Fish occupies a special place in the human nutritional balance, because the protein from which the tissues of its body are formed has the structure most suitable for digestibility. But this circumstance is the most significant drawback of fish meat for its long-term storage, because due to its instability, fish products deteriorate much faster. Since ancient times, our ancestors were able to master the most diverse technologies of its harvesting, among which the most simple and affordable is salting fish, since it does not require any significant expenditures either on technological equipment or on products facilitating this process, the main of which in this case is ordinary salt.
However, the sterility of the salting process itself requires special attention from the performers. The requirements for utensils used for salting are both simple and very stringent, since the brines used in this case very aggressively affect the most resistant materials, causing them to corrode and render the prepared fish unusable. Therefore, the list of containers in which salting is possible is limited to wooden barrels and enameled dishes, the enamel layer of which does not have even the slightest damage. At the same time, only selective salting of fish of only those species is possible, the meat of which during this process is capable of "ripening". These include families of salmon, herring and mackerel. Depending on the salt content in the final product, salting of fish can result in slightly salted (6-10% of salt), medium salted (10-14%) and strongly salted (over 14%). This division is of practical importance, because in the last two cases, salted fish must be soaked before eating.
Salted fish recipes are usually offered a wide variety, especially with regard to spices and other ingredients that make up the taste of the future product. Common to all of them is the ratio of salt and the timing of the salting operation itself. Lightly salted fish will require up to 150 gr. salt per kg of fish weight, with more intensive salting, this ratio increases to 300 g. per kg. But the timing of salting is directly related to the weight of each individual fish undergoing such processing. Small fish can be salted without preliminary cutting, using natural oppression in the form of cargo after placing it in brine. In this case, salting fish can last at least 3 days. For fish, individual carcasses of which weigh from 300 g. and above, without gutting can not do. Salt in this case must be rubbed directly onto the carcass, paying particular attention to ensuring that the largest amount of salt gets directly into the freshly cut fish. For large fish , salting times increase significantly. Minimum this process of salting takes from 8 days, but in some cases it can be up to two weeks in a row. The process of salting and subsequent storage should be carried out in a cool room at a temperature of no higher than 10-12 ° C. Salting fish in brine will be more sterile if, in addition to salt, add a small amount of ammonium nitrate, but not more than one tenth of the volume of dissolved salt. And here is an example of a recipe for salting solution, including spices, which is known to the general public as “spicy”. On 100 gr. solution: 87.4 gr. salt, 2.4 g. black pepper, 6.8 gr. allspice, 0.5 gr. coriander, 0.3 gr. cloves, 0.1 g. cinnamon, 0.2 g. nutmeg, 0.3 gr. ginger, 0.1 gr. cardamom, 0.1 g rosemary, 2.1 gr. saltpeter, 1.1 gr. Sahara. There are many more various recipes, and everyone, if desired, can invent it for himself. The main thing in this matter is to make the harvesting of fresh fish safe for your health.