Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World

Content Warning: This section discusses the European slave trade.

At the conclusion, the author includes recipes with historical context, organized into 10 subheadings.

The Correct Way to Flush a Cod

Flushing refers to soaking cured cod to soften it and clear away the excess salt. Hannah Glasse, in her 1758 British cookbook, stated that salt cod should be soaked in milk and warm water. In central France, supplies of cured cod bought in Bordeaux were dragged through the river water during the two-day journey to the locals. The fish would then be soft and ready to eat by the time it arrived. When the river became too contaminated, some turned to using the flush toilet. President of the ruling body in France in 1947 used a toilet fed from a separate water tank to soak cured cod, requiring that it be flushed once an hour for a week.

The Bad News At Walden Pond

In 1851, Henry David Thoreau was horrified by the rumor in Cape Cod that the cows were fed cod’s head. However, locals assured him this rumor was false. They did not feed cod’s heads to cattle because they ate it themselves. Several recipes using cod’s head are then offered: A version skinned, battered, and fried; a cod’s head chowder cooked with pork and onions; and a dried version that is shared by Norwegians as a communal snack.