Scrod

Scrod or schrod (/ˈskrɒd/) is any of various whitefish, such as young cod or haddock, that are prepared and eaten as food; often the preparation involves the whitefish being split and boned before cooking. Historically, scrod was a feature on menus associated with elegant New England dining; young cod are the mainstay on modern menus presenting the fish, and it is a staple in many coastal New England and Atlantic Canadian seafood and fish markets, and at many restaurants. The term "scrod" may derive from the Dutch schrod, implying cutting or shredding, or from Cornish scrawed, where it connotes splitting and drying of the fish (though a variety of apocryphal acronyms and origins have been suggested for the term). A method of preparation of scrod that appears historically, as early as the 19th century, is scrawing, which involves a drying step before the fish are broiled or otherwise cooked.

Scrod (variant, schrod) refers to young cod, haddock, or other whitefish that are prepared and eaten as food, often after preparation that involves splitting and boning the fish. Weights of scrod are typically less than 3 lb (1.4 kg).

First known to have appeared in 1841, the word refers to the preparation of fish in the manner described, per the Oxford English Dictionary, with "possible" relations to the Dutch schrod (Middle Dutch schrode piece cut off, Old English scréade shred), where, if this ascription is valid, "the notion is probably of fish cut into pieces for drying or cooking." A variant escrod, a word used in a publication by Daniel Webster, is referred to by the same source as "difficult to explain." Alternatively, its origin "probably [derives] from British dialect (Cornwall) scrawed, past participle of scraw, scrawl to split, salt, and lightly dry."

The term has been credited to chefs at Boston’s Parker House Hotel, the originator of Boston cream pie and Parker House rolls, and a number of further apocryphal folk etymologies have appeared.

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