Seafood

2024 Author: Jasmine Walkman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 08:29

Seafood and their breath of sea breeze are often associated with the pleasant emotions of summer. The good thing is that fresh or frozen seafood can be found all year round in the market, but, of course, freshly caught and cooked mussels, squid or lobster with a little lemon flavor have no competition in terms of aroma and taste.

We can divide the whole set of seafood that we use for food into 2 large groups - mollusks and crustaceans. The category of molluscs includes oysters, mussels, squid, octopus, cuttlefish. Some of them are characterized by feeding by filtering water. The group of crustaceans includes all types of crabs and crabs, lobsters, shrimps, etc.

Apart from being incredibly tasty and considered a delicacy, seafood are extremely useful and complete food. Suffice it to say that the Japanese are the nation with the longest life expectancy, and their menu is based on seafood, rice and soy. Japanese women eat an average of 50 times more fish, 17 times more rice, 3 times more cereals than Europeans.

On top of everything seafood are also considered a dietary product. Thanks to seafood, the Japanese diet is about 2 times lower in calories than our diet. Recently, scientists have even found shell remains in a cave in southern Spain, confirming that Neanderthals, like Homo sapiens, hunted and ate seafood 150,000 years ago.

Types of seafood

Midi - These seafood are second only to oysters. They include about 25,000 species, distributed in rivers, seas and oceans, mainly in the coastal part. The most popular and consumed in Bulgaria is the black mussel (Mytilus edulis). The white sand mussel (Mya arenaria) is also popular, and among the world's greatest delicacies are the famous Saint Jacques mussels (Pecten maximus).

Crabs - These crustaceans are available all year round - live and frozen. In the case of live crabs, you need to boil them first and then separate the meat, and in the case of frozen crabs, you can proceed to separate the meat. A crab weighing 900 g can give about 300 g of meat. The shell of the boiled crab changes color and turns orange-red, after which it is soaked for another 8 minutes for every 500 g of weight.

Oysters - in the first place in world production. Before consumption, oysters must be extremely well cleaned with a brush, washed, opened with a sharp knife and the meat washed. Oysters are delicious and raw, served in one shell with just a little lemon juice. They are considered a delicacy and have long been known as an aphrodisiac.

Shrimp - these seafood are more than 2000 species of shrimp. The largest specimen is of the Dublin Bay species. They are followed by king prawns or jumbo, as well as tigers. When cooking fresh shrimp, you need to separate the shell head, and the vein on the back. These seafood are also spicy, cooked very simply, stewed with a little fat, garlic and white wine.

Lobsters - is considered the largest crustacean. From this family of seafood are known about 163 species of lobsters / lobsters, distributed throughout the world. They prefer colder waters, and in Canada the largest specimen was caught - weighing 20, 14 kg, aged more than 100 years. The lobsters on the market are about 10 years old. Always choose a larger lobster, which guarantees you more tasty meat.

Squid - These seafood are predators, sometimes called southern cuttlefish and number more than 300 species. Most of them live in tropical seas. They have extremely tasty and nutritious meat, which is actually their body and tentacles.

Octopus - These sea creatures are a test of the culinary skills of an inexperienced chef, but once cooked, the octopus is an incredibly delicious seafood gift. First of all, it must be boiled, and from there it can be baked, fried, etc. When washing the octopus, it is important to remove the bag of ink and hammer it nicely with a wooden mallet to make it more fragile.

Sepia - These less popular seafood in our country are represented by about 30 modern species that love the warm waters of highly salty seas. They have tender and pronounced tasty meat. Before cooking you need to marinate them, after which you can fry, boil and use them in various dishes.

Composition of seafood

Seafood are an invaluable source of many nutrients, vitamins and minerals. They contain almost as much protein as meat, with the difference that they are lower in calories. All seafood contains powerful antioxidants, very valuable amino acids that are easily and quickly absorbed by the body.

All the amino acids necessary for the human body in this type of seafood are absorbed much faster than those in meat. Squid, mussels, crabs and other molluscs and crustaceans contain very little fat.

All of them are a very important source of essential omega-3 and omega-6 unsaturated fatty acids, so important for the overall well-being of our body.

In almost all seafood we can find high levels of vitamins - A, D, E and all of group B. Among minerals the most important is the amount of calcium and iodine in all of them, while phosphorus and iron are present in higher doses. in crabs, potassium in squid, cobalt in lobster, mussels and lobsters.

Lobster meat is rich in zinc, phosphorus, vitamin B12 and copper, and in 100 g of it there are 21 g of protein and only 0, 6% fat. Squid contains many amino acids, vitamins PP and B6 and the minerals iron and iodine. In 100 g of crabs there are 221 mg of calcium, while in 100 g of shrimp the level is 135 mg. In sardines with bones, calcium is 350 mg, and cirrhosis is a source of 3000 mg of calcium per 100 g.

Selection and storage of seafood

You must be very careful when choosing and storing seafood, because they are short-lived products that spoil quickly and can cause poisoning. When choosing all seafood, it is important to choose fresh, if possible living aquatic inhabitants. Always try to have a refreshing sea scent, not strong and heavy. Don't buy seafood whose origin and quality you doubt.

In the presence of an unpleasant specific odor or unusual swelling on the body, this means that the seafood is unfit for consumption. Also keep in mind that a large part of the coastal areas, especially the lagoons, are already heavily polluted, which requires you to clean the seafood quite well and thoroughly before using it for culinary use.

If you buy such food from a large food chain, this should be a guarantee of quality. You always have the opportunity to choose frozen seafood, which are present all year round in refrigerated display cases and freezers. However, observe the expiration date of the package.

Culinary use of seafood

Seafood are known for the fact that for the most part they are prepared quite quickly and quite easily, with only the addition of a few spices, and their taste is valued as a delicacy.

All you have to do is cook, fry or stew the seafood, season it to taste and add aromas of lemon, garlic and parsley, for example. Steaming shrimp, lobster and other seafood temptations makes them very tender, and their meat retains all the nutrients.

A trick in the preparation of these gifts at sea, dictates that you can dull the heavier aroma of the sea and seabed, if you add 2-3 tbsp. vodka or white wine during culinary processing.

Remember that squid should not be cooked above 80 degrees. It is enough to just stay in the hot water for 5-6 minutes. If you are preparing cuttlefish, it is best to marinate it first in soy and lemon juice, after you have previously cleaned the abdomen and cuttlefish bone on the back.

When serving and eating seafood, perhaps only some types of crabs can cause a slight difficulty. If you are served a whole crab, it is better to use a special pinch and a small three-toothed fork, which must go with such a seafood gift.

Benefits of seafood

A balanced diet including Seafood, will make you feel full, satisfied and inspired for new challenges. All this is due to the cocktail of vitamins, minerals and amino acids that are important for the body. In particular, the rich content of iodine in seafood ensures the proper functioning of the thyroid gland.

Phosphorus in mussels regulates the energy metabolism of cells, which is fundamental to the whole physiological process. The zinc in shellfish helps the skin not to dehydrate in the summer heat.

All seafood is a source of powerful antioxidants that protect against acute and chronic lung disease. Additionally, the beneficial ingredients in this type of food work well on the immune system and protect you against viral diseases.

Studies show that seafood reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease. Zinc is a crab and squid, and their rich content of vitamin B12 is important for blood formation and maintenance of the nervous system. Vitamin B2 is abundant in octopuses and supports our vision.

Seafood they can help us lose weight because they are low in calories. At the same time, they are rich enough in proteins, vitamins and minerals, which ensures that we will not run out of important substances. Enviable doses of phosphorus, sodium, vitamin B1 in seafood are the ones that save us from the accumulation of excess rings. Without them, carbohydrates in the body can not be converted into energy, but into fat.

Harm from seafood

Although delicious, seafood often turns out to be an insidious food. Because they are short-lived, they can often cause poisoning. Pollution of the seas and oceans and the fact that some seafood is fed by filtering water is also a reason to be extra careful when choosing, cleaning and preparing seafood. It is important to know that there are a large number of microorganisms that are involved in the composition of the microflora of seafood.

Signs of concern that you may have consumed poor quality seafood are: tingling of the tongue and lips a few hours after eating seafood, metallic taste when consumed, piercing stomach pain, impaired temperature sensitivity. All these are signs of food poisoning.

By filtering water, some seafood accumulates microorganisms that cause hepatitis A and E, Norwalk - viruses, infections with E. coli, Salmonella typhi, Shigella, Vibrio, Aeromonas and Plesiomonas. Oysters are particularly sensitive in this regard. Their catches in 36 US bays show a high presence of salmonella.