SC - Carpiones: Platina's perspective

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Hullo, the list!

With regard to the experiment being done on trout in carpione, via
Martino, I had mentioned in passing that I'd be very surprised to see
that Platina, who seems to have based some of his work on Martino's, did
not have a similar recipe. It turns out he does.

De Honesta Voluptate, Book X, #64

"Garda Trout

"I am surprised at Pliny, for although he made frequent mention of the
very famous Lake Garda of his native Verona, nothing survives which was
written by him about the trout for which that lake is especially
praised. Trout are cooked however you wish. So that they may last a long
time, as soon as they are caught and kept in brine for two days, fry for
a long time in the best oil so they are well cooked, to be saved this
way for a month,even if they are less healthful and rather unpleasant,
more so, if they are recooked. other fish will also be saved but not as
long, if they have been cooked this way. Be careful not to be hurt by a
spine which it bears on its head, for it is considered dangerous, as if
it were dyed with poison."

Translated by Mary Ella Millham.

Just what occurs to me: Apparently Martino has this recipe as a variant
on another recipe, but Platina omits the original, but a couple of
recipes previous he fives a recipe for carpio (carp), carpiones being a
plural form. Now, bearing in mind that carp are somewhat fatty, a bit
like trout in texture, _and_ the fact that they are exceedingly bony
fish, a long cooking method, which would tend to make the bones softer
and more brittle, like chalk or the bones in canned salmon, it would
make sense that this method might well have been developed with carp in
mind originally. Trout have a far less difficult (at least from a
diner's perspective) bone structure, but the edible portion (which in
this dish probably includes the bones, more or less, for the less
squeamish) would respond quite well to this treatment.

Now, I gather Martino is pretty clear as to the strength of the brine he
uses at the beginning of his process, and IIRC, he says to be careful to
avoid burning. Platina just says to cook well for a long time. He also
makes it clear to use the best oil. I bet this is more or less a fish
confit in oil. Since Platina specifies the grade of oil, I imagine the
oil is part of the final dish, which we don't normally associate with
fried foods, at least not intentionally.

This seems to me a possible relative of the numerous types of canned
fried fish available and popular in many parts of the Far East. I'm not
suggesting that one culture(s) learned it from another, necessarily, but
it seems to have some similarity. Basically the fish is seasoned and
fried in oil, until it has a texture similar to fried bacon, but is not
burned. It becomes less crunchy and more tough as it cools, but it can
either be refried, or steamed on a plate on top of the rice, to soften
it up. It actually responds fairly well to microwaves, in fact. I must
have six or eight cans of fried dace (little freshwater, vaguely
herring-like guys) in oil with black beans (the fermented, salted ones,
not frijoles negro).

If this is the case, I assume the moisture lost in the cooking would
have to be on the order of close to half the total weight of the fish
before brining, to be effective as a preservative for any length of
time. Same as for ham. I imagine this is not a dish you mess around with
scales for, but I believe with some experience of getting it just right,
that is the effect you would achieve. I also believe part of the
preservative process is that the oil excludes some of the oxygen and
airborne bacteria, so it should probably be stored at least partially
submerged in oil. Packing the fish closely into a crock and covering
them with the oil would probably be ideal.

Adamantius
- -- 
______________________________________
Phil & Susan Troy
troy at asan.com
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