Fish of the northern seas and rivers and its characteristics
In the waters of northern rivers and seas you can find the following species:
- salmon;
- cod;
- sturgeon;
- whitefish;
- smelt
Some of them live in fresh water, others prefer the deep sea. Their meat has a high taste; dishes made from such fish are not only tasty, but also healthy.
The excellent taste is due to the clean water in which fish from the northern seas live, because they live in their natural environment. When preparing, quick freezing technology is used, which preserves all the beneficial substances. Some of them are subject to sport fishing, but the vast majority of the inhabitants of reservoirs are caught during industrial fishing.
Names of popular northern fish with photos
Fish from Siberia is valued for its taste. The list of species is large, but most often you can buy cod, salmon, vendace and omul in stores. Delicious dishes are prepared from burbot, sterlet, taimen, but these are rare fish species. Blue whiting, haddock, pollock, and hake are available to a wide range of consumers.
Hake Nelma and muksun are considered very expensive species. The latter can be called a relative of salmon, but muksun meat does not contain mineral salts. But it contains bromine, copper and other useful trace elements. Muksun is suitable for those people who suffer from kidney diseases.
Nelma is in demand for its tender meat; it contains molybdenum, fluorine and other useful substances. It is used in dietary nutrition, but has a high cost, so not everyone can include it in their daily diet.
Whitefish is distinguished by fatty and nutritious meat, it has a delicate taste. It contains a lot of vitamin A, so whitefish dishes will help strengthen bones and have a beneficial effect on vision.
Omul lives in Baikal, but it is also caught in the Yenisei. It is believed that omul from the river has a more pronounced taste. Its meat is tender and fatty, so you don’t need to add oil when preparing dishes.
Omul
The whitefish is little known among buyers. This fish in Siberia lives in places where large rivers flow into the Arctic Ocean, but is also found in lakes with fresh water. Chir belongs to the whitefish family. There are many fishing spots; those fishermen who are planning to go fishing need to know the names of the largest ones.
Pyzhyan has good taste and is called Siberian whitefish. Its weight reaches 5 kg, it can be up to 80 cm in length. Pyzhyan is a commercial fish, but it can also be caught by amateurs. Tugun belongs to the whitefish, it is also called Sosvinskaya herring. The meat is fatty and tender, with a slight hint of cucumber. Any fish from the northern seas will be good for health.
Fatty fish in the diet
Muksun belongs to the group of fatty fish containing more than 8% fat (8 g per 100 g of raw fillet), and in this regard it is a competitor to herring, mackerel, eel, sardine, trout and salmon. Its fat is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, as well as vitamins A, E, D. It contains more B vitamins than pork and chicken.
The meat of this fish is not red, like most fish of the salmon family, but white, tender, juicy, high in protein, trace elements and minerals: fluorine, chromium, molybdenum, zinc, selenium, nickel. Together with fat, it contains a sufficient amount of essential amino acids and is easily digested, providing human energy activity: 100 g of muksun meat accounts for 88 kcal.
Omega-3 fatty acids help strengthen the heart muscle and blood vessels, so muksun is useful for feeding older people. Dishes made from the meat of this fish can be safely included in the diet menu, since the presence of carbohydrates in it is insignificant.
In cooking, it is believed that any recipe for preparing a delicacy that does not have intermuscular bones is worthy of praise, because such meat cannot be spoiled. It’s enough just not to add any type of oil to it, even when frying. Dishes made from this fish do not need it at all.
But still, the most popular delicacy and the best snack in Siberia are salted, lightly salted and smoked muksun, as well as sugudai - fish marinated in lemon juice with spices. To prepare the dish, you need to keep the chopped fish in the marinade for about an hour in a cool place and serve immediately.
You only need to pay attention to proper processing of meat and maintaining cleanliness. Muksun is a freshwater fish and can be infected with parasitic larvae, which are destroyed at very low (-40°C) and high temperatures. You need to buy fish from trusted sellers with sanitary permits.
Commercial value
Commercial fish are those species of fish in which the state is interested in catching. Enterprises put up their catch for sale, and part of it goes for processing. Medicines and fertilizers are made from raw materials, and industrial fats are produced.
The volume of production is set by the state. They catch fish that live at shallow depths. Fishing ships go to the habitats of muksun and salmon. Some salmon live in the Ob and Irtysh, so fishing is carried out not only in the Arctic Ocean, but also in the river systems of Russia.
Northern fish is different in that its meat contains a large amount of fat, but its composition is not similar to the fat of the inhabitants of the southern seas. Fatty acids are unsaturated, so at low temperatures they do not crystallize, but remain in a form that retains nutrients as much as possible.
Omega-3 and large amounts of protein (much higher than that found in meat) are the hallmarks of the inhabitants of northern waters. Eating such fish reduces the likelihood of rheumatoid arthritis, heart and vascular diseases by 50%. This is an effective anti-inflammatory drug that has a beneficial effect on the brain and helps prolong life.
Types of northern fish
The north of Russia is rich in various types of commercial fish. For many centuries, the great rivers of Siberia and coastal ocean waters have provided the people living there with high-quality natural products.
Northern fish
Our country is represented mainly by the whitefish genus (salmon family) - this list includes whitefish, muksun, whitefish, nelma, omul, broad whitefish, taimen, vendace. Most of them are quite rare in the European part and are considered delicacies. Let's take a closer look at those that can be ordered in our online store.
Omul.
An anadromous fish from the salmon family, living in the coastal waters of the Arctic Ocean, large rivers and lakes of Siberia and the Far East. Omul is of medium size - its length reaches 64 cm, and its average weight is 3 kg. Lake Baikal is home to a separate species of this fish, larger than its Arctic counterpart. Despite its high fat content, omul meat is dietary - its energy value is only 88 kcal per 100 g. This is due to the fact that fat consists mainly of polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are easily absorbed by the body.
Muksun.
One of the most famous commercial fish in Russia, characterized by an unusual aroma reminiscent of the smell of fresh cucumber. It lives in the desalinated bays of the Arctic Ocean, Siberian rivers, and lakes of the Taimyr Peninsula, reaching an average length of 78 cm and a weight of 8 kg, although individuals have been recorded weighing 13 kg. Muksun meat is very tender and soft, it has practically no bones, which makes it a delicacy. Its low calorie content of 121 kcal allows it to be classified as a dietary product. Muksun is practically not infected with parasites, so it is used to prepare a traditional Siberian snack - stroganina.
Vendace.
Freshwater fish of the whitefish genus, which is of great commercial importance not only in Siberia, but also in the north of the European part of Russia. Its subspecies live in Ladoga, Pskov, Onega and other northern lakes, in the Gulf of Finland and Bothnia, in the White Sea, Siberian rivers and lakes. It differs from other whitefishes in its significantly smaller size - it reaches 35 cm in length and weighs up to 1 kg. Despite this, vendace is a valuable commercial fish with tender meat that contains virtually no bones. In ancient times, it was always included in the menu of Russian monarchs at the coronation, so it was called “royal”.
Whitefish.
A species (more precisely, a whole family) of commercial salmon fish with their characteristic white meat. Depending on the specific subspecies, it lives in reservoirs (rivers and lakes) of the European North and Siberia. It is of medium size: the length of most individuals does not exceed 55 cm, and the weight is 2 kg, although fish weighing up to 7 kg have been recorded. All types of whitefish are of commercial importance due to their rather fatty but easily digestible meat. Despite the fat content, its calorie content is relatively low - only 144 kcal.
Nelma.
This fish of the northern rivers of Siberia (Irtysh, Yenisei, Ob, Lena, etc.) differs from other whitefishes in its large size: its average length is 1 m, weight - 5-15 kg. Some individuals grow truly gigantic - up to 50 kg. Intensive fishing has recently led to a sharp drop in the population of this fish, which is why its fishing is prohibited in Southern and Central Siberia, and is also limited in many water bodies of the North. Like muksun, nelma practically does not contain parasites, so it is often eaten raw - for example, in the form of planed meat.
These are the main Siberian game fish that are available in our online store. Each of them is accompanied by a description and photo, so you can choose the most suitable one to please yourself and your guests with delicious and original dishes.
Culinary features
Northern fish is most often associated with stroganina, but many dishes can be prepared from it. Dried fish has a rich taste; muksun is suitable for this purpose, but you can cook omul.
Stroganina, which is frozen meat cut into shavings, is made from muksun. You can also take whitefish or omul. There are no opisthorchid larvae in muksun, so you can eat it without fear for your health.
Whitefish can be baked with vegetables and sauces, and nelma is best suited for frying. With this method of cooking, it reveals its taste. Chira is fried and baked. Omul is used in salted, smoked forms, and also as planed meat. Tugun is smoked and consumed salted.
Northern sea fish can be salted; steaks are also made from it, and they are fried without adding oil. The carcasses are smoked, and the heads are made into fish soup.
Stroganina is often made in the north, but housewives should know that they should not use meat that has been frozen and thawed several times. Meat for stroganina is stored in ice and must be glazed.
The fillet is used to make sugudai (a dish made from raw fish); for this purpose it is best to buy muksun. It can be eaten lightly salted; for this, muksun is placed in a container with salting for 9 hours. The result is tender meat that melts in your mouth.
Nelma belongs to the whitefish family, but is an endangered species, so its fishing is prohibited in the south of Siberia. In the north it is mined industrially. They eat nelma lightly salted and make stroganina from it.
