S4C - DUDLEY

SEAFOOD

We in Wales are fortunate to have coastline along the Northern, Western and Southern reaches of the principality and our chilly seas have yielded countless tons of seafood for many centuries.

RECIPES

ABOUT SEAFOOD

ANCIENT BEGINNINGS

For many thousands of years, man has looked to the seas as a source of food provision. Fishing for food dates back to prehistory when man would use pieces of bone as hooks and lengths of vine for lines to catch a tasty meal. Archaeological evidence tells us that man was eating fish nearly 400,000 years ago with salmon the most popular.

The ancient Egyptians, Romans and Chinese held fish in high regard and the first recorded recipe utilising fish was a salad based dish from China dated 1300 BC. The passion for fresh fish in particular led to innovations in storage and transport. Seafood would be caught, transported and sold live at markets. Archaeologists have also found that, as far back as 1000 BC, the Romans and Chinese would use ice (sometimes mixed with seaweed) to keep fish as fresh as possible. Historians have also established that ancient civilisations used rods or stave for fishing and would sail out to sea in purpose-built vessels to catch shoals of fish in vast nets.

It became apparent that many ancient cultures developed several methods to cure fish for preservation. Indeed, drying, smoking and salting seafood were key elements for a flourishing industry in the Roman Empire at around 100 BC. These methods are still in use today but, of course, the techniques have been revised and honed many times over throughout the centuries.

One of the most useful methods to come out of ancient times was fish farming or aquaculture. The Chinese were said to be the first to practice this between 2000 and 1500 BC where they would raise freshwater carp in ponds. Thanks to the Romans, fish farming eventually found its way to Europe where it continued after the collapse of the Empire. In fact, it became common in Europe to produce a mixture of cultured and wild fish (from the sea and inland water sources).