Cod

Cod (Gadus morhua) is one of the great food fish of the North Atlantic, historically so abundant that it shaped the economies of Iceland, Norway, Newfoundland, and Portugal. In tinned fish, cod appears primarily as cod liver, packed in its own oil and consumed across Scandinavia, Iceland, Russia, and Eastern Europe as a concentrated source of omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins A and D. Salted and dried cod (bacalhau in Portuguese, bacalao in Spanish) is distinct from tinned cod but part of the same preservation tradition. Tinned cod fillet, while less common than cod liver, appears in specialist conservas from Iceland and Norway. Iceland dominates global cod liver production through producers like Akraborg and Lýsi.

How to eat it: cod liver goes spread on dark rye or a cracker, or straight from the tin by the spoonful. The rarer cod fillet takes the plain forms, over a boiled potato, laid on toast, or flaked into a salad.