Kippers; ancient and simply flavoured food

On weekdays, Helena rises before me, as she has to go to her job on the far side of town, although she doesn't leave too early. I came downstairs this morning to find the back room had become her studio, and she was already preparing her journal ready to post her blip in the morning for the first time in ages.

I spent a little time looking out of the windows admiring the many small birds winging about the feeders in the gentle direct sunlight that was briefly peeking through the clouds. I noted again to myself that the annual bonus of approaching winter is that the leaves on the big ash and sycamore trees, just behind our back garden, had nearly all fallen, revealing the wintry views across the valley which are obscured by summertime.

I returned upstairs to get my camera and pondered a spot of bird blipping, having already seen blue tits, long-tailed tits, blackcaps, a robin and a nuthatch. By the time I'd returned, I realised that I had to fulfil my promise of preparing the Craster kippers that I bought a day or so ago for our breakfast. I wanted to have some protein to try to get back onto the so-called stone-age diet, advocated by Dr Sarah Myhill, which I sense is a good approach to take for best nutrition.

Actually, Helena had been complaining about the fishy smell in the fridge, so it was the right time in other ways too. By the time I had served them up, Woodpeckers had posted her rather attractive picture, which had pleased her, as any pressure was over for the day. She is a passionate and committed blipper now, who cares far more for her subscribers and visitors than I seem to do. In fact yesterday she got yet another subscriber, so she has more than me apparently. It occurred to me that an early blip might be a good idea for me too, so mid-mouthful of my delicious kipper, I picked up my camera from the nearby cushion on a chair and took a couple of pictures for your delectation.

For those who have never heard of Craster Kippers, they are apparently the kippers of choice of the royal family, with one famous family being the prime suppliers. Smoked in traditional ways on a beach in Northumberland, the herrings were brought into the fishing village of Craster, close to Dunstanburgh Castle. A short distance away along the shoreline at Howick, the remains of a Mesolithic (more than 10,000 years old) round house was discovered close by the beach. I wonder whether they were the first people to smoke herrings here. Archeologists certainly found evidence of hearths with charcoal remains, burnt nutshells and some fragments of bone.

from an online wiki entry:
Historically kippers would have been landed in the tiny harbour at Craster and taken directly to the curing sheds. In the sheds the herring would be sorted, some to be salted down in barrels to export throughout Europe, the remaining to be kippered.

Craster kippers are renowned for the consistency in the quality of the kippers they produce using only fat, plump herring which have the correct oil content. The herring are split on a machine capable of splitting 500 kg an hour. Previously this work would have been done by "herring girls" - teams of women who would split and gut the fish ready for processing.

The herring are then placed in a salt and water brine for a predetermined length of time dependent on the weight. Lastly, they are hung on tenter hooks and placed in the smokehouses. Fires made of whitewood shavings and oak sawdust are placed under the herring and left to smoulder for anything up to 16 hours when the kippers are ready.

The village of Craster owes its name to the Craster family. The first mention of the family is a reference to William de Craucetr holding the estate in 1272.