Mackerel as food

However, spoilage was common, leading the authors of The Cambridge Economic History of Europe to remark: "There are more references to stinking mackerel in English literature than to any other fish!

[7] In Japan, mackerel is called saba, and is commonly cured with salt and vinegar to make a type of sushi known as saba-zushi.

Historically, saba-zushi originated in Kyoto as a solution for transporting mackerel to the inland city, which otherwise would not have made the journey from the coast still fresh.

[citation needed] For many years, mackerel was regarded as unclean in the UK and elsewhere due to folklore which suggested that the fish fed on the corpses of dead sailors.

[9] A 1976 survey of housewives in Britain undertaken by the White Fish Authority indicated a reluctance to departing from buying the traditional staples of cod, haddock or salmon.