Bark tanned salmon skin

Culture & Context

Bark tanning is an old way of tanning leather. Before chromium tanning became the industry standard, bark tanning used to be. It is a non-toxic method that where you take the bark of already dead trees and branches. As all bark contains tannins (what tanned the skins and make them into leather), local trees can be used.

Recipe Details

Put the bark in a pot. Fill with water until it covers the bark. Bring it to a boil and then turn down the temperature and let it simmer for an hour. Now let it cool down to under 20 degrees Celsius. It is important throughout the whole process that the water is never higher than 20 degrees. An idea is to just leave it overnight.

Then you put your skins into ¼ bark solution and ¾ water. Leave over night. Stir in the solution every few hours to avoid rot. Continue adding a bit of bark solution each day for 7 days. After 7 days, hang the skins to dry and soften them at the same time.