Bacalao

[suavena]

Why is Bacaloa such delicatessen in the DR, I have not seen such euphoria for it at any other LA country?

Bacalao is a Latin America thing that arrived with the conquistadores not just a Quiskeya thing. Dominican know there are two kind of Bacalao. I'm crazy with the other bacalao. :lick:

[video=youtube;j8s46W_TEFY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8s46W_TEFY[/video]

 

[windeguy]

Why is Bacaloa such delicatessen in the DR, I have not seen such euphoria for it at any other LA country?

Same reason there is euphoria from eating plantains. A totally inexplicable phenomena.

 

[Lucifer]

Plantains, say you?

Plantains are the reason my I.Q. is at subterranean levels.

Give me plantains of give me death... but not just yet.

 

[Lucifer]

Dominican kids, upon seeing someone bald or with a receding hairline:

Caco pelao, dame la ñapa de bacalao

More recent version:

Que brille la luna, que brille el sol, que brille la calva de ese señoL

 

[JasonD]

Same reason there is euphoria from eating plantains. A totally inexplicable phenomena.

Bacaloa, Plantains, Spaghetti the three Dominican strikeouts.

 

[Russell]

Now you are delving into my world!
Bacalo was a name once given to Newfoundland by the Portuguese. ...
Salted Cod Fish.
In Nova Scotia when I was a Lad; we always ate Salt Cod on Fridays.

Back during the great depression we sent Salt Cod to the Mid-west Provinces to provide some protein .... pretty bad in the dust bowl back then. Stories of Framers shingling their barn roofs with the fish are still being told in Lunenburg N.S. The Westerners did not know what to do with the salt fish.

During the mid to late 1800's My Great Grandparents salted cod and shipped it from Newfoundland to the West Indies and Hispinola where it was welcomed due to the ability to keep without refrigeration. They returned home with Molasses and Rum in trade. This trade continued with my family into the early 1900's until a great hurricane sank all the 12 square riggers they used to ply the seas for trade.
Since the Northern Cod demise for commercial fisheries the Pollock substituted for the Cod... although I bought 4 pounds of Cod Bits last week. So some cod is making it back to the Market.
Back in the day Salt Cod (Bacalao) was as cheap as 1 cent a pound. It was for the masses and the Carribean who had very little hard currency for purchasing. Different story today.

Recently the Chinese have been selling salt fish fillets in the local supermarkets ; a decent product .
Some yellow looking Bacalao from Norway ; in my opinion is rancid and not fit for consumption. Just my delicate pallet talking here.
More interestingly is that many salt fish suppliers from Nova Scotia actually freeze the fresh fish, ship it to China for processing , return it to Nova Scotia as our very own product. Not all do this but it is becoming more popular for economic reasons. Of which I have been unable to fathom.

The West Indies and Hispaniola have been the biggest customers for Atlantic Canadian Salt Fish.

We also smoke those little herring fillets , bloaters and kippers in New Brunswick . We used to process them in Nova Scotia but the market is far too small. The bloaters are the smoked herring with the heads on.

In RD the smoked and salted fish are a delicacy due to cultural preferences and possibility to remind folk of what it was that kept them alive prior to the production of rice..(Cannot confirm that).

FIsh Cakes made with plantino, onions and pork scraps (Scrunchions) a not proper English wording but effective just the same.
Those are my favorites. Just had some for lunch Yum, Yum ,Yum!
The cost of salt fish since the mid 1950's has ranged from 10 cents a pound to almost $5.00 CDN a pound.
It is now a delicacy here in Nova Scotia.

Russell

 

[Celt202]

Do the eat bacaloa in Jarabacao?

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

 

[bob saunders]

You can still jig cod off the wharf of my west coast village. Tommy Cod. The urenque here is mainly from New Brunswick but I have seen Bacalao from Norway Nova Scotia and Chile.

 

[frank12]

Cod, or what's called Tørsk, is something i have eaten at least 3x a week in Norway, for 26-years. In Norway, it is used a lot to make Fiskerkaker (Fishcakes). Every store, every supermarket, and every fish market sells cod either salted (what you guys call Bacalao), or fresh, or as Fiskerkaker. It's so common that i literally survive on it because i do not cook, so i simply buy either 20-packs of fiskekaker or smoked salmon---its the lazy man's way of eating on the run. Again, i don't cook.

On a side note, my father, who grew up in Bonao in the 1930 & 40's, grew up eating Babaclao (As did my Dominican grandfather as well), and the reason is simple...there were no refrigeration back when my father and grandfather were growing up. Hence, Bacalao is salted, and therefore, it never spoiled. It's been imported into the DR forever.

I really highly recommend to read Mark Kurlansky's biography of "Cod, A biography of the Fish that Changed the World."

It literally changed the world, and the book is riveting. Navy's and lots of other things exist today, would not have grown at the speed and level that they did without Salted Cod.

History fans will not put this book down until they finish it. I would follow this book with the history of "Salt"...another fascinating history by the same guy. When Mark was writing about the history of Salt, that lead him to write about Cod, once he realized that they were related throughout history.

By the way, i have dozens of photos of fresh Cod in Norway. It's everywhere.

 

[Celt202]

[video=youtube_share;6Ov81aogaxg]https://youtu.be/6Ov81aogaxg[/video]

 

[Russell]

My God Byes!
I got so hungry that I ate the fish cakes again for supper.
I think I OD'd.
I read those books Frank; freaking awesome.

 

[Russell]

salt cod is expensive here in Boston.  like 10 dollars a pound or more.  it is possible to find small pieces for slightly less.  but not cheap here.  definitely more than ground beef or chicken.  

I prefer bone in.  

Man, that is like $13.00 a pound Canadian.
I would never buy it at that price.
Then again I am not exactly sure what I pay in RD.
Here in Yarmouth town I think the salt cod bits from Comeau fisheries is around $3.80 a pound.
I can get them cheaper by going directly to Comeau Fisheries in Little Brook. N.S.
My mom would soak it out over night, make a white cream sauce with chopped egg and green peas with a touch of lemon .
Good thing I am full, or I would be cooking again for a night snack.
I prefer the bone out!
Less work and more fish per dollar.

Russell

 

[JasonD]

Now you are delving into my world!

What a wonderful post Russell. Thanks for adding so much to the discussion!

 

[JasonD]

On a side note, my father, who grew up in Bonao in the 1930 & 40's, grew up eating Babaclao (As did my Dominican grandfather as well), and the reason is simple...there were no refrigeration back when my father and grandfather were growing up. Hence, Bacalao is salted, and therefore, it never spoiled. It's been imported into the DR forever.

Not sure this is the reason why is so common here though now days refrigeration is not as big of an issue as it once was (can't completely scratch that off with the apaganones still happening hahaha)

 

[Ecoman1949]

When Columbus backed by Queen Isabella and her jewelry, did his 1492 trip to discover the new world, the stocks of cod fish on the Grand Banks were so prolific, they apparently slowed the progress of his three vessels. He reported this to Isabella and the King on his return. From there, the pursuit of the cod fishery on the Grand Banks was launched. Our federal government since its inception has mismanaged the cod fishery by allowing overfishing by foreign fleets, pitiful enforcement, and cutting damaging deals to get access to other countries markets in exchange for access to the cod fishing grounds which are now within our 200 mile offshore economic zone. It’s still going on today on the nose and tail of the Grand Banks which are outside our 200 mile zone, where Canadian Fisheries Inspection officers patrol for and report infractions by foreign vessels to their home countries where they are supposed to be prosecuted. Needless to say, it’s a farce. It took Ottawa less than fifty years to cause the crash of one of the largest biomasses in the world. Hence the cod moratorium in the 1990’s. The small boat fishermen warned the politicians for years that this would happen but it fell on deaf political ears. That’s why the price of codfish is so high and access to good quality cod and salt cod is so expensive. It’s probably part of the reason it’s considered such a treat in the DR. 

 

[JasonD]

When Columbus backed by Queen Isabella and her jewelry, did his 1492 trip to discover the new world, the stocks of cod fish on the Grand Banks were so prolific, they apparently slowed the progress of his three vessels. He reported this to Isabella and the King on his return. From there, the pursuit of the cod fishery on the Grand Banks was launched. Our federal government since its inception has mismanaged the cod fishery by allowing overfishing by foreign fleets, pitiful enforcement, and cutting damaging deals to get access to other countries markets in exchange for access to the cod fishing grounds which are now within our 200 mile offshore economic zone. It’s still going on today on the nose and tail of the Grand Banks which are outside our 200 mile zone, where Canadian Fisheries Inspection officers patrol for and report infractions by foreign vessels to their home countries where they are supposed to be prosecuted. Needless to say, it’s a farce. It took Ottawa less than fifty years to cause the crash of one of the largest biomasses in the world. Hence the cod moratorium in the 1990’s. The small boat fishermen warned the politicians for years that this would happen but it fell on deaf political ears. That’s why the price of codfish is so high and access to good quality cod and salt cod is so expensive. It’s probably part of the reason it’s considered such a treat in the DR. 

Absolutely amazing explanation from the A to the Z. I knew it, there had to be some "unique" relation between the Bacaloa and the DR and you now see Mr Bob, Its isn't a NORMAL meal and yes, it is expensive by any measure.

Thanks Ecoman!

 

[bob saunders]

Absolutely amazing explanation from the A to the Z. I knew it, there had to be some "unique" relation between the Bacaloa and the DR and you now see Mr Bob, Its isn't a NORMAL meal and yes, it is expensive by any measure.

Thanks Ecoman!

I buy ham and cheese for toastados for the schools about three times a week. I see lots of Bacalao being bought. Everytime I go to La Sirena in Santiago I see lots of it being bought. Normal means not unusual, it isn't unusual. Ecoman is talking Canada , not the DR.

 

[jenmar237]

I buy ham and cheese for toastados for the schools about three times a week. I see lots of Bacalao being bought. Everytime I go to La Sirena in Santiago I see lots of it being bought. Normal means not unusual, it isn't unusual. Ecoman is talking Canada , not the DR.

Agreed, bacalao is a very common staple in Dominican cuisine which is prepared in many ways:
- Stewed bacalao with potatoes (bacalao guisado con papas)
- Stewed bacalao (bacalao guisado)
- Bacalao with scrambled eggs
- Bacalao w/yellow rice (locrio de bacalao)
- Bacalao sauteed with onions (often accompanied with plantains/mangu)
- Bacalaitos (bacalao fritters)

 

[JasonD]

I buy ham and cheese for toastados for the schools about three times a week. I see lots of Bacalao being bought. Everytime I go to La Sirena in Santiago I see lots of it being bought. Normal means not unusual, it isn't unusual. Ecoman is talking Canada , not the DR.

There is nothing usual/common about it. Its expensive and its prepared just for fancy meals in DR. You are not going to see Bacaloa as plato del dia everyday, everywhere, no happening.

 

[JD Jones]

Agreed, bacalao is a very common staple in Dominican cuisine which is prepared in many ways:
- Stewed bacalao with potatoes (bacalao guisado con papas)
- Stewed bacalao (bacalao guisado)
- Bacalao with scrambled eggs
- Bacalao w/yellow rice (locrio de bacalao)
- Bacalao sauteed with onions (often accompanied with plantains/mangu)
- Bacalaitos (bacalao fritters)

Stop! STOP!!!! I'm trying to concentrate on my work here, dog gone it!!! LOL

I've always had a couple boxes of Goya Bacalaitos in my pantry. great in a pinch.