Gefilte fish (; from געפֿילטע פֿיש, Gefüllter Fisch / Gefüllte Fische, lit. "stuffed fish") is a dish made from a poached mixture of ground deboned fish, such as carp, whitefish, or Esox. It is traditionally served as an appetizer by Ashkenazi Jews households. Popular on Shabbat and Jewish holidays such as Passover, it may be consumed throughout the year. It is typically garnished with a slice of cooked carrot on top.
Historically, gefilte fish was a stuffed whole fish consisting of minced-fish forcemeat stuffed inside the intact fish skin. By the 16th century, cooks had started omitting the labor-intensive stuffing step, and the seasoned fish was most commonly formed into Patty similar to or .
In Poland, gefilte fish is referred to as karp po żydowsku ("carp Jewish-style").
To make the modernized "gefilte fish" fish balls, are ground and mixed with eggs (some recipes exclude eggs), breadcrumbs or matza crumbs, spices, salt, onions, carrots, and sometimes potatoes, to produce a paste or dough which is then simmered in fish stock.
Carp, Esox, mullet, or Coregonus are commonly used to make gefilte fish; more recently, Nile perch and salmon are also used, with gefilte fish made from salmon having a slightly pink hue. Catfish is not used, however, because it is not Kashrut.
Sweet gefilte fish with sugar in Galicia can be traced to the turn of the 19th century, when the first sugar beet factory opened in southern Poland. The sugar industry, which involved many Jews, grew rapidly, and sugar was included in many foods in the region. Culinary historian Gil Marks quipped that, '"Other Jews had savory . You didn't have sweet challah. The idea of putting sugar into anything else was absurd." But Polish Jews began to put sugar into all of these dishes. Previously peppery kugels. The now-sweet-and-sour stuffed cabbage. And gefilte fish.'
The post-WWII method of making gefilte fish commercially takes the form of patties or balls, or utilizes a wax paper casing around a "log" of ground fish, which is then poached or baked. This product is sold in cans and glass jars, and packed in jelly made from fish broth, or the fish broth itself. The sodium content is relatively high at 220–290 mg/serving. Low-salt, low-carbohydrate, low-cholesterol, and sugar-free varieties are available. The patent for this jelly, which allowed mass-market distribution of gefilte fish, was granted on October 29, 1963, to Monroe Nash and Erich G. Freudenstein. (EPO). See also: (USPTO), and (Google). Retrieved October 21, 2021.
Gefilte fish has been described as "an acquired taste".
Grocery stores also sell frozen "logs" of gefilte fish.
A less common belief is that fish are not subject to ayin ra'a ("evil eye") because they are submerged while alive, so that a dish prepared from several fish varieties brings good luck. Moreover, because submersion in the water protects the fish from the evil eye, in the Middle East, fish "became popular for amulets and miscellaneous good luck charms. In Eastern Europe, it even became a name, Fishel, an optimistic reflection that the boy would be lucky and protected."
Gefilte fish is often eaten on the Sabbath. However, on Sabbath, separating bones from meat, as well as cooking, are forbidden by rabbinical law. So usually, the dish is prepared the day before and served cold or at room temperature. With gefilte fish being a Sabbath dinner staple, and the commandment in Genesis for fish to be "fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas", fish at Sabbath meals took on the patina of an aphrodisiac, the sages believing that "the intoxicating fish odor on the Sabbath table would encourage couples to 'be fruitful and multiply'—which in Jewish tradition is encouraged on Friday night." Moreover, dag, the Hebrew word for fish, has the numerical value of seven, the day of the Sabbath, further underscoring the serving of fish on that day. However, since Jewish law forbids the separating of the flesh of fish from its bones, pre-made fish cakes such as gefilte fish obviate the need to perform such separation, thus making a preparation such as gefilte fish a regular Sabbath staple, and the perfect vehicle for the requisite fish aphrodisiac.
Origins
Preparation and serving
"Gefilte Fish Line"
Ready-to-serve
Religious customs and considerations
Jewish
Catholic
See also
External links
|
|