Buy Stockfish From Norway

7 Reasons Why You Should Buy Stockfish from Norway, Not in Other Places

Why should you buy stockfish from Norway? Literally, stockfish means dried fish typically from Norway. There are some types of dried fish to produce stockfish but mostly, it is made from Cod fishes. Other fishes for stockfish are cusks, lings, haddocks, and pollocks.

Different from other dried fishes that are commonly processed with salt, stockfish are not. Therefore, the taste tends to be plain and fishy before it is made into other dishes.

The traditional drying method is still maintained until now. Yes, instead of using modern machines, Norwegians prefer hanging fish on shelves in their stalls in the coastal area. Those shelves are named Hjell. Well, this method is known also as the oldest preservation in history. Interesting, isn’t it?

Stockfish can be kept for some years before you cook it. Although the method sounds easy, you probably cannot do it in other places. Yes, the success of this drying and preservation method is because of the climate of Norway’s coastal areas.

Stockfish can last until several years due to its fermentation process where the bacteria have adapted to a very low temperature to “cook” the fish. In some areas in Norway, there are stockfish sellers who provide the salted variant. The variant is usually processed using salt only without cooling it for a long time.

Since stockfish can only be produced in Norway and some areas around, if you are living abroad, you must import it to enjoy it. Sure, buying this food from the country of origin is worth it. You can feel the original taste of stockfish while getting its health benefits. Furthermore, here are some other reasons to buy Stockfish from Norway.

Norway is a Perfect Place for Cods

Many health benefits given by stockfish cannot be separated from its raw ingredients. Yes, high-quality stockfish are made from high-quality cod and other types of fish. A good thing is that Norway is a perfect place for them.

Cods live well in cold and clear water like in the coastal line in Norway. Cods, pollocks, and haddocks grow and multiply naturally in the ice stream. For people, it is indeed hard to live in such a condition. But for cod, it makes them grow as well as multiply in a big amount.

In terms of taste, fishes that live in the area tend to be juicier and more savory than those in other places with different conditions. It is shown by its white and thick meat. As stockfish, they are just perfect.

Norway is the Home of Authentic Stockfish

In many places in the world, particularly in Europe, stockfish may not be something strange. You can find this traditional dried fish in markets and for groceries. Even in Italy, stockfish is all around and it becomes the main ingredient of the country’s typical food.

But talking about the origin of stockfish, there is no other but Norway. Yes, Norway is the home of authentic stockfish. Only in this country can you enjoy the original taste of stockfish. In other places, the taste and flavor may have been changed because of some factors; the cod and the drying method are not 100% the same as those in Norway.

Stockfish is a Part of Norwegian History

Talking about the history of Norwegia, you cannot separate it from stockfish. Of course, the stockfish drying system is the oldest in the world and it is related to the cooking method of the Vikings.

Vikings are known for their skills in sailing and trading throughout Europe. When sailing, it took months until they arrived at their destination. This was how the history of stockfish started. Viking people needed a kind of food that could be kept for a long time. So, they chose to dry higher using the natural cooling method as has been explained earlier.

They might have caught and dried fish when they were in their homeland in preparation for the voyage. Vikings chose this option in case they must go to a place where the climate is warmer. Sure, they couldn’t cool down the fish in such a situation.

Meanwhile, Vikings could also dry the fish on the boat they used. Commonly, it was chosen when the voyage was not too far and the climate to pass through was not different from their homeland. So, while sailing, they could process their fish at the same time.

If today, stockfish is better known for being plain. It is quite different from the stockfish tradition in the past. There were 2 types of stockfish, the plain and salted ones. It depended on the areas they made the food whether it was rich in salt or not.

It is very reasonable if until now, Norwegians are very proud of their stockfish. They also maintain the traditional method of drying the fish. Yes, it is a part of their history and identity. Buying the original Norwegian stockfish is also a way to appreciate their history for sure.

Norwegian Stockfish is One of the Sustainable Foods

Almost all fish as the ingredients of stockfish are from the supplies of fish at the North Pole. In case you have not known this, the North Pole supplies the biggest amount of Cod fish in the world. Catching cod fish using the right methods is also a part to keep their continuity.

Since fishermen there caught fish regularly at the right time, the supplies of cod fish in the Norwegian coastal area are always full. In nature, the reproduction of cod fish is frequent. In one reproduction process, a female cod produces millions of eggs that are ready to fertilize.

So, you should not worry that catching cod and other fish for stockfish may disturb the balance of nature. It is even a way to balance nature in Scandinavian oceans.

Big Fishes for Big Fillets

There are many Big cod fishes found and caught in Norway’s oceans. Indeed, in general, the size of the fish doesn’t influence the taste at all. But at the same time, the size influences the meat texture and easiness of processing and cooking.

Big cod fishes tend to have softer and more tender meat. The spaces among bones are also bigger, making it easier to take off the meat from the fish’s body. It is easier also for the process of the fillet. In case you have not known about it, a fillet is a cooking method where the meat is sliced into thin layers before putting it to the next cooking step.

The process of making stockfish commonly starts by slicing a fish into some parts. The fillet technique is often chosen particularly if the sellers want to make the stockfish as thin as possible. As a result, the stockfish is wide but thin, making it better and easier to cook into other dishes.

A Traditional Method with Modern Standards

You may question the health and hygiene standards of this traditional method. If the fish are simply hung on racks in the open air, is the cleanliness maintained well?

Don’t worry about that. The low temperature tends to kill bacteria that rot the food. It is very similar when you keep your fish in the refrigerator. The difference is that the refrigerator is very big as it is done in the open air.

The government of Norway in a collaboration with the Norway Food Security Authority also guaranteed the quality of stockfish to import to other countries. It even facilitates fishermen with the necessary tools and equipment, not only to enable them to work more efficiently but also to guarantee the cleanliness of stockfish before it is sold.

In fact, fishes that are frozen naturally in the open air or sea have better taste than those frozen in their refrigerator. At least, this is the opinion of many customers and restaurant owners in Europe. Even stockfish cod are favorite for many seafood restaurants and stalls in the UK. In addition, not only are they more delicious but they are also fresh and healthier.

Make Sure to Choose the Right Seller

The quality of Norway stockfish should not be questioned anymore. However, it doesn’t mean you can just randomly buy the products without learning about the seller first. Undeniably, a trusted seller provides a better product with better quality as well.

Aschums Seafood is a trusted wholesaler and distributor of original Norwegian stockfish. It supplies stockfish products every day and distributes them to many fish markets and providers in the world.

Aschums Seafood makes sure that the details of the process including the fish catching, drying them into stockfish, packaging them, and distributing them to buyers or other sellers are clean, healthy, and safe. In addition, the distribution process is also fast so there is no change in the stockfish condition.

Are you living in a tropical area with more sunshine? Well, it doesn’t mean you cannot enjoy the delicious stockfish at all. Aschums Seafood provides great packaging in containers to keep the products cool and fresh during the shipping process. After unloading the stockfish, make sure you follow the instructions given so that there are no problems with the products.

So, are you interested to buy Stockfish from Norway? Aschums Seafood is all that you need.