Richard Lord (fishinfo@guernsey.net)
Thu, 13 Jan 2000 13:32:30 -0000
I follow with emails from people who provided me with information about seafood consumption during the year-end holiday season.
Many web pages contain info. on seafood consumption during this time of year.
http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/ChurchillRoadES/crs9899/1st/holidays/cz.htm
on Christmas in the Czech Republic (carp consumption)
http://www.terminal.cz/~westphal/prgimag3.htm
on carp consumption during Christmas in Prague, Czech Republic
http://www.city.niigata.jp/e_page/delicacies.html
for a little info on importance of salmon & salmon and herring roe during New Year.
http://askasia.org/frclasrm/readings/r000127.htm
on Japanese New Year (Kazunoko)
http://www.japanlink.co.jp/ka/dobu1.htm
on symbolic value of Japanese food (tai, ebi)
http://food.epicurious.com/e_eating/e06_jewish_cooking/holidays/holidays.html
on The Jewish holidays
http://food.epicurious.com/run/recipe/view?id=40014
classic gefilte fish recipe
http://food.epicurious.com/run/recipe/view?id=40022
Mark Siegel's Whitefish salad recipe
http://www.eyeoniceland.com/articles/diaries/dhdiary.html
on Rotten skate festival on December 23 in Iceland
Info. from the Icelandic Embassy in London:
The rotten skate feast marks the death of Thorlakur, Bishop of Skalholt, on December 23, 1193. Because there was evidence that he performed miracles he was declared a saint in 1198 by the Iceland parliament. He was belatedly declared patron saint of Iceland by Pope John Paul II in 1985.
The faithful were supposed to fast on St. Thorlakur's Day, which was one of the 16 holiest days of the year.
"St. Thorlakur's Day food generally consisted of some poor kind of fish, often scraps of dried fish, fish skin etc.), which were boiled up in the broth of the smoked lamb, which was to be eaten at Christmas. In the west, and especially in the West Fjords, skate was standard fare for the day. The skate must be hung for some time, until it is ripe, before cooking... The custom of eating fish on the day before Christmas may be a relic of the Advent fast which prevailed in pre-reformation times. In addition, in Catholic times, meat was forbidden on St. Thorlakur's day. On the other hand, there may have been a conscious decision to serve up simple food just before Christmas, as a contrast to the culinary delights in store. In latter times, skate came to be regarded as a St. Thorlakur's Day delicacy. The custom of eating skate on St. Thorlakur's Day has spread in recent decades all over the country, and today many restaurants make skate their dish of the day on St. Thorlakur's Day."
Info. from manager of Guernsey Fishermen's Trading Company:
In some parts of Spain they still give presents on the 12th. night after Christmas. (The day the three kings brought presents for Jesus). In past years Guernsey live crab shippers received the highest price for edible crab (Cancer pagurus) on the December 26 shipment to France. The French wholesalers trucked the crab into Spain. The 12th. night (January 6) present giving tradition in Spain is weakening as more and more Spanish people chose to give their presents on Christmas Day instead. Guernsey crab prices now usually reach their peak before Christmas Day.
In the Netherlands and parts of Belgium and some other parts of Europe presents are given on St. Nicholas Day, December 5. St. Nicholas was a 4th. Century Bishop who freed 3 or 4 slave girls by paying their ransom with gold. In The Netherlands, the family evening meal on December 5 may include smoked eel, matjes herring, brown shrimp, and a salmon spread that includes potato and gherkins. On Christmas Day the family meal may include cold fish dishes such as smoked salmon. The main course is usually wild game, and never turkey.
Some emails from fellow seafood enthusiasts:
In the Czech expatriate community where I was raised (Berwyn, Illinois, USA; 1935-1952) pickled herring was a "must" on New Year's Eve, to make a proper start for the New Year.
Dean O. Cliver, Ph.D., Professor
Department of Population Health and Reproduction
School of Veterinary Medicine
University of California, Davis
One Shields Avenue
Davis, CA 95616-8743
phone: 530-754-9120
fax: 530-752-5845
e-mail: docliver@ucdavis.edu
-----
I know of a Polish tradition involving serving herring in a sour cream sauce on New Year's. Also in Puerto Rico during the entire holiday season a lot of folks like to make codfish fritters using dried, salted codfish minced into a thin batter and deep fried.
Angela I. Correa
Virginia Sea Grant Communications
Virginia Tech
540-231-2075
Angela Correa [acorrea@vt.edu]
-----
Australians consume massive amounts of seafood at Christmas- not for any cultural reasons except that it is there, so therefore it should be eaten. The fish shop- fresh seafood only- next to our work will open by 7am on Xmas Eve and will have a band & drinks for people in the queue and armed guards. They will take approx. $3 million AUD on that day alone. This is one seafood shop in Brisbane, a city of 1 million people, nothing to what will be consumed in Sydney or Melbourne. Rich ladies who do lunch for a living, will actually fight in the streets over the last prawns and scallops. Australians often have a barbecue for Xmas lunch, with prawns, scallops, reef fish etc.... ALL THE BIG hotels and restaurants putting on a Xmas smorgasbord, will have a seafood smorgasbord with mountains of smoked salmon, lobsters, crabs, prawns, Moreton Bay bugs, oysters........ The big celebration meal here is lunch on Xmas day, not like the European Xmas eve celebration. Everyone is still shopping on Xmas Eve.
Remember that it is the middle of summer here. I hope this helps, if you need any more info you could see if you could get a hold of a good Australian cookbook and/or cooking TV show- like Stephanie Alexander's "Shared Table".
Clare Winkel
Centre for Food Technology
19 Hercules St
Hamilton Qld 4007
Australia
Winkel, Clare [WinkelC@prose.dpi.qld.gov.au]
-----
According to my kids' Christmas books (well... :)), in some regions of France, they traditionally consume oysters for Christmas diner and salmon, among other things. And they use to be many fish dishes in Provence too. The Poles have a dish with sour herrings, the Portuguese a kind of fish soup I can't remember the name, etc. Have you checked the numerous Christmas sites from around the world? Most of them have recipes... and I guess that would be a better source than "Noel autour du monde" :)
Jean-Daniel Bourgault [Jean-Daniel_Bourgault@INRS-EAU.UQuebec.CA]
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I grew up in the middle of the continental U.S. (Nebraska). One of our dishes for the holidays is a corn (maize) and oyster casserole. The recipe is simple: Make a roux with 1 tablespoon each butter and flour, add 1 egg and a quarter cup of milk and mix, add 1 can cream-style corn and 1 can smoked oysters, crumble 1 dozen salteen crackers and mix everything together. Bake until set and brown on top.
The weird thing about this is that Nebraska is 1,300 miles from the nearest oyster-bearing waters. I don't know the history of the dish other than my late grandmother taught me the recipe.
Douglas L. Marshall
Mississippi State University
Douglas L. Marshall [microman@Ra.MsState.Edu]>
------
It is customary in the Southern USA along the Northern Gulf coast states to have oyster dressing, fried oysters, seafood gumbo, angels-on-horse-back, and various other oyster based recipes during the holiday season from Thanksgiving (next to last Thursday in November) through New Years day. And lots of refreshments. But this area of the country along the northern Gulf coast was not settled by the Puritans but mainly by the French, Italians, & Slavs and thus our food heritage and culture may be different. The USA is such a melting pot it is dangerous to generalize but the above is nearest the cultures of robust seafood consumption.
Herrington.Tom@epamail.epa.gov
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This URL may get you started (assuming you didn't already find it on your own) -- http://www.eatethnic.com/holidays.htm
-- Anne Hulit NOAA Library Seattle E/OC43 Building 3 7600 Sand Point Way NE Seattle, WA 98115-0070 P (206)526-6242 F (206)526-4535 Anne Hulit [ahulit@sisyphus.wrclib.noaa.gov] ------- Here in Hawaii, with our large American-Japanese population, sashimi is the New Year's eve dish of choice. Prime cuts of tuna double in price this time of year and the fish markets are a gridlock of traffic. it's an interesting and treasured Hawaii custom. Diane J. Henderson, Technical Publications Manager Publication Services, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology 2525 Correa Rd, HIG 304 Honolulu, HI 96822 Ph 808-956-9585; Fax 808-956-2538 pubslib@soest.hawaii.edu------- In Mexico is usual to consume atlantic cod in an spanish dish : bacalao a la viscaina. Alan Garcia Alan [glira@diario1.sureste.com] ------ The skate festival in Iceland takes place on December 23rd. To the best of my knowledge the tradition originated in the North-western part of Iceland and gradually spread around the country. The timing of this event is mainly based on food availability. Skate, lasted longer than the other fish without turning bad!!!! ;) Erla Bjork Ornolfsdottir. Department of Oceanography Texas A&M University Erla Ornolfsdottir [erla@ocean.tamu.edu] -------
Here in Portugal Baccalau ( Salted cod ) is traditionally eaten on Christmas Eve, usually boiled and served with boiled potatoes and cabbage. However a lot of people now cook the baccalau using one of the alternative more tasty recipes or simply have shrimp instead. Found this on the Internet. It's a fairly typical recipe from the North of Portugal, where we are. However I have altered it to make it authentic, and more delicious. If you use this, warn your readers that the soaked cod, and to my mind the fish while being cooked for the first time does not smell that good. Carry on with the preparation its worth it !!
Title: NERO WOLFE'S BACALHAU (PORTUGUESE SALT COD Yield: 4 servings 1 1/2 lb To 2 lb soaked dried cod * 2 large Onions, sliced 6 tablespoons Butter 1 clove Garlic, minced 3 large Potatoes 2 tablespoons Bread crumbs ( optional) 10 Pitted green olives 10 pitted Black olives 4 Hard-boiled eggs, sliced Chopped fresh parsley Olive oil
* NOTE: To prepare dried cod, soak in cold water for about 24 to 48 hours, depending on how thick the fish is, if it is not soaked well the fish will be too salty and tough. Change the water two or three times daily. If you have room do this in a fridge all the better, if not in a cold room or pantry. Portuguese housewives will not soak baccalau on hot days as the fish deteriorates quickly.
Drain thoroughly. Put the cod into a saucepan and add enough cold water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until the fish is tender. Drain; remove skin and bones. Flake the fish into large pieces. Saute the onions in 3 tablespoons of butter until they are tender and golden in color. Add the garlic. Boil the unpeeled potatoes in salted water. When they are tender (about 20 minutes), remove from the heat, put under cold running water, and remove the skins. Drain and slice into 1/4-inch pieces. Preheat the oven to 350 deg.F. Grease a 1 1/2-quart casserole with the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. Arrange a layer of half the potatoes, then half the cod, then half the onions. Sprinkle with a little pepper and repeat the layering. Sprinkle the bread crumbs, if using, over the top layer. Bake for 15 minutes, or until heated through and lightly browned. Before serving, garnish the top with olives and eggs; sprinkle with parsley. Serve with olive oil. SOURCE: The Nero Wolfe Cookbook by Rex Stout The Viking Press, Inc. 625 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10022 ISBN 670-50599-4 Library of Congress #72-75754 1973 Posted by: Bob Emert http://soar.Berkeley.EDU/recipes/
Rowena Goulding , Projects Manager Megapesca Lda Rua Gago Coutinho 11 Valado de Santa Quiteria Alfeizerao 2460 - 207 PORTUGAL
Tel + 351 262 990372 Fax + 351 262 990496 E-mail megapesca@mail.telepac.pt -------- Thanks for all your help.
Best Wishes, Yours sincerely, Richard Richard Lord Guernsey GY1 1BQ Great Britain
Email: fishinfo@guernsey.net Tel: +44 (0)1481 700688 Fax: +44 (0)1481 700699
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