

 Period 

 per Kilo 

 of Fresh 

 Fish 



Method of Cleaning 



Average 

 Tempera- 

 ture of 



Salting 



Condition of Fish 

 at End of Period 



No cleaning, salted round 



Pipped 



Head cut off, abdominal cavity split open, 



viscera, except milt and roe, removed 

 Cleaned perfectly, mUt and roe removed, 



kidney and membranes scraped out, and 



all blood washed out 



No cleaning, salted round 



Pipped 



Head cut off, abdominal cavity split open, 



viscera, except milt and roe, removed 

 Cleaned perfectly, milt and roe removed, 



kidney and membranes scraped out, and 



all blood washed out 



op Q 



79 26.1 



79 26.1 



79 26.1 



79 26.1 



88 31.1 



88 31.1 



88 31.1 



88 31.1 



Gram 

 0.77 



.63 



.68 



.37 



1.12 



.76 



.82 



.47 



Badly spoiled, 



bloated 

 Spoiled 



Do. 



Excellent con- 

 dition 



Badly spoiled, 

 bloated 



Badly spoiled 



Do. 



Excellent con- 

 dition 



** Source: Tressler, D. K., "Some Considerations Concerning the Salting of Fish," 

 U. S. Bureau of Fisheries Rept., 1919, also Doc. 884 (1920). 



Because of the tendency of the viscera, blood, and various glands to spoil round 

 fish cannot be salted during warm weather. Scotch cured herring cannot be salted 

 except in cool countries during the fall, winter, and spring. Fish free from blood 

 and viscera have a milder, less "fishy" taste than round or poorly cleaned fish. 



The Storage of Salted Fish 



The importance of proper storage conditions for salted fish can hardly be over- 

 estimated. This is particularly true of mackerel, herring, and alewives. Under 

 present methods of storage a very large proportion of salted fish reach the retail 



