White fish: what kind of fish, useful properties and contraindications

One of the most delicious representatives of the subfamily of whitefish is considered whitefish. Not without reason it is called the "king's fish". The literature often mentions white fish in the descriptions of dishes that ended up on the tables of the nobles of the past. Its fatty tender meat is considered a delicacy and very much appreciated by gourmets.

Whitefish: what kind of fish, what it looks like and where it lives

Local residents believe that the fish got its name thanks to the Belaya River. In the old days, it was here that the white fish came to spawn through the Kama. Later, during the period of industrialization, water pollution led to the fact that catching this delicacy here became like a miracle. And after the construction of hydroelectric dams on the Volga and Kama, the usual spawning grounds became inaccessible for white salmon.

What does it look like?

This is a large commercial fish weighing 15-20 kilograms. Its body is pike-like and flattened from sides. The back is darker. The coloration usually ranges from dark green to light brown. The sides are the same color as the abdomen - a silvery hue.

The predator has a large lower jaw that protrudes forward and curves upward. The body is covered with large scales.

Where does it live

Whitefish is considered a semi-anadromous fish. That is, it spends most of the time in the coastal zone of the sea, and lays eggs in freshwater rivers, sometimes rising quite high.

The white salmon's habitat is the northern part of the Caspian Sea. During spawning, it enters the Volga River for a long time. Only a small number of specimens make it to the Ural Sea. Up to 5-6 years of age, until sexual maturity, whitefish live in the sea depths. And only when spawning time comes, it migrates to fresh water.

What does it feed on?

Whitefish is an active predator. Its diet consists of fish: sprat, aterina, roach, gobies. Already one-month-old fry in the stomachs are found fry of other fish. The juveniles can also eat invertebrates.

After a drop in sanitary inspection standards for ships passing through the Volga-Don Canal at the end of the 20th century, the crested mnemiopsis got into the Caspian. Having no natural enemies, it began to multiply rapidly and in a short time destroyed the food base of sprat. Further, along the food chain, the whitefish population began to sharply decrease.

Spawning

The whitefish is also unique in that it is one of the few fish that goes to spawn during the cold season. As soon as the water temperature in the rivers drops to 8° Celsius, flocks of fish rush up the rivers. This usually happens in September or early October. Older fish are the first to go. The young ones are behind. Previously, when the spawning grounds were in the upper Volga and Kama, their journey took up to five months. The arduous journey ate up most of the fat reserves. Now that the Volga is blocked by a dam, whitefish spawn no higher than the Volgograd area. In three months, the fry hatch from the eggs and immediately roll off into the salty water of the sea.

Over their lifetime (about 10 years), females spawn only 2-3 times.

Now the white fish is listed in the Red Book as an endangered species. They try to save it by means of artificial breeding in aquaculture farms.

Species

The white salmon belongs to the subfamily of whitefish of the salmon family. The subspecies are Stenodus leucichthys, a direct whitefish endemic of the Caspian basin, and Stenodus leucichthys nelma, which lives in the Arctic Ocean.

What is the difference between the whitefish and the nelma?

Very often the nelma is called the northern whitefish, and often they are considered the same species of fish. But this is not quite true, although in scientific circles from time to time there is an idea to combine these subspecies into one. There is a theory that part of the nelma population came to the Caspian Sea during the late-glacial period and adapted to the new conditions of existence. It is the fish that lives there that is called whitefish. The nelma, on the other hand, remained in its previous location and is now found in the Arctic Ocean basin.

To distinguish one subspecies from the other, it is enough to look at the abdomen of the species. The belly of the white salmon will be the same color as the sides. But the nelma has a white belly.

The average length of whitefish is about one and a half meters, and the weight often exceeds 15 kilograms. Nelma can be seen longer than 150 cm. At the same time it weighs on average 28-40 kilograms.

Butterfish and whitefish: the same thing?

Sometimes you can hear whitefish called butter fish, and some people think that this is its second name. In fact, it is incorrect to compare these terms. Whitefish belongs to the salmon family of the genus nelma, and butterfish is a trade name for a number of sea creatures. It mainly includes members of the stromatherians, gempilovyh and centrulofish families. They received this name because of their high fat content (in some cases it reaches 25%). All representatives of butter fish have white meat.

How to catch whitefish

The catching of this fish begins in April and lasts until the end of fall. It is especially delicious just before the spawning period. During spawning, whitefish do not feed, and therefore by the time they roll out of the rivers their fat content drops to 2%. Experienced anglers believe that the best fishing occurs in early fall. At this time there is an active accumulation of fat, and the fish takes any bait and bobber.

Due to the fact that today the number of population has declined sharply, the white fish has been included in the Red Book. Catching it by any means is prohibited.

But not so long ago fishermen came to the Caspian Sea basin to test their luck. Even one caught fish could feed several people.

Like other salmonids, the white salmon is caught by fly fishing. It takes flies well, used for trout fishing. The predator is looking for its prey mainly in the depths. Therefore, it is possible to use float tackle, dunks. For bait, live bait, earthworm, oprych, moth, dead fish are used.

Composition and calories

The delicious and nutritious meat of white fish is right behind sturgeon in its value. The caloric value is 115 kcal per one hundred grams of the product. This value is averaged, and strongly depends on the time when the fish was caught.

In addition to its taste, the product is rich in vitamins, macro- and microelements. Per 100 grams of edible portion there are:

Vitamins:

• B1 (thiamine) - 0.042 mgr;
• B2 (riboflavin) - 0.125 mgr;
• B3 (nicotinic acid) - 2.13 mgr;
• B4 (choline) - 108.89 mgr;
• B5 (calcium pantothenate) - 0.651 mg;
• B6 (pyridoxine) - 0.159 mgr;
• B9 (folic acid) - 8.9 mg;
• B12 (cobalamin) - 5.8 µg;
• E (tocopherol) - 0.64 mg.

Macronutrients:

• Potassium, K - 389 mggr;
• Calcium, Ca - 139 mg;
• Magnesium, Mg - 26 mg;
• Sodium, Na - 52 mg;
• Sulfur, S - 222.5 mg;
• Phosphorus, P - 300 mgr.

Micronutrients:

• Iron, Fe - 0.5 mgr;
• Manganese, Mn - 0,037 mg;
• Copper, Cu - 148 mg;
• Selenium, Se - 42,3 mg;
• Zinc, Zn - 0.6 mg.

Essential amino acids:

• Arginine - 1.31 g;
• Valine - 1.00 g;
• Histidine - 0.52 g;
• Isoleucine - 0.86 g;
• Leucine - 1.52 gr;
• Lysine - 1.82 gr;
• Methionine, 0.63 g; Threonine, 0.94 g;
• Threonine - 0.94 gr;
• Tryptophan - 0.21 gr;
• Phenylalanine, 0.85 g.

Substitutable amino acids:

• Alanine - 1.4 g;
• Aspartic acid - 2,07 gr;
• Glycine - 1,5 gr;
• Glutamic acid, 2.95 g;
• Proline, 1.15 g; Serine, 0.85 g;
• Serine - 0.85 gr;
• Tyrosine - 0.68 gr;
• Cysteine, 0.2 g.
• Sterols (sterols).
• Cholesterol - 56 mg.

Saturated fatty acids:

• Myristic - 0.08 g;
• Palmitic - 0,35 gr;
• Stearic - 0,06 gr.

Monounsaturated fatty acids:

• Palmitoleic - 0.26 g;
• Oleic (omega-9) - 0.54 gr;
• Hadoleic (omega-9) - 0.19 g;
• Erucic (omega-9) - 0.08 g;
• Nervonic, cis (omega-9) - 0.01 g.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids:

• Linoleic - 0.03 g;
• Linolenic - 0.04 gr;
• Omega-3 stioride - 0.01 gr;
• Arachidonic - 0.05 gr;
• Eicosapentaenoic (EPA), Omega-3 - 0.17 g.

Omega-3 fatty acids:

• Docosapentaenoic (DPA), Omega-3 - 0.08 g;
• Docosahexaenoic (DHA), Omega-3 - 0.32 g.
• Omega-6 fatty acids - 0.08 gr.

Useful properties of white salmon

1. The meat of this fish belongs to the dietary products, because it is easily digested by the human body. It has a lot of useful fats, microelements and vitamins. Dietitians recommend including white salmon in the regular menu as a basis for a healthy and, in some cases, therapeutic nutrition. Fatty acids have a beneficial effect in many diseases, especially in disorders of the thyroid gland.
2. Dishes made of white fish are advised to eat with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
3. It is enough to eat this product once a week for 50 grams to clear the body of toxins, to establish a normal metabolism. This is especially important for the inhabitants of unfavorable, in terms of ecology, regions.
4. Vitamin PP contained in whitefish helps to fight "bad" cholesterol, prevents the formation of cholesterol plaques, the formation of blood clots.
5. Children, dishes from this fish are useful to prevent rickets. Vitamin D promotes immunity. Fluoride helps to form bone tissue.
6. Polyunsaturated fatty acids Omega-3 and Omega-6 prevent the development of malignant tumors, prevent strokes and heart attacks.
7. For pregnant women, white salmon meat is a source of useful vitamins and minerals necessary for the formation of the fetus.
8. In case of sleep disorders and seasonal depression, it is enough to eat a small piece of fish once a week to get things right. Also, it will help prevent the development of Alzheimer's disease.
9. For women, whitefish dishes will help to maintain youthfulness and prevent premature aging.

Smoked white fish: good or bad?

In Russia they were able to smoke fish since the 13th century. Initially, salmon, including whitefish, were preserved this way. Sleigh and river transportation took a long time. In its fresh form, the product spoiled quickly.

Nowadays the smoked white salmon is a delicacy. When the meat is smoked, it becomes denser and has a special spicy flavor.

Smoked fish, thanks to the gentle method of treatment, retains three-fourths of its useful properties. Vitamins, useful fatty acids, minerals have beneficial effects on the human body.

At the same time it is necessary to limit the consumption of this undoubtedly delicious delicacy for people suffering from kidney diseases. The product can disrupt the water-salt balance in the body, which will lead to disorders of the urinary system and edema.

When treated with smoke, the meat is saturated with carcinogens. This can lead to the development of cancer. Therefore, when using smoked whitefish, you need to limit yourself to a portion of 150 grams once a week.

How to smoke

Tasty smoked belofish can also be done at home.

First, the fish is cleaned, cut into pieces, washed and dried with paper towels. There are several different recipes for marinating whitefish. The simplest one requires only dry spices and salt. They are mixed and about half poured at the bottom of the container. On top lay the prepared pieces of fish skin side down. Then the rest of the mixture is poured on top, and the closed container is put in the fridge for 20-24 hours.

Smoking by hot method
Bind marinaded pieces of whitefish with twine. Fill the smokehouse with sawdust, cover it with a fat collector and put a lattice. Place the meat skin-side down and close the lid. The first 15 minutes the temperature in the chamber should be within 60-70 ° C. Then it is raised to 140 degrees for about half an hour. Then it is reduced to 100° C again. After 15 minutes, take out the product and leave it to cool in the air.

Cold smoking
This is a longer process than the previous one, but the delicacy will be stored much longer.

Marinated semi-finished product is first dried naturally for 2 days. After that the pieces are also placed in the smokehouse, but the temperature is kept no higher than 25 degrees Celsius. After about 30-48 hours, the fish is taken out and hung in the air to air out.

Harms and contraindications

1. In no case can you eat white salmon to people allergic to fish and seafood.
2. Trying this delicacy for the first time, you can eat a small piece and see how the body reacts. There may be an individual intolerance, although the product is not considered allergenic.
3. It is not recommended to fry fish for those who suffer from gastrointestinal diseases. It is better to prefer dishes of cooked whitefish.
4. If you have problems with the liver and pancreas, you should include this product in the menu with great caution.
5. Smoked whitefish can be introduced into children's diet not earlier than five years of age. By this age the digestive system is mature enough to cope with the processing of such dishes.

How to choose and store

1. Since the fish meat is very fatty, the white salmon can be bought fresh only in the places of fishing from local fishermen. It spoils quickly, so retail outlets receive it in a frozen form. Sometimes you can buy white salmon cured fillets.
2. The product should be purchased only from a reliable supplier. The fish must have a certificate of quality.
3. If the carcass has defects in the form of dents or cuts, then it is better to refuse to buy the delicacy.
4. It is worth paying attention to the fins: they should fit tightly to the body.
5. When the fish is sold with the head, the eyes of fresh whitefish are shiny, and the gills are bright pink.
6. Under no circumstances should you take a fish if it gives off an unpleasant smell. This means that the product in front of you is spoiled.

Smoked whitefish can be stored in the refrigerator for about 72 hours. Fresh whitefish should be immediately placed in the freezer. Within 2 months it will be edible.

In contrast to many other dwellers of the underwater world, the beluga salmon meat is almost completely devoid of parasites and belongs to the "clean". Nevertheless, you should refrain from eating it without prior heat treatment.

Where to buy and how much costs

Nowadays the industrial fishing of white salmon is prohibited, so you can hardly buy it in any fish store. Only single specimens from private fish farms are for sale. It is very difficult to find it and they ask about three thousand rubles for a kilo of freshly frozen fish.

Most often, fish boutiques and online stores offer the nearest relative of the whitefish - nelma. It is still allowed to be caught, albeit in small quantities. But it will not be cheap either. At the beginning of 2022 the average price for uncut carcasses in Moscow was more than two thousand rubles per kilogram.

What are sold under the guise of white fish

Very often sellers call white fish any fish with white meat. This is a misconception. Nelma is the only representative of the underwater world, which can somehow claim the name.

It is practically impossible to buy white fish nowadays. In the Caspian basin, it has almost been destroyed due to human production activities and poaching.

The high price and scarcity of the product in the market generates a lot of swindlers who try to earn money by cheating customers.

The most common type of fish sold under the guise of white salmon is silver carp .The price is ten times cheaper. It can be distinguished by a small fin on the back of the first, which is not present in inexpensive fish.

It is impossible to understand what is hidden under the name of whitefish, if the product is sold in cut form.

First of all, the price should be alarming. The real white fish cannot cost 500, 600 or even one thousand rubles per kilo.

How to cook white fish

In a frying pan

It's very easy to fry white fish in a pan. Even an inexperienced housewife can cope with it. The dish will turn out delicious and nutritious.

You will need 70 ml of vegetable oil (olive oil is better), 25 ml of soy sauce, flour for deboning, salt, white pepper and coriander for 300 g of fish fillets.

Wash the fillet and dry it with paper towels. Add spices to soy sauce and mix. Pour this mixture over the fillets and leave for 2-3 hours. Mix flour and salt in a wide bowl. Roll the fish in it. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan and put the white fish on it. Fry the pieces on both sides until golden brown.

You can serve vegetables or potatoes as a side dish.

In the oven

To prepare 3 servings you will need: 3 whitefish steaks, 1 medium carrot, 1 large head of onion, 1 egg, 150 ml of milk, salt, spices, boiled potatoes.

Place steaks in a baking dish, top with finely chopped carrots, onion in half rings. Cut potatoes in 2 or 4 parts, put them in a form on top of fish and vegetables. In the milk, beat the egg, add salt and spices. Whisk everything. Pour the mixture over the ingredients in the dish and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

On a grill

You can please your family and friends by cooking whitefish on the grill. The steak is placed in a deep bowl, add pepper and salt. Mix vegetable oil with lemon juice and sprinkle the fish. Sprinkle it all with chopped parsley and leave it to marinate in the fridge for half an hour. The fish is put on a grill and fried over hot coals until it is ready.

Whitefish cutlets recipe

Children do not always like fried or boiled fish. But whitefish cutlets, on the other hand, they eat with pleasure. Some housewives add chicken meat, sour cream, carrots, bell peppers, onions to the minced fish. Sometimes they add an egg, so that the dish holds its shape better, but this ingredient will make the cutlets more rigid.

As in minced meat, in fish mince, put bread soaked in milk. For one hundred grams of loaf crumbs, half a glass of milk is enough.

Fish fillets are mixed with soaked bread and spices. Form cutlets and roll them in breadcrumbs. Fry on high heat until crusted, then cook over low heat.

White fish soup

In the old cookbooks white fish soup was called "royal soup". There are three kinds of fish broths for this fish soup.

For the first one one can take any small fish such as crucian carp, perch or redfin. For 5 liters of water you need 1.5 kg of fish. It is gutted, washed, wrapped in a gauze bag and boiled for 50-60 minutes.

For the second broth, 0.8 kg of pike or trout, 2 heads of onions and 2 carrots are needed. The vegetables are cleaned and put into a gauze bag together with the gutted fish. Dip it into the first broth and boil it for another half an hour. This fish is cleaned of bones and skin and mashed into a pulp.

For the third broth 800 g of white fish are cleaned and cut into portions. 800 grams of potatoes are cleaned and cut into cubes. Also 50 ml of vodka, 50 gr of black caviar, herbs and salt are needed. In the third broth put prepared whitefish, potatoes, salt and cook for half an hour. At the very end, add vodka and fish from the second broth. The caviar should be added to lighten the fish soup. After the dish has infused for 10 minutes, it can be served.

How to cook cured fillet

Cured whitefish can be stored long enough without losing its flavor. Also in such a product are preserved and all the useful trace elements. Therefore, if you are lucky enough to buy a lot of white salmon, it can be used to prepare a cured fish.

Fish is gutted, washed and cut into pieces. Bear in mind that the thinner the pieces, the faster you can eat the ready-made delicacy. Mix salt, spices, add a little sugar to shade the taste of the finished product. This mixture is poured over the belofish meat, putting it into a deep container. Press down on top of a load and leave in a cool place for 5-7 days to pickle.

After that the fish is washed and covered with cold water for a couple of hours. Then you need to drain the water and hang the pieces to dry in a cool place. It is desirable to create a draught in the room. After 30-45 days the cured fish will be ready.

How to salt whitefish at home

Sandwiches with salted whitefish are very tasty. They are served with black bread with butter. It is not difficult to salt fish at home. You need a fish carcass, ground and black pepper, salt, bay leaf.

The fish is gutted, opened, washed and dried with a towel. Salt is taken to taste according to the salt degree you want to get the final product. Rub the carcass with salt, put a bay leaf and a pepper inside. On top it is necessary to sprinkle ground pepper. Put the white fish into a container and press with a crush.

Keep it at room temperature for about 5 hours, and then put it in the fridge overnight. After that, the fish can be eaten.

Q&A

What does white fish taste like?

Whitefish lives only in clean waters, so the smell of its meat is very fresh, without any unpleasant notes. The most delicate taste of white meat leaves no one indifferent. Not without reason, gourmets highly appreciate dishes made of this rare fish.

Bony or not?

Cooking with whitefish is very simple. It has no small bones, so the fillet is easily separated from the backbone.

Can I eat caviar and what color is it?

Whitefish caviar is an even greater delicacy than the fish itself. It has a yellowish hue. But now it is almost impossible to buy it. The fish is considered an endangered species, and its catch is strictly prohibited.

Interesting facts

1. Despite the fact that the white fish has white meat (due to which it got its name), it belongs to the red fish.
2. In old Kupala ceremonial songs, whitefish was called young unmarried girls who reached marriageable age.