Taylor. — Preservation of Fish by Salt 



131 



DRY SALTING AND BRINE SALTING COMPARED 



The next question taken up in the investigations referred to 

 was that of the relative merits of the appHcation of the salt to 

 fish in the dry state and as a concentrated brine. In the Chesa- 

 peake Bay region the herring are usually pickled in brine. By 

 a strict comparison of the two methods it was found that there 

 is developed a smaller quantity of the products of decomposi- 

 tion, the amino acids, when the salt is applied dry. Not only 

 this, but it was also found that salt applied in the dry condition 

 penetrates the fish more rapidly. 



Among the products of protein decomposition are amino 

 acids. A determination of amino acid nitrogen was taken as a 

 measure of decomposition — the more the amino acids the 

 greater the amount of decomposition. This being true, the fol- 

 lowing table, summarized from Tressler's results, will show the 

 superiority of dry salt over strong brine for preserving fish. 



Amounts of Amino Acid Nitrogen Formed Per Kilogram of Fish At 

 Different Temperatures 



It is seen that the brine salted fish consistently undergo a 

 greater decomposition than those salted with dry salt, as shown 

 "by the abundance of decomposition products, amino acid nitro- 

 gen. The average excess of amino acid nitrogen in the six lots 



