A Viking Relic
Fish Racks
As we drove around Lofoten we passed many mighty wooden structures, Fish Racks, looking ever so Viking-like. Some were empty as the season was just beginning, some were already packed with fish hanging by their tails, missing their heads.
The warmer waters of the Gulf Stream temper the Norwegian sea, creating the perfect spawning grounds for Arctic Cod. From the Barents Sea mature fish swim south against the currents, the longest migration of any cod. The journey results in some very muscular fish known as Skrei when presented on a plate. They are really beautiful fish, spotted with a yellow stripe along either side of their body, and have been a pillar of the fishing heritage in Northern Norway for hundreds of years.
Reminiscent of the Viking and ever so slightly barbaric, these fish racks are a historic method of preservation. Just as the Gulf Stream warms the water, it warms the air making the ideal climate to preserve fish in lieu of smoke or salt. Since arriving in the Arctic Circle it had been cold of course, but not polar. There is no bite or bitterness to the wind like that of a midwest winter. The Arctic winter here is not too cold to turn the fish brittle, nor is it warm enough to risk rotting. Instead the wind and cold dry the fish. The wind also carries a lovely fishy smell through the air. Though not to everyone’s liking, the Anthropologist in me was pretty tickled by the whole thing.
This fish rack was just past the village of Ramberg, and felt ever so Wes Anderson-like, yet, they come in a variety of sizes and shapes. I noticed that some housed the bodies of the fish, and others were only the heads. Weeks later, back on the island, I was helping Astrid the chef with dinner. While we were preparing Cod tongues (yes, they have tongues) she told me a story about the cod: children used to visit the commercial sized racks of drying fish but only the ones with the head of the fish, for they would cut out the tongues left behind and sell them for pocket change. People also practice this method privately as well, hanging a few fish along the side of their homes or garages, with fishing net cast over to protect from testy seagulls and eagles. I had seen several homes in Lofoten with fish drying outside, and also back in Nordskot.