A fishy delicacy crosses borders, amiably divides families—and occasionally kills people
jungle of 23m people, the signs of spring are subtle. A strong breeze lofts off the Nile; policemen doff their black winter uniforms for summer white. And in Abdeen, a historic bit of downtown Cairo, the sour scent of fermented fish draws crowds of shoppers. The Shaheen family has spent more than a century selling, grey mullet dried in the sun and submerged in salt water for 45 days. It is a unique holiday delicacy that crosses borders, amiably divides families—and kills people.
Most of Egypt’s festivals come from its main religions, Islam and Christianity, or the rituals of the modern republic founded in 1952. The exception is Sham an-Nessim, an indigenous celebration that long predates the rest. Ancient Egyptians made offerings to the gods before the Nile flooded in springtime. After Christianity took root, the church embraced the tradition. Two millennia later it is still celebrated on the day after Easter by Christians and Muslims alike.
’s appeal is more of a mystery. The taste is pungent, but traditional side dishes—lemons, spring onions, pockets ofbread—soften the blow. Harder to mask is the sour smell, which crosses rooms and seeps out of plastic wrappers. It is variously compared to rotten eggs, mouldy cheese and garbage. Many restaurants do not serve it lest the odour linger like an unwanted houseguest.
No one knows quite why smelly fish became a symbol of spring. The Nile was once an abundant source of seafood. One theory holds that grey mullet simply washed up on the banks as water levels rose. Today the Nile is too polluted and overfished to yield a big catch, soare farmed or caught in the Mediterranean and Red Sea. The process of making it has not changed, though. “The salt is the key,” says Shady Shaheen. Not enough and the fish rot in the barrel; too much and the taste is ruined.
Egypt has cycled through five rulers in the past decade, but all have agreed on one thing: their citizens should not eat, which can cause botulism if not prepared properly. The health ministry publishes annual statistics on fishy fatalities. The worst year was 1991, whenNo wonder some Egyptians hate the stuff. For many, though, spring would not be spring without. In countries with lots of Egyptian migrants, restaurants serve it to nostalgic expats. Chefs dream up ways to make it more palatable.
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