Craster kippers are
kipper
A kipper is a whole herring, a small, oily fish, that has been split in a butterfly fashion from tail to head along the dorsal ridge, gutted, salted or pickled, and cold-smoked over smouldering wood chips (typically oak).
In the United Ki ...
s from the
Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey.
It is bordered by land ...
village of
Craster
Craster is a small fishing village on the Northumberland coast of England, from Alnwick. The next village to the north is Embleton.
It has a small harbour and offers a view northwards along the rocky shore to the ruins of Dunstanburgh Cast ...
. They have been acclaimed as the best British kipper.
Background
Like the
Newmarket sausage
The Newmarket sausage is a pork sausage made to a traditional recipe from the English town of Newmarket, Suffolk. Two varieties of Newmarket Sausage are made branded with the names of two different family butchers. Both are sold widely throughout ...
or the
Stornoway black pudding, the Craster kipper (sometimes called by aficionados simply "the Craster"
) is a British food named after, and strongly associated with, its place of origin. Although the
herrings used for Craster kippers may no longer be strictly local, the defining characteristic of the Craster kipper is that the
smoking process takes place in a smokehouse located in or around the village of
Craster
Craster is a small fishing village on the Northumberland coast of England, from Alnwick. The next village to the north is Embleton.
It has a small harbour and offers a view northwards along the rocky shore to the ruins of Dunstanburgh Cast ...
.
Clarissa Dickson Wright
Clarissa Theresa Philomena Aileen Mary Josephine Agnes Elsie Trilby Louise Esmerelda Dickson Wright (24 June 1947 – 15 March 2014) was an English celebrity cook, television personality, writer, businesswoman, and former barrister. She was bes ...
has named Craster as the birthplace of the kipper. There is, however, some dispute over this –
other places, including the nearby town of
Seahouses, also claim this distinction.
Preparation and characteristics
Although a long-standing tradition in Craster, commercial kipper production is currently only continued there b
L. Robson & Sons using their over 100-year-old smokehouses.
The preparation process begins with selected raw
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...
herring, known locally as "silver darlings".
These are split, gutted and washed,
soaked in
brine, and then taken to the smokehouse where they are cured over smouldering oak and white wood shavings for sixteen hours.
The famous smokehouse is unmistakable — a stone building often with white plumes pouring out of the wooden vents in the roof.
In appearance a Craster kipper is still recognizably a fish; the head is preserved and, unlike some other kippers which are dyed using annatto, the natural colours of the Craster kipper's skin are tanned golden by the oak smoke.
The flesh has a distinctive reddish-brown colour.
Gastronomic properties
It has been said that comparing the Craster kipper with a common commercial processed kipper is like "comparing a fillet steak with a cheap burger",
and that "on the tongue, the
rasterkipper is as delicate, as sophisticated, as the finest smoked salmon in the world and costs but a fraction of the price."
Craster kippers have been described as "the best",
although that claim has also been made of other British kippers such as
Loch Fyne
Loch Fyne ( gd, Loch Fìne, ; meaning "Loch of the Vine/Wine"), is a sea loch off the Firth of Clyde and forms part of the coast of the Cowal peninsula. Located on the west coast of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It extends inland from the Soun ...
kippers.
See also
*
List of dried foods
This is a list of dried foods. Food drying is a method of food preservation that works by removing water from the food, which inhibits the growth of bacteria and has been practiced worldwide since ancient times to preserve food. Where or when d ...
*
List of smoked foods
References
External links
The commercial web site of L. Robson & Sons Ltd(Craster kipper producers)
{{Dried fish
Dried fish
Food preservation
Fish processing
Oily fish
Smoked fish
Herring dishes
British seafood dishes