Cod Blog: Recipes, Guides and Comparisons
Quick Summary: trout roe is smaller (3 mm) and sweeter, ideal for delicate canapés (€90-130/kg). Keta salmon roe is large (5-7 mm), explosive, bright orange, perfect for blinis and sushi (€110-150/kg). Mojama is NOT roe — it's salted and cured tuna loin, with a concentrated savory flavor, to be sliced thin and eaten with EVOO (€60-90/kg). All three are high-end products but from different categories: two fish roes + one cured fish product.
Quick Summary: salmon roe (ikura, red caviar) are the eggs of female Chum (Oncorhynchus keta) or Coho salmon. Translucent orange spheres, 4-6 mm, with a sweet, oceanic flavor and a "popping" texture. Price 80-150 €/kg for a 100 g jar (between 8 € and 15 € per jar). Serve cold, on blinis, tartare, pasta, or as a garnish for canapés. It is not caviar even if it's called "red caviar" — real caviar comes from sturgeon.
Quick Summary: A perfect smoked salad combines 3-4 types (salmon, cod, eel, sardine, or trout) on a base of bitter greens (arugula, lamb's lettuce, endive), acid (lime, Modena vinegar, citrus), fat (avocado, EVOO, cream cheese), and texture (capers, dill, gherkin, blinis). Quantity per person: 60-90 g total smoked product. Serve warm or cold, never hot.
Quick Summary: Smoked salmon is fattier (12-18% fat), has an intense flavor, is orange in color, and is better for classic canapés and hot dishes. Smoked cod is leaner (3-5% fat), has a mild flavor, is white-pink in color, and is better for carpaccio, salads, and pairing with dry white wines. Similar price (€45-65/kg). If you're undecided for Christmas: choose smoked cod carpaccio for a starter and salmon for the main platter.
Smoked cod is cod loin cured in salt and subjected to smoke from noble woods (beech, oak) at a controlled temperature. There are two methods: cold smoking (18-28 °C, silky texture, delicate flavor) and hot smoking (50-80 °C, cooked texture, intense flavor). The actual price ranges from €38/kg (industrial) to €75/kg (artisanal from the Mediterranean or Iceland). Be careful with labels that say "smoked" but use liquid smoke: look for the ingredient "natural smoke" on the list.
Quick answer: An unopened can of anchovies will last 18-24 months in a cool, dry, dark place. After opening: Transfer the fillets to a glass container, cover completely with extra virgin olive oil, cover, and refrigerate. They will last 3-4 weeks. Never leave the opened metal can in the refrigerator—exposure to air will oxidize the fillets, and the metal will impart a metallic taste. If you buy anchovies in salt "for cleaning," they will last up to 5 years in their own brine.
Quick Summary: A good Cantabrian anchovy can stand on its own with a piece of bread and butter, but it's also the ingredient that elevates a dish when used thoughtfully. In this collection, you'll find 12 recipes, ranging from a 3-minute appetizer to a Sunday main course: buttered toast, homemade gilda, tomato salad, anchovy spaghetti, compound butter, and seven more. These recipes are designed for anchovies of size 0 or 00, hand-filleted. I've made all of them at home for years.
Quick answer: The size of an anchovy indicates the number of fillets per kilogram of the original anchovy. 00 is the largest size (8-9g fillets, 14-16 cm, 90-110 fillets/kg), 0 is medium (6-7g, 12-14 cm, 130-150 fillets/kg), 1 is small (4-5g, 10-12 cm, 180-220 fillets/kg). The larger the size, the longer the curing process and the higher the price. For toast with butter, 00. For gildas and daily use, 0. For cooking, 1. We explain it without tricks.
Quick answer: Cantabrian anchovies are produced in six phases: 1) purse-seine fishing between March and June (the "fishing season"), 2) heading, gutting, and cleaning, 3) salting in barrels under pressure for 6 to 24 months, 4) washing and drying, 5) manual filleting, removing skin and bones, and 6) packing in olive oil. The entire premium process takes between 12 and 24 months. The industrial process is completed in 4-6 months. The difference is noticeable in every fillet.
Quick answer: "Cantabrian anchovy" is the geographical designation (any anchovy caught in the Cantabrian Sea — the northern coast of Spain and southwestern France). "Santoña anchovy" is a sub-designation that indicates it has been processed in Santoña (Cantabria), the historic epicenter of salting since 1883. Not every Cantabrian anchovy is from Santoña, but almost every Santoña anchovy is from the Cantabrian Sea. The real difference is not in the fish but in who cures it. We explain it without marketing.
Quick Summary: "Costera" (fishing season) and "primavera" (spring) are often the same concept in the...
Quick summary: Skrei and Gadus cod are the same species (Gadus morhua), but Skrei is...
