Saltfish

Sundried salted fish on display in Ísafjörður in the Westfjords in Iceland. In the middle ages, Icelanders exported only dried stockfish but in the 18th Century salted fish, primarily cod, became increasingly important, and at times the dominant export item from Iceland. It was most often cut open and flattened, then salted and left to dry in the sun on the ground. This traditional method is displayed at the Historical Museum in Ísafjörður in NW-Iceland (where you can buy the stuff as well). The salted cod was and is largely sold to Mediterranean countries, but in Spain and Portugal "bacalao" is highly prized and considered better food than fresh cod because of the salty taste and the flaky texture of the white flesh after this treatment. I have eaten a pricey bacalao steak in a posh Bilbao restaurant, where it is considered haute cuisine, but in Iceland saltfish was long considered inferior food.