Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

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Saturday, April 3. 2010

Fried Baccala


Dried salt Cod from the Grand Banks became popular in Italy, Spain and Portugal during the 1500s and 1600s, and naturally became incorporated into meatless fast days like Christmas Eve and Good Friday - and Fridays in general.


I stumbled onto some baccala at the market the other day as I was hunting for fresh mint, and, even though it is not a fast day, I will make a pile of these as an Easter appetizer.


Photo is Pew & Son Flake Yard, Gloucester, MA, 1899, from this site of old fishing photos. "Flakes" are codfish drying racks. That Atlantic Cod is, alas, being overfished to extinction. Mankind will be sorry. I remember when you could drop a hook with a clam on it into the Gulf of Maine and come up with a big Cod or Haddock for supper in about two minutes.

Posted by Bird Dog in Food and Drink, Our Essays at 07:26 | Comments (3) | Trackbacks (0)

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Nice to see a picture of the Higgin's and Gifford's yard. One of my favorite boats was a classic Banks dory designed by them and built by my paternal Grandfather, but it was somewhat limited in handling and sailed like a piece of flotsam - all over the place.

I later had a classic Swampscott dory which was a much better rowing and sailing boat.

Nice pics.
#1 Tom Francis on 2010-04-03 07:53 (Reply)
baccalo as it is known in Latin homes and markets. It is not my favorite but people love the baccalo guisado.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/
#2 opie109 on 2010-04-03 08:23 (Reply)
Although the Pope dropped the fish-on-Fridays requirement some years back, the tradition continues. Just try to get a reservation at an Italian Seafood restaurant in Anytown, USA on a Friday night.

The story of Cod fishing (and overfishing) is amazing. In Salt: A World History Mark Kurlansky describes a time when fishing fleets caught more Cod with rod & reel than they do today with modern industrial methods like drag nets. I haven't read his followup COD: a Biography of the Fish That Changed the World but I expect it is equally good.
#3 Jack Diederich (Link) on 2010-04-04 12:56 (Reply)

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