Cod Days of Summer #3 Out of the Box and into a Bath.

Freshening
"Soaking the fish in scalded milk is a trick I learned in Portugal. The milk helps the fish retain its moisture and tenderness. Not all Portuguese cooks soak the cod this way, however. I do it both ways: I do not use milk when I make Codfish Cakes, but I find it improves baked salt cod dishes to which little or no extra moisture is added."




But first it looks like this:
One Pound of Salt Cod in the box.
Totally encrusted, hard and inedible...





Keep in a cool dry place preferably 40 F.

"To Prepare for Cooking, Freshen the fish as follows---Wash
Fish for 15 minutes in running water. Place Fish in pan and
cover with water. Heat Slowly (Do Not Boil) and pour off
water. Repeat this last process until fish is no longer too
salty to taste. "

Does this mean I'm supposed to take bites
of this before I cook it?



Cod goes into a freshwater bath at 1:30pm, and into the
fridge. Next water change: 3:00pm

After another water change and a nice long scalded milk bath, the fish is ready for use. Salt cod is a staple that in the recent past was a frequent part of suppertime around the world. As Betty Crocker says, "Cod, mackerel etc. require removing excess salt. Soak overnight in cold water. (Or soak for two hr....then simmer in fresh water fro 30 min.) Cook as desired." Perhaps in 1950, Betty figured that out of all American cusine, salt cod needed no follow up recipes. Maybe Betty had had it up to here with salt cod and wanted people to move on. And that's fine. She does a pretty good job of explaining french onion dip.