Salt Cod

Salt cod — Atlantic cod (*Gadus morhua*) split, salted heavily, and dried until board-stiff — was the provision that built the New England economy, funded the American Revolution, and connected New England to the global trade network. The cod fishery off the Grand Banks powered the colonial economies of Massachusetts and Maine; the dried, salted product was shipped to the Caribbean (to feed enslaved people on sugar plantations — the cheapest protein available), to southern Europe (where it became the *bacalhau* of Portugal, the *baccalà* of Italy, the *bacalao* of Spain), and to West Africa. The Triangle Trade that moved enslaved people, sugar, rum, and salt cod around the Atlantic is the same trade network that connects the African diaspora entries in this database. Salt cod is the provision that makes the triangle visible on the plate.

Cod fillets packed in coarse salt and dried to a rigid, pale, board-like state — the salt draws moisture until the fish is preserved indefinitely at room temperature. Before cooking, salt cod must be soaked in multiple changes of cold water for 24-48 hours to rehydrate the flesh and remove excess salt. The properly rehydrated cod should be plump, moist, and only mildly salty — firm enough to hold its shape during cooking but tender enough to flake. The flavour is concentrated cod — more intense, more savoury, more complex than fresh cod — with a specific dense, slightly chewy texture that fresh cod doesn't have.

Cod cakes with baked beans. Creamed cod on toast with a poached egg for breakfast. Salt cod chowder. The rehydrated cod's dense, savoury flavour wants starch (potato, bread, beans) and acid (vinegar, lemon, mustard).