Nutaaq® Cod
Royal Greenland has developed a new fishing and processing system that raises the bar for quality in cod. “Nutaaq” means “NEW” in Greenlandic, and the product truly sets a new quality standard for cod by being fresher, brighter and tastier.
With a maximum of two hours from water to freezer, Nutaaq® cod offers a new cod experience. It looks different, it cooks different and it tastes just so much better.
Product catalogue
Product catalogue
See our Nutaaq® products hereCod from Greenland
Cod from Greenland has naturally very white meat and a deliciously delicate flavour, due to the cold, clean environment in which it lives. The quality of any given cod product depends on two things: the origin and habitat of the fish, and gentle and rapid processing from sea to table.
Nutaaq® – A new cod experience
Royal Greenland has invested in a new processing method and, in cooperation with local fishermen, created a new concept that takes the eating experience to new levels.
We call it Nutaaq® – which is Greenlandic for “new” – to denote an exceptional new quality standard for cod, presented by Royal Greenland. Nutaaq® raises the bar of cod quality since all handling, from catch to finished product, is optimised for one purpose: to preserve the quality of freshly-caught fish.
Nutaaq® cod fisheries
Fishing for Nutaaq® cod takes place for only a few months each year, from April to October when the grown cod leaves the open sea and enters the shallow waters along the Greenlandic coast to spawn. The local fishermen place their net traps next to a rocky outcrop so that the cod is directed into the traps with little possibility of escape. This is an ancient and low-impact fishing method that is selective, as well as environmentally friendly.
When the net is full, the fishermen transport the nets to large seawater pools placed close to the caching areas. Here the fishermen unloads the nets via a zipper-system that enables them to lead the cod directly from their net and into the pools without the cod leaving the water.
Royal Greenland's well-boat collects the cod from the seawater pools, where the fish are quickly sorted and specimens below 45 centimeters are led back into the sea to reproduce and contribute to the future cod stock. The well-boat transports the larger cod safely and gently below deck in circulated sea water to the factory.
The well-boat carefully transports the live cod from the fishing place to the Royal Greenland factory in Maniitsoq.
At the Royal Greenland factory the fish are kept in a stress-free environment in sea-water ponds until the factory has the capacity to take them in. They always stay overnight in these calm conditions, since it is very important to the meat quality that the fish are un-stressed when processed.
How the finest cod becomes Nutaaq®
The extraordinarily rapid and careful processing is the main reason for the outstanding quality of Nutaaq® cod fillets. When the time is up, the live cod literally swim into the factory. Here, they are first stunned, beheaded and then quickly slaughtered and bled in icy-cold water, making sure that all blood leaves the flesh immediately. This gives uniform quality and guarantees that there are no red spots.
The cod is then gutted and filleted "pre-rigor" in one mechanical process and then trimmed to perfection by hand. The experienced trimming team scrutinises every fillet for any red spot or gap in the fillet, in which case the fillet can never be graded “Nutaaq®”.
To guarantee a perfectly white and lean fillet, our experienced trimming team finalises each fillet by hand.
The cod fillet enters the freezer a maximum of two hours after the live cod left the water. It is then quickly frozen and packed according to specifications, ready for dispatch to quality-conscious consumers across the world.
Nutaaq® cod is of exceptional quality, as it is moist and juicy with an extraordinarily fresh taste, allowing chefs and other culinary artists to work their magic and create delicious and beautiful dishes.
