Cured Fish

Cured Fish. Fish may be cured by drying, salting, or smoking. Curing is one of the oldest ways of preserving fish. Although distinctive tastes and prolonged keeping times are achieved with any of these curing techniques, they can also harden the outer surfaces.

Smoked salmon, smoked haddock (finnan haddie), pickled herring, and smoked herring, also known as kippered herring, are some of the more familiar forms of cured fish.

Anchovies are tiny, bony fish that have been cured with salt. They come to the market either salt-packed or oil-packed and in cans as whole fish, fillets, or anchovy paste. Because of their strong flavor, they are usually used as a garnish or in salad dressings and sauces rather than as a food in themselves. The salt-packed anchovies must first be rinsed, but their flavor tends to be superior to the oil-packed variety.

Caviar, also belongs in the cured category, because it is preserved by salting.