[Sca-cooks] Re: salmon and gravlax (Stefan li Rous)

[elisabetta at klotz.org]

> I've provided a recipe elsewhere; let me know if you don't find it.
> Yes, I did find that message in the next digest. After I'd posted my
> questions. I had originally saved that recipe to my modern recipes
> files because I wasn't sure if it was period or not. In particular, I
> was, and am, questioning the amount of sugar used. Specifically for
> something in a northern European region, even at the end of our period.
> So was this recipe close to a period recipe or is it just similar to
> what a period gravlax recipe would likely be like? Would honey have
> likely been used for this recipe within out period?
>
> Stefan

A few years ago I was one of 2 people present when the late Baron Irik 
unveiled
his research on the gravlax process and if sugar was a period cure or 
not. If I
may paraphrase:

He had done research which did prove that indeed the Northmen (Vikings) 
did have
access to sugar and did trade it and ship it home. Unfortunately there are no
records indicating that they actually used the stuff for curing. But Vikings
are smart people, and they like food.

There was also a discussing on the use of salt (and the book with the same
name), and then a tasting of 4 types of homemade cured gravlax, all he made
himself--one with the sugar cure. Bottomline was that the one with sugar and
without sugar didn't have much of a taste difference, and the sugar cure is
easier, and tasted slightly better to the modern palate. Like when you taste
something and you know somethings missing, but can't figure out what.

Of course his notes where disorganized on one piece of slightly stained 
and fish
smelling paper, and my copy of the notes and recipes are somewhere, now 
lost but
hopefully found in the future.

So from what I learned from him on that day is this--
1-Sugar period, no evidence used in cures
2-Honey won't work because of the chemical reactions won't cure the fish (I
asked this question also--he said to read Alton Brown)
3-You cure food with 3 natural chemical processes--salt, sugar and acid (ie:
lemon)
4-Modern palate prefers sugar

I'm not an expert on curing, and except for this knowledge, I know 
nothing about
it, but I'm sure there is somone who can explain it much better.

:)
Elisabetta