Tag: fish

The seasonality wheel of the fish to hang on the refrigerator – Italian Cuisine

Anchovies, squid, mackerel and much more. Let's find out which fish to buy in the summer and in all the other seasons with the Eataly fish calendar; between confirmations, surprises and discoveries

Tonight, fish. Yes, but which one?
To guide us in the fish market is often the desire for a good grilled sea second, a rich soup or an intense and fragrant first course. Arrived there, however, we are often in confusion when buying the raw material. And to make the best choice, one of the parameters to start with is seasonality. Indeed, we say that we should start from here to choose the most suitable recipe for the occasion.

Eataly thinks so too and has created a real one seasonal wheel for fish, capable of guiding us to purchase season by season. Why not print it and attach it to the fridge with a magnet to always have this precious fish calendar before your eyes?

Summer

Summer is one of the seasons of greatest fish consumption. The desire to lighten the courses together with beach holidays often leads us to prefer it over meat. But although the availability of the product leads us to think of having an almost unlimited choice, even during the summer we have to deal with seasonality. So here's what to buy from June 21st to September 21st.
Cuttlefish, alice, leccia stella, needlefish, bonito, mackerel, boga, albacore tuna, sardine, soace, mackerel, dolphin fish, look, waffle, barracuda, chestnut fish, horse mackerel, octopus, mostella, squid, bream.

Autumn

Between the end of summer and the beginning of winter, our consumption of raw materials from the sea is moderate. We usually focus on risottos, soups and stuffed pasta, but neglecting the fish in the fall would be a mistake. In fact, some of the most sought after and appetizing products are available this season. Here they are below.
Cuttlefish, alice, soace, squid, potassol, mackerel, glimpse, tress, bream, mare mackerel, zerro, tuna alletterato, zanchetta, argentina, lampuga, dormouse, boga, bonito, leccia stella, palamita.

Winter

This is the season for parties, rich tables and long family lunches. To make them really special, however, the fish we choose as king of the table must be fresh and caught in the height of its season. Here then are all the fish to taste between December and March.
Tuna allarmato, soace, mackerel, potassol, dormouse, bream, sardine, conocchia, squid, alice, zerro, argentina, zanchetta.

Spring

Flowers, first fruits and fruit. But even the fish is not joking this season. Here are all the perfect raw materials to taste the best flavors of the sea and have fun with baked preparations, fried foods and … the first grills! Find your ingredients for spring recipes including: needlefish, soace, baby octopus, leccia stella, alice, tuna alalunga, occhiata, boga, squid, horse mackerel, cuttlefish, mackerel, mare mackerel.

How to recognize fresh fish: 10 clues – Italian Cuisine

Notwithstanding that there are now high quality frozen and frozen products on the market, the freshness at the table remains an added value for taste and well-being. Here then is how to distinguish it from defrosted products

Fresh is one thing, frozen or frozen is another. For goodness sake, a good fish is a good fish, but the difference can be seen and felt. Here then that, at the time of purchase, to understand if the fish is fresh, it is enough to observe a simple handbook that we will explain to you shortly.

The cold chain

First, however, we need to better understand how the cold chain is made in the case of fish. The deterioration action performed by the microorganisms deaths stop below -13 ° C, but resumes once the fish has been thawed: an excellent frozen or frozen product is therefore the one in which the process begins immediately, better on board large vessels than in land-based plants. And that the cold chain does not suffer interruptions.

A question of speed

There difference between frozen and frozen fish is in the rapidity with which the temperature is broken down: more slow with products frozen, very rapid with those frozen foods, with the temperature also falling to -80 ° C. With such a sudden drop the fish keeps intact most of its properties, especially from a nutritional point of view. Slow freezing, on the other hand, determines the formation of large ice crystals that, after thawing, determine aalteration of product quality and a lost of part of the nutrients, especially of the protein.

The icing

An indicator of the quality of frozen or frozen fish products is the icing, that is the patina of ice that covers the surface: it is obtained with the simple application of drinking water (for sprinkling, nebulization or immersion) for better repair them from dehydration and oxidation at low temperatures.

Because you can't refreeze

Good. But when a fish is defrosted, some differences are noticed, especially in terms of taste: is the case, for example, of the blue fish, definitely the most delicate and difficult category to keep at low temperatures due to the quantity of fat (good) it contains. Here is the decalogue to understand if you are buying fresh fish, or are rubbing it with a defrosted one. A difference not insignificant, given that defrosted fish cannot be refrozen in the house: this is because, as in all foods, freezing does not kill all bacteria, many of which merely lower their vital functions and to resume multiplication once thawing has begun. Freezing is instead fundamental for the raw fish. Or rather, thedejection: must remain at -20 ° C for at least 24 hours.

1 – Seasonality and supply chain short

To recognize fresh fish from a defrosted one, it is therefore necessary to check that the catch we are buying is Seasonal, and with a short chain: Italian fish, therefore, or at least of the Mediterranean. Also to be considered is the fact that, from August to October, our seas are subjected to bands of a period of biological shutdown.

2 – The smell

Second, the most classic of the clues: the smell. Fresh fish "tastes like sea", has a faint, salty odor, in which we can also recognize the seaweed marine: nothing to do with the most acrid odor tending to the thawed fish acid.

3 – The eye

Third clue, the eye: bright, vivid and swollen, not sunken and shrunken.

4 – The skin

Then the skin and scales must be shiny, bright and taut, rich in transparent mucus. In defrosted fish, in general, it is more opaque and tends to flake more easily.

5 – The gills

Another element to consider, the gills: in fresh fish they are well closed and, opening them, we notice a color intense red or rosé. They are also rich in mucus transparent. Otherwise, after freezing, they remain raised and turn to a pale yellow-pink color.

6 – The body

Sixth element, the body stiffness: a fresh fish presents the natural rigor mortis that lasts for at least 6-7 hours. The thawed fish is instead soft, flaccid.

7 – The belly

Seventh element, the belly. Elastic, spotless, compact. Significantly different compared to the swollen and flabby meat of defrosted fish.

8 – Meats

Eighth element – at this point verifiable only after purchase – is the appearance of the meat. In fresh fish they must be bright, firm and elastic, and after being subjected to finger pressure they must immediately return to their original position.

9 – The spine

Similarly, the spine must be clear, colorless and resistant, difficult to break; moreover it must be very close to the meat. In defrosted fish it is reddish and breaks easily.

10 – The innards

Last element, the innards smooth, clean and shiny. IS not overly smelly as in thawed fish.

5 autumn fish recipes for children – Italian Cuisine

Some tasty and simple proposal to conquer the little ones between 2 and 5 years, who do not always love fish!

Children often don't like it. Why? Because it has thorns or simply because it tastes like fish". And yet it is good for children. To make children happy, there are some simple tricks that you can try. Choose fish with a delicate flavor, white fish such as sole or hake. Completely remove all bones or plugs, every bit of skin, everything that can make our baby's nose turn upside down. Meatballs and croquettes are always a good solution, they almost always manage to entice even the most difficult. With the arrival of autumn it can take advantage of the desire for sauces and gravies, which make dishes more appetizing.

Hake burger

Fresh hake fillet, barbed and blended with a bit of breadcrumbs, a few leaves of parsley and one yolk. The burgers are formed and browned in a pan veiled with oil. If you serve it in the soft bun, with a slice of tomato and salad, like a real burger, you will succeed in winning over children.

Anchovy croquettes

Anchovies, but also sardines, mackerel … in short, blue fish, which is very good for children. It is worldly, it is made to boil briefly, it is pushed and minced with boiled potato, breadcrumbs, egg yolk and parsley. Flattened balls are formed, passed in breadcrumbs and put on brown in the oven, under the grill. They are also suitable for children.

Baked fish with seasonal vegetables

Perfect for little ones, even less than two years. You must choose a fresh and perfectly peeled white fish fillet: sole or hake, for example, but also grouper or cod. Put it in a parchment of parchment paper with half a potato, half a carrot, a slice of pumpkin, all in small pieces small (or chopped). We combine aromatic herbs such as sage and rosemary, close the foil and put it in the oven at 180 ° C for about a quarter of an hour. Remove from the foil, remove the herbs and serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil: for the older ones, the small fish with its vegetables, for the very small, crushed with a fork.

Grouper meatballs with sauce

Smoothed grouper fillet with boiled potatoes (about 200 g of potatoes on half a kilo of fish), breadcrumbs, parsley and salt. They form with the meatballs hands, are passed in flour and put them to cook in the tomato sauce for about half an hour. For an even more autumnal result, they can be served with polenta.

Sword cutlets

Pass the slices of sword in the beaten egg and then in the breadcrumbs, crushing it so that it adheres well. Brown them in a pan with very little olive oil and serve them with as you wish "chips" obtained by cooking the pulp of pumpkin sliced thin in the hot oven.