Portuguese cod steak. Picture: Genuine picture of 123rf.com.cn
In a sense, the magnificent era of human navigation was opened by a cod, which not only set off a boom in geographical discoveries at the end of the Middle Ages, but also contributed to the rapid rise of North American colonies; fed the human flesh at the same time, but also fueled human desire to conquer the world; it has no less than the strength of the strong ship and cannon, which determines the fortune of the country and changes the world.
▐ Cod, fed hungry Europeans
Cod as food dates back to the 8th century AD, the earliest fishing and consumption of cod was the burly Viking, they cut fresh cod meat into small pieces, in the Scandinavian cold wind to dry, such dried fish can be stored for a long time, air-dried concentrated protein content of nearly 70%, eat like bread as refreshing. For the Vikings, who were keen to roam and plunder at sea, dried cod was an ideal seafaring ration. They chewed cod against the wind and waves, bypassing Greenland and heading west to North America.
Cod just caught. Picture: Genuine picture of 123rf.com.cn
In the centuries that followed, cod never left the human table again. The first to profit from the cod trade were the Vasco, the oldest ethnic group in Europe living on the border between France and Spain. They marinate and air-dried cod with Mediterranean sea salt, which not only saves sea salt but is also more resistant to preservation than the fat-rich herring, and if handled in place, it will hardly spoil. For humans plagued by food corruption, this is simply a black technology, and the pickled cod in the market was once monopolized by the Basques, so that the English name of cod "cod" comes from the Basque word "(dried fish)".
Air-dried marinated cod. Picture: Genuine picture of 123rf.com.cn
Medieval European life was bound by the general rules and precepts of the Catholic Church, which brought great business opportunities to the Basque cod business, because the doctrine stipulated that meat could not be eaten on the day of fasting, and these days added up to half a year, and the nobles who were accustomed to eating big fish and meat were crazy, but the "cold food" such as fish meat and whale meat was unrestricted. So, on Fasting Day, the Basques sold pickled cod to some of the local tycots, and naturally made a lot of money. As mysterious as the Basque origins are the source of their massive cod, they have always been tight-lipped about where they fish.
Pickled cod. Picture: Genuine picture of 123rf.com.cn
By the 15th century, pickled cod had become a common commodity and very lucrative. European countries are also looking for excellent cod fisheries, which are one of the things that lured Europeans out of their own safe continents, and the development of navigation technology has supported ambitious explorers. In 1492, Columbus sailed from Puerto Barros to the Americas across the Caribbean Sea with the patronage of the Spanish royal family, and soon began the great exchange of species.
Newfoundland's rugged coastline. Picture: Genuine picture of 123rf.com.cn
Five years later, in 1497, another Genoese, John Cabot, sailed to the North Atlantic on the orders of King Henry VII of England, discovering a rocky coast full of giant cod, and Cabot named the place "Newfoundland" --- Newfoundland. Cabot describes Newfoundland's cod this way: "Swarms of cod are densely packed around the side of the ship, sinking a bamboo basket and carrying it up with cod, so many that they can step on the back of the fish ashore." ”
Schools of cod. Figure: sciencenordic.com
The centuries-old desire to fish in Europe was finally unleashed, and fishing boats from Spain, Britain, and France embarked on expeditions to Newfoundland to catch cod. The cod here are huge and the school of fish seems to be inexhaustible. In the spring they come here to fish, compete for excellent beaches to dry dried fish, and in autumn they return with dried cod in the monsoon blowing from the west. The Basque cod catch was gradually overwhelmed by the sheer number of commercial catches by the great powers – the Basque cod era was over.
Fried cod. Picture: Genuine picture of 123rf.com.cn
If it were not for cod, Europeans may not have looked down on North America, which does not produce silver, the rich cod fishery is undoubtedly a gold mine at sea, in just a few decades, European countries launched hundreds of expeditions to Newfoundland, at the end of the 16th century, the port of Plymouth, England, was full of fishing boats returning from Newfoundland, and the air was full of the smell of cod and wealth.
Fried cod with asparagus. Picture: Genuine picture of 123rf.com.cn
In addition to supplying Europe with dried cod, the colonists also brought back all kinds of furs produced by the Indians, and the British and French immigrants who had satisfied the needs of food and clothing dreamed of moving their families to the new colony of North America, "New England". As the colonies expanded, a business opportunity arose when colonists shipped dried cod to West Africa, bought slaves, and then shipped them to the colonies of the West Indies to produce sugar. The trade relationship between cod, slaves and honey was born.
Cod that has just been caught. Picture: Genuine picture of 123rf.com.cn
As the cod fishing fleet grew, so did the sugar industry in the West Indies, with slaves from West Africa working under the scorching sun every day, requiring a lot of energy and salt to sustain themselves. How willing the colonial slave owners were to waste the land where sugar cane was produced to grow rations, so the cheap and salty cod became the daily ration for thousands of slaves.
Cheap dried cod became the rations of the slaves. Picture: Genuine picture of 123rf.com.cn
▐ Helplessly forced to choose to eat lobster
Compared to Newfoundland, the coast of New England has rich arable land. So in the winter, when a few Newfoundlanders stayed behind to guard the winter fisheries, more people moved their families to Massachusetts, and these immigrants went deep into Massachusetts in search of more fertile land and more business opportunities, making New England the most prosperous European colony in North America, and Boston was born. Although there were large amounts of dried cod, the colonists at that time were often mad by the lack of local food, and in order to survive the winter, they could only eat some local seafood, the most representative of which was the Boston lobster.
"Boston Lobster". Picture: Genuine picture of 123rf.com.cn
Boston lobster is the American crayfish (H.americanus) also known as maine lobster, belongs to the sea crawfish family crayfish genus, although the name also has the word "lobster" but it is indeed a crawfish, the real sense of "lobster" generally refers to the lobster species. The American crayfish are mainly found off the coast of North America, especially in Labrador, Newfoundland, Canada, and mainly in the U.S. state of Maine, and prefer to inhabit shallow rocky reefs or on the gravelly seabed. It is worth noting that Boston almost does not produce lobsters, and the real lobster production is mainly in maine, the United States, which is commonly known as "Bolong" only because Boston is the largest distribution center for lobsters in the United States.
Boston "Lobster". Picture: Genuine picture of 123rf.com.cn
Spiny fish and shelled lobsters were not the food that Europeans used to eat, and of course, the cooking method at that time was also monotonous, that is, boiled in salt water. At that time, there were so many lobsters on the east coast of North America that a British historian named William Wood described that "during the lobster season, there are often huge waves on the seashore, and lobsters that are washed to the shore can be piled up to 2 feet high, like cockroaches in the sea." ”
Brain shrimp piled up into a mountain of shrimp. Picture: Genuine picture of 123rf.com.cn
As the colonists' power in the New World gradually expanded, eating lobster became a forced choice for prisoners and the poor at that time, and the indentured workers who were forced to eat and cook lobster every day eventually fought this inhumane act through strikes. They also asked to state in the contract that the number of lobster eaters must not exceed 3 times a week!
Lobster pasta. Picture: Genuine picture of 123rf.com.cn
In 1891, the Americans invented the canned lobster. As a carrier for easy storage and carrying, canned food created the conditions for the widespread spread of lobsters, and the large penetration of the East-West Railway gave birth to modern travel methods. New ways of cooking and lobster festivals held everywhere have gradually made lobster a popular delicacy.
The first canned lobster was invented in 1891. Figure: PUBLIC DOMAIN
With the outbreak of World War II, almost all daily food needed to be distributed according to the ration system, but lobsters were not on the restricted list. So much so that people are willing to buy lobsters when they are hungry. After the war, lobster completely got rid of its lowly reputation and became a table delicacy.
Lobster sandwich . Picture: Genuine picture of 123rf.com.cn
▐ Delicious cod that Europeans dream of
The cod family thrives on hundreds of species in about thirteen families. Broadly speaking, they can all be called "cod". However, usually the three species of cod can be directly called cod, also known as cod, without a definite word. They are atlantic cod, large-headed cod (Pacific cod) and Greenland cod, and it is the Atlantic cod that fascinates Europeans.
A "leopard print" of Atlantic cod. Figure: blitzquotidiano.it
Atlantic cod (G. morhua) is distributed in the cold waters of the North Atlantic and the Arctic Circle, from northern Europe to Canada and even the east coast of the United States can be seen, belongs to the bottom omnivorous fish, the deepest can inhabit the deep sea of nearly 1000 meters. They have rounded abdomen, beards on the lower jaw, a gradual change from yellow-brown to bluish-gray on the back, and a grayish-white abdomen, with a body length of up to two meters.
Atlantic Cod. Figure: piscoweb.org
Atlantic cod prefers to swim in flocks and migrate seasonally according to changes in water temperature and food and reproductive needs. Winter and early spring enter warm waters to spawn, and juveniles grow offshore. Atlantic cod was once the most abundant fish species in the world, and since the Viking Age, Nordic fishermen have been fishing for Atlantic cod on a large scale, with Norway, Iceland, Canada and Russia being important producers.
The life of the Atlantic cod. Figure: piscoweb.org
The Atlantic cod is large, tender and less tender and refreshing, suitable for a variety of cooking methods, from a human point of view, it seems to be a species for the table, and the habit of group swimming is conducive to large-scale fishing. The Love of Atlantic Cod by Europeans who eat fish and do not like to spit is almost crazy.
Fleshy White Atlantic Cod. Figure: cf.bitzngiggles.com
Since the 1760s, cod has been increasingly caught in Europe, especially in the United Kingdom, when the main european cod production area is located around Iceland, and many European countries have rounded up cod in the sea, which makes Iceland very worried about the cod resources on which they depend. There was a series of "wars" between Iceland and the United Kingdom over cod resources, beginning in 1958 and ending in 1976, spanning nearly two decades.
Fried cod. Picture: Genuine picture of 123rf.com.cn
Once, dried pickled cod as a major source of protein has been around the Portuguese ocean-going ships for hundreds of years, and this dried fish that needs to be soaked with water for a long time eventually evolved into Bacalhau, a national treasure of Portugal. Ma Jiexiu is an important ingredient in Portuguese cuisine, and perhaps in the Portuguese mind, there are a thousand ways to practice cod, but they are all related to Ma Jiexiu.
Classic Portuguese cod dishes. Picture: Genuine picture of 123rf.com.cn
Despite being an island nation, before the 18th century, it was difficult for the British people in non-coastal areas to eat fresh cod. But the birth of the steam train in the 19th century changed everything, and its appearance quickly reduced the price of fish, while Jews immigrating from southern Europe brought with them the practice of fish and chips. As a result, fish and chips became the most popular cheap delicacy among the working class. The steaming "Fish & chips" is still a British national treasure to this day.
English fish and chips. Picture: Genuine picture of 123rf.com.cn
British national treasure take-away cuisine. Picture: Genuine picture of 123rf.com.cn