Portuguese · IV The Method
Bacalhau: 365 Days of Salt Cod
I
Origin
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II
Description
Bacalhau (salt cod) is the national ingredient of Portugal — so central that Portugal is said to have 365 recipes for it, one for each day of the year. The irony: Portugal does not produce bacalhau. The cod is caught in the cold waters of Norway, Iceland, and Newfoundland, salted and dried aboard ship, and imported to Portugal where it is transformed into dozens of preparations. Bacalhau was the protein that fuelled the Age of Discovery — portable, non-perishable, calorie-dense. It fed sailors for months at sea and then became the basis of a national cuisine that elevated survival food to high art.
III
The Thread
—Baccalà in Italian cooking (same product, different preparations — baccalà mantecato in Venice, baccalà alla vicentina in Veneto), brandade de morue in French cooking (Provençal salt cod mousse), salt
IV
Flavour Context
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Pillars V — VII
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