According to the ancient Egyptians, Sham El Nessim marks the official beginning of spring. In celebration of this glorious day they ate a dish of stinky fish referred to in Egypt as fesikh. To our great ancestors, fish in general, among other things, represented the prosperity and fertility that spring brought along. Out of all other ancient Egyptian practices, eating fesikh on Sham El Nessim has survived the tides of time to become a pivotal element of Egyptian spring celebrations. Simply put, fesikh is fermented grey mullet that has been dried in the sun and then salted to levels that are probably dangerous to any person’s blood pressure. There’s a certain art to making good fesikh as there’s a very thin line between fermentation and rot. Dancing around that line, may have fatal health consequences. The warnings that the Ministry of Health releases every year regarding the consequences of eating bad fesikh are yet to unnerve the Egyptian people who refuse to let go of this very stinky yet apparently tasty dish. Personally, I have never tasted fesikh and probably never will either. Every time I am on the verge…
8 Foods From Around The World That Are As Weird As Egypt’s Fesikh
April 14, 2015
