Permaculturist Health

[Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>]

[excellent website; Q: anyone know the shelf life of dried fish, the packaged kind you get from Asian stores, some refrigerated some at room temperature, anchovies, bonito other white fleshed fish?]

11. Fish and fish products

http://www.fao.org/WAIRdocs/x5434e/x5434e0f.htm

Fish is an extremely perishable food. For example, most fish become inedible within twelve hours at tropical temperatures. Spoilage begins as soon as the fish dies, and processing should therefore be done quickly to prevent the growth of spoilage bacteria. Fish is a low acid food and is therefore very susceptible to the growth of food poisoning bacteria. This is another reason why it should be processed quickly. Some methods of preservation cause changes to the flavour and texture of the fish which result in a range of different products. These include:

> · Cooking (for example, boiling or frying)
> · Lowering the moisture content (by salting, smoking and drying collectively known as curing)
> · Lowering the pH (by fermentation)

Cured fish products

Curing involves the techniques of drying, dry salting/brining (soaking in salt solution) or smoking. These may be used alone or in various combinations to produce a range of products with a long shelf-life. For example:

> · Drying - Smoking - Drying
> · Brining - Smoking - Drying
> · Salting - Drying
> · Salting - Drying - Smoking

Techniques such as these reduce the water content in the flesh of the fish, and thereby prevent the growth of spoilage microorganisms.

Dried fish

The heat of the sun and movement of air remove moisture which causes the fish to dry. In order to prevent spoilage, the moisture content needs to be reduced to 25 per cent or less. The percentage will depend on the oiliness of the fish and whether it has been salted.

Traditionally, whole small fish or split large fish are spread in the sun on the ground, or on mats, nets, roofs, or on raised racks. Sun-drying does not allow very much control over drying times, and it also exposes the fish to attack by insects or vermin and allows contamination by sand and dirt. Such techniques are totally dependent upon the weather conditions. The ideal is dry weather with low humidity and clear skies.