Natural form

Whole Atlantic cod showing its elongated body, olive-grey mottled skin, and distinctive chin barbel.

Establishes species identity through body shape, coloration, and distinctive physical markers before any processing occurs.

Proteins

Cod

Flaky white fish for baking, frying, and stews

Mild and snowy-white, cod flakes into clean, large pieces — ideal for fish and chips, a gentle bake, or a Mediterranean stew. Keep it cold and cook within a day or two.

Cod is the quintessential white fish — lean, mild, and flaky, with large, tender flakes that pull apart in moist sheets when cooked. Its clean flavor and meaty-yet-delicate texture make it endlessly adaptable: it's the classic fish of fish-and-chips, bakes and roasts well, holds up in chowders and stews, and takes to almost any seasoning. The trade-off for that delicacy is fragility — cod overcooks and dries fast, and its flakes can break apart, so gentle cooking and a careful spatula matter. Salt cod (bacalao), the heavily salted and dried tradition, is a different ingredient entirely, soaked back to life for stews and brandade.

Measured in: g
Storage: Refrigerate
Shelf life: 2 days

Allergens

Fish

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Seafood

Types & varieties

Cod fillet

The everyday cut for baking, frying, and steaming.

Cod loin

The thick, premium center — meaty and even-cooking.

Salt cod (bacalao)

Dry-salted, graded lomo/morro/migas; soak 24–48h, changing the water, for stews and brandade.

Desalted bacalao

Ready-desalted chilled cod sold in Spanish stores — no soaking needed.

Haddock / pollock

Close cod relatives, near-interchangeable white fish.

Black Cod (Sablefish)

Buttery, high-fat white fish with silky flaking flesh; not a true cod. Shines miso-marinated and broiled, or roasted gently to keep it succulent.

Pacific Cod

Lean, mild white fish with large tender flakes, slightly firmer and less sweet than Atlantic cod; excellent battered and fried, baked, or in chowders and tacos.

How to choose

Fresh cod should look translucent and glossy, feel firm and spring back, and smell of clean sea, not fish. Thick loin pieces cook more evenly and resist drying. Frozen-at-sea cod is often excellent. For salt cod, choose thick, pliable pieces and plan to soak it over a day or two, changing the water.

How to store / food safety

Keep fresh cod very cold, ideally on ice, and cook within a day or two. Cook to 63°C (or just until the flesh turns opaque and flakes) — undercooked white fish can carry parasites and bacteria; thorough cooking handles them. To serve fish raw or lightly cured, freeze at -20°C for 7 days (or -35°C for ~15 hours) — typical home freezers (~-18°C) aren’t reliably cold enough, so buy frozen-at-sea/sushi-grade for raw use (the same caution applies to trout, a higher-parasite-risk freshwater fish). Salt cod must be desalinated by soaking before cooking. Refrigerate or freeze promptly.

How to cook

Because cod is lean and delicate, cook it gently and stop the moment it turns opaque and flakes — it dries fast. Pat fillets dry and salt them briefly to firm the flesh before pan-frying skin-side down, or bake, steam, poach, or batter and deep-fry. Handle with a wide spatula so the flakes stay intact. Its mildness welcomes butter, lemon, herbs, tomato, and bold spice rubs alike.

Common uses

Fish and chipsBaked and roasted filletsFish stews and chowdersFish cakes and goujonsBrandade and bacalao dishesSteamed or poached with herbsFish tacosFish pie