Cured fish

Cured fishis fish which has beencuredby subjecting it tofermentation,pickling,smoking, or some combination of these before it is eaten. Thesefood preservationprocesses can include addingsalt,nitrates,nitriteorsugar, can involvesmokingandflavoringthe fish, and may includecookingit. The earliest form of curing fish wasdehydration.Other methods, such assmoking fishorsalt-curingalso go back for thousands of years. The term "cure" is derived from the Latincurare, meaningto take care of. It was first recorded in reference to fish in 1743.
According to Binkerd and Kolari (1975), the practice of preserving meat by salting it originated in Asian deserts."Saline salts from this area contained impurities such as nitrates that contributed to the characteristic red colour of cured meats. As early as 3,000 BC in Mesopotamia, cooked meats and fish were preserved in sesame oil and dried salted meat and fish were part of the Sumerian diet. Salt from the Dead Sea was in use by Jewish inhabitants around 1,600 BC, and by 1,200 BC, the Phoenicians were trading salted fish in the Eastern Mediterranean region. By 900 BC, salt was being produced in "salt gardens" in Greece and dry salt  curing and smoking of meat were well established. The Romans (200 BC) acquired curing procedures from the Greeks and further developed methods to "pickle" various kinds of meats in a brine marinade. It was during this time that the reddening effect of salting was noted.Saltpeter(potassium nitrate) is mentioned as being gathered in China and India prior to the Christian era for use in meat curing... In Medieval times, the application of salt and saltpeter as curing ingredients was commonplace and the reddening effect on meat was attributed to saltpeter."
Salt (sodium chloride) is a primary ingredient used to cure fish and other foods.Removal of water and addition of salt to fish creates asolute-rich environment whereosmotic pressuredraws water out of microorganisms, retarding their growth.Doing this requires a concentration of salt of nearly 20%.Iodized table salt may be used, but the iodine generally causes a dark end product and a bitter taste. Non-iodized salts like those used for canning and pickling foods and sea salt are the preferred types of salt to use for curing meats.
Sugaris sometimes added when curing fish, particularlysalmon. The sugar can take many forms, includinghoney,corn syrupsolids, andmaple syrup.Adding sugar alleviates the harsh flavor of the salt.It also contributes to the growth of beneficial bacteria likeLactobacillusby feeding them.
Nitratesandnitriteshave been used for hundreds of years to prevent botulism in fish and ensuremicrobialsafety. Nitrates help kill bacteria, produce a characteristic flavor, and give fish a pink or red color.Nitrite is commonly used to speed up thecuringof meat and also impart an attractive colour while having no effect on the growth of theClostridium botulinumbacteriawhich causesbotulism.
The use of nitrates in food preservation is controversial, and some traditional and artisanal producers avoid using them. This is due to the potential for the formation ofnitrosamineswhen the preserved food is cooked at high temperature.However, the production of carcinogenic nitrosamines can be potently inhibited by the use of the antioxidants Vitamin C and the alpha-tocopherolform of Vitamin E during curing. A 2007 study byColumbia Universitysuggests a link between eating cured meats andchronic obstructive pulmonary disease.Nitriteswere posited as a possible cause.The use of either compound is carefully regulated.For example, the FDACode of Federal Regulationsstates that sodium nitrite may be safely used: "As a color fixative in smoked curedtunafishproducts so that the level of sodium nitrite does not exceed 10 parts per million (0.001 percent) in the finished product... As a preservative and color fixative, with or withoutsodium nitrate, in smoked, curedsablefish, smoked, curedsalmon, and smoked, curedshadso that the level of sodium nitrite does not exceed 200 parts per million and the level of sodium nitrate does not exceed 500 parts per million in the finished product."
Fish can also be preserved by smoking, which is drying the fish withsmokefrom burning or smoldering plant materials, usuallywood. Smoking helps seal the outer layer of the food being cured, making it more difficult forbacteriato enter. It can be done in combination with other curing methods such as salting. Common smoking styles include hot smoking, smoke roasting and cold smoking.  Smoke roasting and hot smoking cook the fish while cold smoking does not. If the fish is cold smoked, it should be dried quickly to limit bacterial growth during the critical period where the fish is not yet dry. This can be achieved by drying thin slices of fish.