Thermal cultivation of fish

For preparation of fish-stew it is best to use a special pot, which is placed just above the open fire.

Like with any kind of meat, the purpose of thermal processing of fish is to improve organoleptic properties and digestibility, as well as to safely prevent any possible microbial contamination. Fish flesh is very tender and easily broken at high temperatures, so it should be processed at lower temperatures for shorter periods of time. In cooking, all methods of preparation of fish are used; fresh, cured and dried.

Cooking

Standard cooking for big pieces of fish involves using a deeper pot, as well as adding various ingredients (such as potatoes, various vegetables and spices mixture, mostly parsley and ground red pepper).

For preparing some fish meals, for example fish-stew, it is best to use a special pot which is then placed just above the open fire.

Poached fish is not very high in calories, it has a distinctive aroma and taste and it can be easily and quickly combined with other side dishes and supplements.

The preparation includes cutting all the components into cubes and adding them to the fish soup base, then depending on the ingredients, cooking for a certain period of time, not under 30 minutes. Such fish is quickly prepared; meat is easily separated from the bone and it becomes very delicious. A typical example of cooked fish is a dried cod, usually prepared around the Christmas and Easter time.

Nutritionally speaking, cooked fish is very healthy and has a minimum amount of smell, which mostly evaporates. Moreover, the energy content is not very high as the only fat present is only from the fish. Over 50 % of the vitamins are lost, however the minerals are mainly preserved.

Poaching

Poaching (stewing in fish's own juice) is a very healthy way of preparing fish. It can be done in both covered and open pots, using fish pieces, cubes or fillets. Since fish contains a lot of water, it is usually poached in its own juice, with added lemon, white wine or vinegar and chopped onion. Poaching is done on low heat for about 20 minutes at which the pieces of meat are rotated in order to be cooked equally. It is best to serve the fish juice with the prepared fish, but as another idea separate the liquid stock and prepare a delicious sauce.

Nutritionally, poached fish is not too high in calories, it has specific aroma and taste and it is easily combined with other side dishes and supplements. Most of the vitamins and minerals are preserved because the processing is done at lower temperatures.

Baking

Fish can be baked in the open fire, on a grill, in the oven, between hot stones (wrapped in palm leaves) and many other ways. Procedure of grilling is ideal for cooking small fish and fish fillets but the baking plate should not be too hot because the fish can get stuck and its meat shredded. Coating the grilled fish with olive oil and lemon juice is a standard procedure whose purpose is to make meat tastier. Some people put spices into the marinade, usually chopped rosemary. Baking from all sides is done very quickly, usually in under ten minutes. Nutritionally, the meat does not contain too much fat, it can easily be separated from bones and can perfectly be matched with other side dishes and especially red wine. Up to 25-30% of Vitamins are lost.

Frying

After cleaning and "rolling" in flour, all kinds of fish can be fried, especially small fish, fish steaks and fillets. Fish croquettes and dumplings made of minced fish meat with the addition of softened bread and various spices are also often fried. The frying is done in oil or on a standard Teflon pan with added olive oil. When frying crumbed fish, it gets a special extraordinary aroma which cannot be substituted with anything else.

Nutritionally, this kind of fish processing is very high in calories, because the meat is deep fried in oil, however if this amount of fat consumed is not an issue, this way of preparing the fish will certainly be very popular. If grilled fish has 220 kcal, it will have 400 kcal after frying in oil. Vitamins and minerals losses are huge, that is, 30-60 % depending on the type of fish.