flipSalted and Dried Nile Fish
Salted and Dried Nile Fish
Why this dish? Dried and salted fish could be stored for months — provisions for sailors, workers, and stores placed in tombs to feed the dead. As guardian of burials, I watched over these sealed reserves for eternity.
Fillets of Nile fish (mullet, tilapia) split, salted, and dried in the sun — a rustic preserve with a powerful taste, ready to be grilled or crumbled into bread.
You who fear hunger on the long journey, look at this fish. It was pulled from the Nile, split, rubbed with salt, and left in the Delta sun until it hardened. Thus preserved, it nourished the rowers of funerary boats and filled the tombs that I seal, for even in the West one must eat. Crumble it on your bread: it is the provender of the dead, and it crosses time as I cross thresholds.
- •Nile fish (mullet, tilapia) — several (base)
- •Abundant valley salt — a lot (preservation)
- •Sun and dry air — several days (drying)
Salted and Dried Nile Fish
Fillets of Nile fish (mullet, tilapia) split, salted, and dried in the sun — a rustic preserve with a powerful taste, ready to be grilled or crumbled into bread.
Why this dish? Dried and salted fish could be stored for months — provisions for sailors, workers, and stores placed in tombs to feed the dead. As guardian of burials, I watched over these sealed reserves for eternity.
You who fear hunger on the long journey, look at this fish. It was pulled from the Nile, split, rubbed with salt, and left in the Delta sun until it hardened. Thus preserved, it nourished the rowers of funerary boats and filled the tombs that I seal, for even in the West one must eat. Crumble it on your bread: it is the provender of the dead, and it crosses time as I cross thresholds.
Ingredients (period version)
- Nile fish (mullet, tilapia) — several (base)
- Abundant valley salt — a lot (preservation)
- Sun and dry air — several days (drying)
Ingredients
- Mullet or tilapia fillets — 4 (base)
- Coarse salt — 500 g (preservation)
- Coriander seeds (optional) — 1 tsp (flavor)
Method
- Split the fish in half, remove the innards, and rinse.
- Completely cover with coarse salt in a dish and let drain for 24 hours in a cool place.
- Rinse, pat dry thoroughly, then dry for 2 to 3 days in a dry, ventilated place (or 6 to 8 hours in a dehydrator/oven at 50 °C).
- Store away from humidity.
- Before eating: desalt for 1 hour in water, then quickly grill or crumble onto bread.
How it was made : Fish was a major protein for the common people. It was salted and sun-dried to preserve it in a hot climate without refrigeration. Some varieties were reserved for commoners, others were subject to religious taboo in certain regions (fish was sometimes forbidden for priests).
The contemporary twist : Crumble the desalted fish onto a warm emmer bread with raw onion and coriander — a salty-umami 'Nile tartine'.
Sources : Douglas Brewer & Renée Friedman, Fish and Fishing in Ancient Egypt (Aris & Phillips, 1989) · William J. Darby, Food: The Gift of Osiris (Academic Press, 1977)
Anubis · Charactorium
