The Black Sea anchovy lives in schools in the upper waters of the Black Sea during the season of warm temperature conditions, and with the onset of cold weather it decreases to a depth of 80 meters. Periodically migrates from the southern shores to the western or northwestern ones. The second name for this fish is anchovy.
Description
- the dorsal fin has from 1 to 13 rays:
- total number of vertebrae – from 43 to 47;
- head length is about 23.5% of the total size;
- adult size – from 12 cm to 20 cm;
- grows at a rapid rate compared to other species;
- the back is dark blue, almost black.
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Habitat
Anchovies are found in especially large numbers in the summer: the water is well heated and there are no problems with nutrition (abundance of plankton). You can meet the Black Sea anchovy along the entire Black Sea coast. In summer, fish disperse over the entire sea surface, and in winter they prefer to lead a stationary lifestyle, concentrating closer to the shore. Stormy conditions and cold water affect the behavior and activity of representatives of the anchovy family.
In the spring, at the end of March - beginning of April, anchovy begins to rise from the depths of the sea and carries out an energetic nutritional process. And again, the fish from the shores begin their movement throughout the sea.
Biological information about behavior
Hamsa opens the breeding season in the warm season, starting in May and ending in September. An abundance of eggs is observed in areas of massive plankton habitat, about 24 eggs per spawning. The life cycle of this anchovy species is quite short - from 3 to 4 years. Intensive growth is observed in the first years of existence, then the speed slows down and the fish gains another 2-3 cm in length, reaching approximately 15 cm at the end of its development.
Interesting fact. This small fish is so popular on the Black Sea coast that in 2017 a Monument to Hamsa was erected on the embankment of Novorossiysk.
Catching anchovy
The Black Sea anchovy is a very important commercial fish species and macro-object of the Black Sea fishery. The food preferences of this fish are determined by its fat content and taste (about 20% fat in the fall).
Due to the deteriorating environmental situation, with the breeding of fish such as ctenophores (a competitor for feeding on plankton, it also destroys eggs and young animals by regularly eating them), catches and reproduction of anchovy have currently decreased.
Recipe No. 1 – Salting anchovy
Since ancient times, salting anchovy has been the most common way of preparing it.
- prepare a saturated saline solution (when dissolving the salt becomes impossible);
- add acetic acid (optional, to taste, but preferably as little as possible);
- Next we add spices: black pepper, cardamom (allspice and cloves – optional);
- Bring everything to a boil and pour into a bowl for pickling;
- add chopped onion, garlic, and maybe red pepper to the total mass (if you want it spicier);
- Now we put the fish itself in the marinade and put it in the cold for half a day.
Hamsa salted Photo: http://market-fmcg.ru
Recipe No. 2 – Fried Hamsa
Fried anchovy - just lick your fingers! Pre-defrost the fish, add salt, roll in a mixture of flour and black pepper, fry in vegetable oil (preferably olive oil). It is not necessary to clean and gut the anchovy before frying. Alternatively, you can deep fry it. Goes great with beer!
Monument to Khamsa in Novorossiysk. Photo: http://itd2.mycdn.me
Which leads a life in flocks, lives in the seas and oceans, in common people is usually called sprat. Hamsa has always been a very popular commodity; it is second only to bread. In ancient times, the Romans and Greeks bought this fish from ordinary fishermen. This is evidenced by many archaeological finds.
The fish is quite small in length, the average size is 20 centimeters, but smaller ones are also found. It is blackish-gray in color.
This fish is quite peaceful and harmless, feeds on plankton and small algae, however, it is very tenacious. It easily tolerates temperature changes and thrives in seawater with high salinity.
There are many varieties of this fish, but only 3 species are eaten. It is highly valued on the world market, not so much for its taste, but for its affordable price. On store shelves it is most often presented in salted form; if you want to buy fresh and cook it yourself, then go to the market.
The main method of preparing fish is salting, however, this does not mean that it is the only one. Fish is good both boiled and fried. You can use it to make minced fish, which is perfect for making fish cutlets. Fish can be considered as 100 grams of the product contains only 90 kcal.
Useful properties of anchovy
Grain crop barley. Useful properties and use in folk medicine, selection and proper storage
Application of anchovy
As mentioned above, anchovy can be found on sale in salted form, this is the main way of consuming it. It tastes like sprat, but anchovy is fattier, its meat is more pink and tender.
However, you shouldn’t limit yourself to just salting. The fish can be boiled or fried, and in this form it goes well with potatoes. This fish, if you purchased it fresh, can be prepared in any way: cook it into soup, bake with vegetables or stew, mince it and make fish cutlets.
And abroad you can see more refined ways of preparing fish. It is used to make sauce, pate, stew, and added to various salads. If desired and with special skill, such fish can even be stuffed.
Harm of anchovy to the human body
There is no harm as such from this fish, however, those who are allergic to fish products should not eat it.
Problems can arise if a person is a lover of salted fish and enjoys anchovy in this form too often:
- Very often, unscrupulous sellers put spoiled or simply low-quality fish into salting, so there is a chance it will be used. However, it is very easy to avoid this; you just need to buy fresh fish and salt it yourself at home.
- If you eat salted fish, the salt will accumulate in the bones, and this will lead to
In America this fish is called anchovy. We give it many names: sprat, sprat, smelt... And in Turkey they call it affectionately - hamsi. There it is fried, stewed, salted, pickled, and dried. On the banks it is customary to consume it, like sunflower seeds in our country. What kind of fish is this - anchovy? It is small - the body is up to twenty centimeters or less. There are several types of anchovies, and therefore the color of the fish is different - from silver to dark green. Hamsa lives in the Atlantic, from Morocco, and in the summer its shoals enter the Baltic and North Seas. Sprat and sprat are also found in the Black and Azov Seas. The population of this fish is quite large, it is often caught in trawls, and therefore the price for it is very, very affordable. But people buy anchovy not only for cat food. If you cook it skillfully, you will get a tasty and healthy dish.
Calorie content and beneficial properties
Anchovy meat contains a rare vitamin PP, as well as all the microelements that all fish are rich in. Since anchovies are eaten along with small bones, we can say that fish strengthens our skeleton. By the way, anchovy is used to make flour - the basis of pet food. Anchovies are also rich in Omega-3. It is known that this substance lowers cholesterol levels, smoothes the lipid profile, and prevents the formation of blood clots and cancer processes in the body. In addition, anchovy has a beneficial effect on blood vessels and the heart. It is believed that this fish acts on the male body like Viagra. How many calories does anchovy have? Fish, the beneficial properties of which can hardly be overestimated, is also a dietary product. Its nutritional value is only 88 Kcal per 100 g of product.
What to cook from anchovy
The ancient Greek historian Strabo wrote that anchovy was the second product after grain that was supplied by the Northern Black Sea region and Crimea to the metropolis. In Chersonesos, Olbia and other ancient cities, archaeologists find basements where anchovy was once salted in vats. The ancient Romans also valued anchovies for their delicate, slightly bitter taste. A special garum sauce with a sour-spicy taste was made from the fish. Now in Western Europe, olives are stuffed with anchovies, added to pasta, pilaf, salads, and pates are made. And in Turkey, the dish Hamsi tava is very popular - that is, breaded fried anchovies. Cooking anchovy is not at all difficult, even if the recipe begins with the words: “Guest the fish...” With some skills, this task will take you very little time.
In Ukraine, especially on the coast, you can buy fresh anchovies. This is an ideal option for making salted anchovy yourself. After all, then we will be able to regulate the degree of spice of the fish ourselves. A frozen product will also work, although the taste will not be the same... You need to salt the anchovies without cutting them. In the process, the bitterness of the tiny intestines will disappear and will not be felt. We rinse the fish, place it in a colander and let it drain. Stir in coarse sea salt. For moderate salting you should take 100 grams per kilo of fish, and for spicy salting - 250-300 grams. Sprinkle with spices - black pepper, cumin, cloves, bay or currant leaves. Place in an enamel basin. Press down on top with pressure. After a couple of days, an excellent snack is ready.
Quick salting
This method allows you to serve a delicious dish in just one to two hours. Rinse the anchovy as in the previous recipe. For every ten fish you will need two soup spoons of coarse salt. But that's not all. You will also need sugar - one and a half spoons and juice from half a lemon. Mix and place the fish in a thick plastic bag. Before serving the fish, you will need to wash off excess salt from it. Salted anchovy can be stored in the refrigerator for several weeks. But it needs to be washed, sprinkled with olive oil and lemon juice and placed in a sealable food container.
Khamsi tawa
In Istanbul, this dish is sold by street vendors, like hot cakes here. Lunch! But it’s even tastier to cook this dish yourself. Anchovy fish needs to be cut, otherwise it will be terribly bitter when cooked. We wash the carcasses and leave them to drain in a colander. Place cornmeal in a large bowl. We will need 1 cup per kilogram of fish. Salt our breading and mix. We put in anchovy. Make sure each fish is coated with flour. Pour in just a little vegetable oil. When it is properly warmed up, lay out the anchovy - tails towards the center, pressing the fish tightly to each other. Fry over medium heat for about five minutes, deftly shaking the pan with horizontal movements. We take a large flat plate, attach it to the frying pan, cover it with our palm and drain the excess oil into some container. Then fry the fish. This must be done until a specific golden brown crust forms. Anchovy fish is served hot with a quarter of a lemon, sprinkled with red onion rings. It is recommended to serve potatoes as a side dish for this dish - boiled with dill, baked in the oven or mashed.
Hamsa baked in the oven
Let the frozen fish (half a kilo) sit at room temperature, then cut it up and wash it. Pour a little sunflower oil into the bottom of a deep baking tray. Chop a medium-sized onion into rings, which we place evenly in a baking dish. Our anchovy fish should be placed on this pillow. We salt it. Cover with tomato and lemon slices. Sprinkle with a generous pinch of thyme as well. Pour some warm water - two or three tablespoons will be enough. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and place our baking sheet there for half an hour. A simple salad of fresh vegetables will go well with this dish.
Stewed anchovy
The recipe also calls for removing the fish's heads and intestines. First we stew the vegetables, since the anchovy itself cooks very quickly. Chop the onion into not very small cubes and place it on the bottom of a deep frying pan. Place ripe tomatoes on top of it, cut into very small pieces. Don't forget about spices - peppercorns, bay leaves, any dry herbs that are suitable for such dishes. We fill it with water so that later the fish will also be stewed and not fried. When the onion becomes soft, lay out the anchovy carcasses. Cover with a lid and simmer for about ten minutes. During this time, fish and vegetables will exchange tastes and become saturated with aromas. This dish goes great with spaghetti. Boil them until half cooked. Drain the water, rinse the spaghetti with warm water, and let drain in a colander. Throw the spaghetti into the pan with the stewed anchovy, stir and heat thoroughly.
It would seem that they are very similar - small salted fish... However, both in taste and in dishes anchovy, anchovy and sprat- these are three big differences. If you don’t know about this, then you can easily get sprat under the guise of an anchovy.
How to distinguish anchovy from sprat and capelin
Anchovy is a subspecies of the Mediterranean anchovy Engraulis encrasicholus. Black Sea anchovy Engraulis encrasicholus ponticus smaller than anchovy, Azov anchovy Engraulis encrasicholus maeoticus- even smaller. It is very easy to recognize any anchovy (and therefore anchovy) by sight: the end (corner) of their mouth extends beyond the back end of their eye, if you count from the tip of the snout. Specifically, like this:
Sprat as well as sprat, so warmly recommended as an anchovy substitute, belong to the family Herring Clupeidae(and in appearance they are quite typical tiny herrings). For comparison, look at the picture:
Located on top capelin lies there for scale. Followed by 2 copies anchovy and 2 copies of the Black Sea sprat Clupeonella delicatula(which I would personally translate as “delicate herring”). There are about ten species of sprat in total, and not one of them is even distantly related to the anchovy. However, the differences in taste are much more important.
Subtleties of taste of anchovy and sprat
Anchovy significantly fattier than sprat, and the chemical composition of anchovy fats is very different from the chemical composition lipids sprat.
The second difference is in the cooking methods. Sprat It is sold mainly spicy salted, in barrels or in preserves. Hamsa is salted without adding spices, so as not to distort its unique taste. Here she is in the photo:
What is lightly salted anchovy and what is it eaten with?
Occasionally you can find fresh frozen anchovy, and then you can’t hesitate - defrost it, then add not too much salt, mix it properly in a container or glass jar, cover it with parchment and put it in the refrigerator for a week. The result is tenderness embodied.
Anchovy but, despite the family relationship with anchovy, it is salted completely differently, not like sprat and not like anchovy. Firstly, manufacturers deliberately and very strongly over-salt. Secondly, anchovy the ambassador is a very long one, at least six months, or even a year. During this time, a radical process of protein fermentation occurs, and the tender anchovy flesh acquires a dense, rough texture. This is how the anchovy, when fairly hardened, is sold. This is how they add it to pizza and salad. nicoise, V spaghetti.
Personally, I prefer spicy-salted sprat and lightly salted anchovy in a gourmet style: with black coffee, carefully removing the fillet halves from the backbone with the tine of a fork. Or classically: with a glass of ice-cold vodka, when you can simply take the fish by the head with two fingers, and even pull the flesh off the spine with your teeth. Otherwise, eat it like that, with all the bones.
Anchovy stew
During the anchovy fishing season, a dish called “stew” is popular in Kerch - and it seems that it is not prepared anywhere else. In a deep frying pan, sauté onions and sweet peppers, then lay out a layer of anchovy 3-4 cm thick, and crumble tomatoes on top - as much as you want. Sometimes finely chopped and fried carrots and (or) also a layer of raw potatoes, cut into thin circles, are added between the onions, peppers and fish. All layers are salted; You can also trim a little hot pepper. Then pour a glass of water into the frying pan, cover with a lid and place on low heat. After 20-25 minutes, the Kerch stew is ready. And when the residents of Kerch say “stew”, they do not mean canned meat, but precisely this.
European anchovy or anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) Description:
This species forms several separate forms - Atlantic, Mediterranean, Black Sea and Azov. The Black Sea anchovy is the most numerous fish in the sea. It serves as the main food for most of the predators of this reservoir - bonito, mackerel, beluga and other fish, as well as dolphins, gulls and petrels. The Azov anchovy (E. encrasicholus maeoticus) differs from the Black Sea in its light color and smaller size - its usual length is 8-9 cm, and its maximum length is no more than 10-11 cm.
Habitat:
The Black Sea anchovy, or anchovy (E. encrasicholus ponticus), constantly lives in the Black Sea along all shores. In summer, anchovy disperses widely throughout the sea and adheres to the upper layers of water located above the temperature jump layer. This fish is especially abundant in summer in the well-warmed and rich in food plankton northwestern part of the Black Sea. In winter, when the surface water cools greatly and storms reach great strength, anchovy is concentrated in limited coastal areas, leads a sedentary lifestyle, feeds poorly and sinks to a depth of 70-80 m. Here it stays mainly in bottom waters and only in warm, Quiet days rise to the surface. However, in mild winters, anchovy may not sink to depth at all. In the spring, usually in early April, anchovy rises from the depths and begins to actively feed on plankton (mainly small crustaceans). At first it appears off the coast near wintering areas, but soon goes out to sea and quickly disperses over its area. The Azov anchovy spends only the summer in the Sea of Azov. There she actively feeds, spawning (in June - July) and feeding of fry occurs there. In autumn, Azov anchovy of all ages leaves through the Kerch Strait in the Black Sea and, moving along the coast of the Caucasus and Crimea, like the Black Sea anchovy, lies in wintering pits. Overwintering of the Azov anchovy occurs in different areas in different years, but most of it usually remains for the winter in the Novorossiysk region or somewhat to the south.
Biology and behavior:
Reproduction of anchovy occurs everywhere in the Black Sea and continues throughout the warm season - from May to September, and, judging by the eggs found, the most intense spawning occurs in places where plankton is massively developed. The fertility of anchovy is about 20-25 thousand eggs, spawned in two or three (sometimes even four) portions. Hamsa has a very short life cycle - its age limit is only 3-4 years. In the first two years of life, this fish grows quite quickly, reaching 10-11 cm in length by the end of this period, but subsequently its growth rate slows down, and the maximum size does not exceed 13, rarely 15 cm. In the general composition of the spawning population of anchovy, two predominate - and three-year-old fish, and four-year-old fish account for only about 1%.
Distribution area:
It lives off the Atlantic coast of Europe and North Africa, in the Azov-Black Sea basin.