Fresh Atlantic cod (*Gadus morhua*) as it's sold in French and northern-European fishmongers — firm, white-fleshed, mild, and flaking into large pearly leaves when cooked. The same species that becomes salted Morue (Bacalhau in Portuguese) when cured for months, but treated as a different culinary entity in fresh form: cabillaud rôti with hollandaise, cabillaud poché à l'huile d'olive, dos de cabillaud en croûte d'herbes, and the bistro classic cabillaud sauce vierge are built around its mild profile and clean separation. Once cured into Morue, the fish reaches a different shelf in the same shop; the recipes change too — brandade, accras, bacalhau à brás. The naming convention reflects this: in modern French, cabillaud always means fresh, morue almost always means cured.
Names by country
| Country | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸United States | Cod | Atlantic cod sold fresh — distinct from salt cod (bacalao). |
| 🇬🇧United Kingdom | Cod | British fish-and-chips uses fresh cod; the salted form is rare in UK kitchens outside specialty shops. |
| 🇲🇽Mexico | Bacalao | Less common in Mexico than in Spain; mostly imported from Northern Europe. |
| 🇦🇷Argentina | Bacalao | |
| 🇫🇷France | Cabillaudprimary | Refers strictly to the fresh fish in modern French — once salted/dried, it becomes morue. |
| 🇪🇸Spain | Bacalao fresco | Spanish term distinguishing fresh from salted bacalao (which is the dominant form in Spain). |
| 🇵🇹Portugal | Bacalhau fresco | Rare in Portugal, where the cured bacalhau dominates fish counters; fresh cod is almost always sold under this qualified name. |
| 🇧🇷Brazil | Bacalhau fresco | |
| 🇮🇹Italy | Merluzzo | Italian for fresh cod — distinct from baccalà (salt-cured) and stoccafisso (air-dried). |
| 🇩🇪Germany | Kabeljau | German for fresh Atlantic cod — distinct from Klippfisch (the dried-and-salted form). |
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