Boiled Cod
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash the cod well and salt it.
Wrap the fish in cheesecloth.
Poach
Bring a pot of water to near boiling and add salt and vinegar.
Gently place the wrapped fish in the pot and boil for about 40 minutes.
Drain and serve
Lift the fish into a colander and let it drain.
Open the cloth, place a dish over the fish, and turn it over quickly.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Cod
- The main protein; it firms and turns opaque and flaky as it cooks.
- Vinegar
- Adds mild acidity to the poaching water, brightening the flavor of the fish.
The step that matters
Turning the fish out onto the dish. Cooked cod is delicate because its proteins have set and its muscle fibers separate easily into flakes. Turning it over quickly and steadily, with the cloth opened, lets the fish land intact instead of breaking apart.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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