ABSTRACT
Throughout the centuries Europeans used various methods of preserving fish, each of which was intricately linked with available resources and local custom. Before the industrial age the most common methods were salting, drying or smoking, but the late nineteenth century saw the rise of the canning industry and in the interwar period techniques of 'quick-freezing' fish were developed. It is estimated that by the middle of the twentieth century about 40 per cent of all fish consumed in Europe was fresh, the rest was processed by means of curing, that is, mainly salting or drying (26 per cent), reduction (24 per cent), freezing (6 per cent) and canning (4 per cent). 1
