Thus it did not melt easily in contact with, for example, wet herring.

This provided a product that was stable and did not hydrate or draw up moisture rapidly.

It was made by flooding large land areas with salt water, allowing the sun to evaporate the water and leaving the salt, a slow process. Why did the kind of salt used matter? The best and only really acceptable salt was Lisbon salt. An archaeological investigation in 1991 of the cargo of a sailing vessel that sank in 1830 revealed some herring packed in this method had remained in edible condition.Īnother issue was availability. Surprisingly, this method of preservation allowed the fish to remain edible for incredibly long periods of time, well in excess of a year. The combined weight of fish and salt tended to compress the packing and excess water was poured off as it collected on top. This allowed the stomach cavity to be filled with salt. The fish were packed head to tail, similar to what you see when you open a can of sardines, only with the backs down and the open stomachs up, rather than flat. They were rinsed in a brine solution and then packed in barrels, about 800 to a barrel with alternating layers of fish and salt. Once the fish were removed from the net, they were brought to tables where the fish heads were removed and the fish were drawn, the innards being removed. In Washington's time, they were about 15 to 18 inches in length and about ¾ pound in weight. Other larger fish could move to the outer areas of the seine and escape through the larger mesh in the wings. Washington's workers used small inch mesh so that the herring would be trapped, not gillnetted. Herring form in schools, like a large ball of fish.

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