Sea Provision (Preserved Opson)
Tarichos, Salted Fish for the Crossing
PreservingReconstruction🧂 🍄moyen30 min (plus 24-36 h salting)
Fish fillets preserved in salt and dried, then desalted and tenderized with olive oil and herbs. Robust, saline, deeply umami: the preserved food that crosses seas.
Sea Provision (Preserved Opson)
Fish fillets preserved in salt and dried, then desalted and tenderized with olive oil and herbs. Robust, saline, deeply umami: the preserved food that crosses seas.
The sea is long, stranger, and the belly does not wait for the shore. Before entrusting my fate to the waves, they loaded jars of fish taken in salt—thus the flesh keeps for whole moons without rotting. Soak it to remove the excess salt, then coat it with oil and a few herbs, and you will have enough to last to the farthest coast. It is poor sailor's fare, I know—but it carried me to the walls of Troy.
Ingredients
- •Mediterranean fish (tuna, mackerel, or sardine) — according to the catch (base to preserve)
- •Sea salt — in abundance (preservation)
- •Olive oil — for serving (tenderize and flavor)
- •Oregano, coriander seeds — a little (fragrance)
How it was made : Fish salting (tarichos) is one of the oldest Greek preservation techniques, essential for navigation and trade. Without refrigeration, salt—abundant thanks to salt marshes—allowed storage of tuna, mackerel, and small fish for months. Salted fish was a common and cheap food, as opposed to fresh fish, which was more prestigious.
Sources : Andrew Dalby, Siren Feasts: A History of Food and Gastronomy in Greece (1996) · James Davidson, Courtesans and Fishcakes: The Consuming Passions of Classical Athens (1997)