Red mullet
The Ancient Romans had a ritual of killing red mullet right in the middle of a feast. The philosopher Seneca wrote about this: “There is no more beautiful sight than a red mullet dying in agony. In the fight against death, she acquires a purple color, turning into a general pallor ….
The ratio of BJU in the product
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Description
The red mullet (common sultanka, barvena, redbeard, mullah) is a schooling sea fish from the Barabulev family, which has an elongated body compressed on the sides, colored unevenly in red tones. The fish has a large head, with an almost vertical snout and two long whiskers hanging from the chin. The fins are light yellow. The fish is rarely more than 30 centimeters in size, but its meat tastes unusually tasty and tender, which has long been appreciated by fishermen who hunt off the shores of the Azov, Black and Mediterranean seas.
Sultanka is common not only in these water basins. It can be found along the entire east coast of the Atlantic Ocean, from the UK and Scandinavia to the Canary and Azores and Dakar. Small schools of fish prefer to stick to a soft, muddy or sandy bottom at a depth of about 30 meters. With the help of their antennae, they "dig" in the ground in search of food - small invertebrates. Red mullet spawns from May to August. At this time, each female lays several portions of eggs, which, after fertilization, rise into the upper waters. A few days later, larvae hatch from the eggs, which begin to actively feed and after a couple of months turn into young fish 5 centimeters long with a typical color for red mullet.
History
The nutritional value of the sultanka was appreciated by the ancient Romans. Especially in high esteem were large individuals, for which the rich were ready to shell out a tidy sum. In those days, the fish was called "mullah", and paid in silver by the weight of the fish. The Roman poet Horace wrote about such unjustified extravagance: "Praise, madman, you are a mullah for only one thing, that he weighs exactly three pounds …".
But the patricians did not spare money and bought fish for fabulous sums for those times. Why was the fish so expensive? The point is this: the Romans were among the first in Europe to learn how to keep red mullet in special pools - "piscinas". Maintaining such large aquariums was very expensive and troublesome, because the seawater in them quickly stagnated and deteriorated, so it was necessary to ensure that the water in the pools was constantly changed. And the water was brought from the sea. Keeping fish in piscinas was considered a sign of prestige and wealth, but many did not approve of such entertainment. For example, the famous orator Cicero wrote: “Romans, what a useless occupation you are fond of! It's a shame to say, but some imagine themselves to be gods, if they manage to teach the mullah to sail at their call and feed from their hands. " However, this did not stop the guests from admiring the piscinas,extol their owner, and then eat the inhabitants of aquariums with appetite. Convenient, because live and fresh fish is always at hand!
The red mullet was not just eaten. There was a whole ritual. The fish were killed right in the courtyard in front of numerous guests' eyes. This is due to the fact that at the moment before death the fish becomes covered with bright, carmine-colored spots, and as life leaves it, its color becomes pale again. After that, the cooks fried red mullet and served it on the table.
Nowadays, such fun has long outlived its own, and many people will consider them even cruel. But what for the ancient Romans the death of some fish compared to the bloody battles in the Colosseum?
How to cook red mullet?
In Mediterranean countries, the nutritional properties of red mullet are still in high esteem. Everyone there knows how to cook red mullet. In addition, it is delicious in any form, and its taste cannot be spoiled by any culinary treatment. Delicious fish soup is cooked from the sultanka, dried fish is made, grilled or pan-fried with spices, and baked in the oven.
Even the most inept chef knows how to cook red mullet, because the fish has absolutely no bile, so you don't even need to cut or gut it. Of course, restaurants often serve small fish gutted, but with their heads. It is the medium-sized fish that is considered the most delicious and tender, and therefore it costs the most.
Gourmets love to stew red mullet in white wine with spices and grape leaves, or fry in ghee in breadcrumbs. Fried red mullet is especially popular in Ukraine and Russia.
Composition and useful properties of red mullet
Red mullet is a fairly high-calorie fish, about 150 kcal per 100 g of product. However, despite this, it does not contribute to weight gain, since it contains a lot of complete protein and little fat. Fat is represented mainly by polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are extremely beneficial for the nervous and cardiovascular systems.
Red mullet restores strength after prolonged physical activity. It contains vitamin A, B vitamins, ascorbic acid and niacin, as well as minerals, thanks to which the fish is very useful for young children, elderly people and pregnant women.
Contraindication to the use of red mullet is individual intolerance.
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