Makayabu (salted cod): salted, chilled salt fish for wholesale in the EU and UK

Makayabu is salted cod, the same family of product known across the world as salt cod or saltfish. The fish is split, heavily salted and cured so it keeps without freezing. It is sold chilled, and the customer desalts it at home: soaking in cold water, changing the water a few times, before cooking. That removes most of the salt and rehydrates the flesh, exactly how customers know it from home.

Our Makayabu is delivered chilled and sold per case:

• Makayabu 3 kg: salted, chilled, sold per case

Because it is salt-cured rather than frozen, it ships and stores chilled, and gives your shelf a long, stable life without the freezer space a frozen SKU needs.

The same product goes by many names depending on the community. The most searched terms:

English: salt cod, salted cod, saltfish, salt fish.
Congolese and Central-African: Makayabu, makala.
French (FR, BE, Congolese and Angolan cooking): morue salee.
Dutch: gezouten kabeljauw, gezouten vis.
Caribbean: saltfish.

It always means the same thing: salted cod, kept chilled and soaked before cooking, for rice and cassava-leaf dishes.

Makayabu carries a deep, savoury flavour and a firm bite that holds up in slow-cooked dishes. Once desalted, it flakes into sauces and stews and seasons the whole pot. That is why it is a fixture in Congolese and wider Central-African home cooking:

• Makayabu with rice
• Makayabu with pondu or saka saka (cassava leaves)
• Makayabu in fumbwa (wild spinach stew)
• Makayabu with fried plantain

For your store that means one SKU at the centre of the weekly shop for Congolese, Angolan and Central-African customers. Makayabu is not a seasonal item, it is a staple for returning customers.

For wholesale supply across Europe, everything comes down to consistent cure quality and a reliable chilled chain. Our Makayabu is salt-cured cod, supplied:

• Salted: cured for a long, stable shelf life
• Chilled: shipped and stored cold, no freezer space needed
• Per case: fixed pack size for easy ordering and shelf planning

We produce under HACCP with EU approval number NL208262EG. Makayabu is supplied as Makayabu 3 kg, salted, chilled, sold per case.

Storage and preparation: keep chilled, desalt before cooking by soaking in cold water and changing the water a few times, then cook thoroughly.

The biggest pain for stores and wholesalers in the EU and UK is inconsistency: irregular availability, fluctuating cure quality and unreliable delivery times. From Volendam, with a professional cold chain, we offer:

• Fast distribution across Europe, with short lead times to NL, BE, DE, FR, ES and IT
• Delivery DAP, so you know where you stand
• EU-approved production (NL208262EG) and a fixed case size for your shelf

For suppliers and trade partners looking for a reliable European buyer or distribution partner, we are a steady point of contact too.

Is Makayabu the same as salt cod? Yes. Makayabu is the Central-African and Congolese name for salted cod. Saltfish and morue salee refer to the same product.

Is Makayabu frozen or chilled? Chilled. It is salt-cured rather than frozen, so it ships and stores cold without freezer space.

How do customers prepare Makayabu? It is desalted before cooking: soaked in cold water with a few water changes, then cooked thoroughly.

What pack size do you supply? Makayabu 3 kg, salted, chilled, sold per case.

Do you supply Makayabu in the EU and UK? Yes, we supply B2B from the Netherlands to customers in the EU and UK.

What dishes use Makayabu? Makayabu with rice, with pondu or saka saka (cassava leaves), in fumbwa, and with fried plantain in Congolese and Central-African home cooking.