2024 Author: Jasmine Walkman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 08:29
Cod is one of the most widely used fish in almost the whole world. If not eaten fresh or thawed, many fish products are made from it. In addition to being tasty and amenable to extensive culinary processing, cod is a record holder in the content of some important vitamins, which makes it a very useful food.
Both the history and the fact that it is one of the most prolific fish probably contribute to the widespread use of cod. The female fever can lay up to 9 million eggs, but very few of them actually survive because it is eaten by other aquatic inhabitants. Cod eggs swim in the water until the small fish hatch and often become food for other fish.
The cod inhabits the Atlantic Ocean, which is why it is the most famous cod (Gadus morhua). Usually the weight of this species reaches from 5 kg to 12 kg and is up to 1.8 m in length. However, the most prevalent are those with a length of 40 - 80 cm at the age of 3 to 10 years. Fever has the ability to change color, which varies from gray-green to tile-red.
Icelandic codfish is considered one of the highest quality fish because it has very tasty, white meat. Although its range is Atlantic waters, cod is a traditional food for the Mediterranean, where it has been prepared in a variety of ways for centuries.
It became popular in southern European countries after the 15th century, when English ships began trading codfish with Greece, Spain and Portugal against raisins. It is no coincidence that areas with large commercial ports in Greece, such as Corinth and the Peloponnese, have the greatest abundance of recipes for this type of fish.
In the course of history cod fish it was traded both by ships at sea and on land, because salted it could retain its taste for a long period of time. Cod is extremely rich in valuable nutrients, and salted or smoked cod has a long shelf life and allows the fish trade to reach the interior of the country, and not only in coastal areas.
Over time, fever has taken root in the traditions of different peoples. For example codfish and mashed potatoes with garlic are the traditional dishes on the Greek table on March 25 each year - the national holiday of Greece Evangelism. Church canons command believers to taste the traditional fish twice during Lent - the first time on the first Sunday of Lent, and the second - on the national holiday of liberation from Turkish slavery in 1821.
Cod species
The cod family includes several subspecies: Arctic, Aegean, Baltic, etc. Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) inhabits deep waters, up to 900 m deep. Its size reaches an average of 30-35 cm, and the longest specimens are up to 50 cm, weighing up to 15 kg, with an average of about 6-8 kg. Pacific cod catches are highest on the West Coast of the United States.
Over time, the economic race between the United States and the Soviet Union for cod fishing in the foothills of the North Sea and the Arctic Ocean has led to quite illegal catches of the species. As a result, Pacific cod (and not only) is currently among the endangered species, as is cod and tuna.
Cod (Gadus morhua) reaches a length of 2 meters and weighs up to 50 kg, which makes it a much larger species than its Pacific brother. This species is also marked by declining catches, which are linked to economic interests between the United States and Canada on the one hand and European countries in the North Sea on the other.
Composition of fever
Cod is a fragile fish with extremely low fat content. It also contains low cholesterol. Cod liver oil is among the healthiest fish oils. It contains large doses of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids, as well as many vitamins and minerals.
Its most important benefit is that it is one of the largest animal sources of vitamin A. Cod liver oil also ranks first among all other fish species in terms of vitamin D.
After the fever, herring, salmon and sardines are ranked according to this indicator. In addition, cod contains an enviable amount of vitamin E. On average, 100 g of cod contain about 17-19% protein, 0.5-5% fat, 82 kcal, 17.9 protein, 0.6 g fat, 37-43 g cholesterol and no carbohydrates.
Selection and storage of fever
When choosing codfishOf course, you should always prefer fresh fish. If you look at the fish fillet, it should be thick, not thin. The surface of the fever must be white and smooth without any injuries.
If the fish is old and not fresh or has been canned, stored improperly, it will most likely have a cloudy yellowish tinge. The real fever can be recognized among the other fever-like fish on the gray parallel lines of the skin.
You can usually buy cod on the market, which is either frozen or canned. In the frozen state, the fish is sold deboned without fins and without head or only fillet. Like herring and cod fish sold in canned form in the form of fillets dipped in vegetable oils or water.
There are also a variety of brands of salted or smoked cod on the market. It is best to buy fresh cod 2 days before cooking, advise culinary experts from the Mediterranean.
Culinary use of Fever
If you need to process whole salt codfish, first wash it well and remove the head, tail and fins, then cut into fillets and soak in water. To remove the salty taste, it is best to soak the fever for 2-3 days in water, changing the water periodically. The masters advise the last water for soaking the fish to be lukewarm.
Then you have the choice to prepare the cod to your liking - baked, fried or grilled. In neighboring Greece, cod is very popular breaded, served with a classic mashed potatoes with lots of garlic.
The taste and aroma of the fish prepared in this way go well with parsley, onions and fresh vegetables. Keep in mind that cod meat is tender but quite dry, which means it's nice to marinate before roasting or grilling.
The best option is to prepare a steam steamer, which takes no more than 10 minutes. Serve the cod fillet with a light olive sauce, freshly squeezed lemon juice, grated lemon peel, finely chopped dill and a pinch of salt and pepper to taste.
Smoked or salted cod fillets are an ideal appetizer with vodka, brandy or wine. The cod that has not been traded on the fish market is made on surimi, which is a fish paste that is part of the shrimp rolls, in which it is known that there is no shrimp meat (or at least in those that are widely sold in our country).
Benefits of cod fish
The huge doses of vitamin A contained in cod liver oil bring many benefits to our body. On the one hand, vitamin A is important for the immune system, on the other - it helps our vision and stimulates the synthesis of adrenal and sex hormones.
Health experts are adamant that the liver of fever can help a lot in arthritis, skin irritations, reduces the risk of osteoporosis, improves the activity of the heart muscle. In general, the oil has a strengthening effect on the overall condition of the body.
Cod fish oil, like other fish, contains essential fatty acids (ESAs). They are vital to our health because our body cannot synthesize them on its own. That is why we must take them through our food.
Diet with cod fish
Due to the fact that cod is extremely low in fat, it is quite suitable for following a diet in order to reduce weight. The whole diet with fever lasts 15 days, divided into 5 stages, each of which lasts 3 days. In the first 3 days you need to eat boiled codfish without salt and up to 700 g per day.
The next 3 days eat 400 g of cottage cheese or 300 g of cream cheese, 250 g of cheese. In 7, 8, 9 days you can eat all kinds of dried fruits, but 250 g per day. For the next 3 days, drink up to 1 liter of milk per day, and the last 3 days you can eat up to 3 bananas a day. During the whole diet drink up to 2 liters of mineral water daily.
