I have two related questions: 1. It has been suggested that the Vikings extracte

Question

I have two related questions:

1. It has been suggested that the Vikings extracted cod liver oil by "fermenting" liver (the raw livers were emptied into open vessels and left there, and when the weather grew warmer, the cod liver oil separated from the livers and floated up to the top and was skimmed off). My question is this: is it possible to ferment liver? I would have thought that the main process involved was "putrefaction", with possibly very minor fermentation taking place as a result of glycogen reserves within the liver.

2. I am aware that certain cultures, for example the Sudanese, produce a dish called 'Miriss' that is supposedly fermented fat. And during arctic expeditions, they would tie up seal blubber in a bag made of seal carcass and let it ferment. My question is: can fat really ferment and change in structure?

Explanation / Answer

All over the world, cultures will ferment various different food stuffs in order to make them taste a bit more interesting.

So the actual process of fermenting usually involves some kind of living organism like a yeast or a bacterium, and it also involves an anaerobic environment, so no oxygen. I couldn

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