Salt Cod in a Box…

Along with cap guns, rock candy and root beer kits, my Aunt Kay would often arrive at our house for the holidays with a little wooden box of salt cod. It always thrilled me greatly, yet it wasn't for the fish. But that neat little pine box, I'd always stake a claim on it. I can remember its corners were joined together like large zipper teeth and the lid of the box slid open. The coolest thing for hiding secret bits and bobs in. I haven't seen salt cod in supermarkets for decades. I actually can only remember seeing it once when I was still a kid. What happened to salt cod? And, even more fascinating, what on earth did we do with a box of salted fish back in the 70s when Aunt Kay came to visit? I called my older sister and asked her if she remembered salt cod and she didn't. Well, wait a minute. She did. Her vague memory of salt cod was associated with our neighbors down the street. Family friends, they lived in a rented house and had seven kids. That's all that came to mind for her, probably because little wooden boxes held no fascination for her. My younger sister wouldn't recall salt cod either, so I thought I'd do some research. Well, what a veritable mountain of information there is out on the web about codfish and the history of humans fishing for cod! Even the Thomas Jefferson encyclopedia, "TH Jefferson Monticello" (www.monticello.org) had a good bit about the importance of cod in our colonial days. "The codfish, which abounds in the cold waters of the North Atlantic, in particular off the Banks of Newfoundland, had long before the settlement of Massachusetts been sought by Norman, Basque and Portuguese fishermen. They fished off the Grand Banks, dried their catch on some accessible island, and carried it home to provide Friday and Lenten fare. When Massachusetts was settled, the cod became the foundation of its colonial economy, to such an extent that in 1784 a wooden codfish was hung in the Massachusetts House of Representatives." From Colonial days through the early 20th Century, cod was plentiful and easily stored by either drying it on rocks or preserving it with salt. Initially salted in big vats, crates and barrels, by the early 1900s, as the production of cod became more automated in large fish processing plants, the small wooden boxes of salt cod were introduced for individual household use. They had a long shelf life and didn't have to be refrigerated. Initially considered a poor man's food, salted cod was ubiquitous throughout the Atlantic coast and was particularly important for "Good Friday" observers. High in protein and filling, it sustained laborers, sailors, poor urban folk, rural families and enslaved people. Salt cod would eventually become embedded in many varied cultural cuisines and would eventually be considered more of a tradition rather than poverty-associated food. I have no idea how the salt cod was prepared when I was a kid back in the 70s. My mom used to make a wonderful dried beef gravy served over toast. Similar to salt cod, it was quite salty and preserved in a jar that didn't need to be refrigerated. Maybe something similar was done with the cod. Every article I read did say that the fish had to be soaked or blanched in water for a fair amount of time to re-hydrate it and de-salt it. Google explained a few of the cultural dishes based on salt cod: Despite its association with poverty, salt cod became deeply embedded in many cuisines: Portugal & Spain: Bacalhau became a national dish, eaten across all social classes. Italy: Baccalà appears in regional dishes, especially in the south. Caribbean: Salt cod (saltfish) became central to everyday cooking and cultural identity. New England: A staple of early colonial diets, especially during lean times and religious fast days. I also Googled whether you could still buy those little boxes of salt cod and the answer was yes. Apparently, you can still get them at some Whole Foods, Publix and Market Basket stores and at specialty grocers. I checked Amazon and saw lots of salt cod available but no images of the little boxes. I found an online retailer, Marina Market, that still carries them. Obviously considered a specialty food now, it comes in that familiar box that holds 16 oz. of salted cod filets. It costs $22.99. I'm guessing that's a bit of a jump from my childhood memories. I poked around their site a bit and it's quite the resource for Scandinavian, European and Dutch foods. They operate out of Poulsbo, Wash. Tons of tinned fish as well. It brings back memories of my dad and his love of kippered herring.