Gefilte fish
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Gefilte fish (Yiddish: געפילטע פיש) is a ground deboned fish recipe using a variety of kosher fish meat that is then made into fish loaves or balls, popular with many people of Ashkenazi Jewish heritage.
Formally, it is a type of quenelle, a delicately flavored patty made of lightly seasoned ground fish or white meat. Similar dishes exist in many cultures in local recipes bland or spicy, served plain or sauced, and cooked in simple broth or as part of an elaborate fish stew.
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[edit] Preparation and serving
In traditional recipes for gefilte fish, the fish is first deboned, often while still at the market. Next, the fish is ground into a paste along with eggs, onions and bread or matzoh meal and then stuffed back into the skin of the deboned fish, giving it the name gefilte (filled or stuffed, compare the German gefüllte). The whole stuffed fish is then poached with carrots and onions. When prepared this way, it is usually served in slices. In this way, not only could the work of picking fish bones at the table be avoided, but the quantity of fish could be extended by the added ingredients, so that each member of a family could receive a portion even if the family could not afford a large quantity of fish.
In much modern preparation, including commercial preparation, gefilte is not stuffed inside of a fish skin. Nowadays, the ground fish mixture is shaped into balls or thick patties and poached in a fish stock made from the head and bones of the deboned fish. The poached balls are usually chilled and often served with a horseradish-vinegar sauce known as chrain (of which there are two varieties— "red" chrain and "white" chrain, that is, mixed with or without red beet) or with plain, ground horseradish.
[edit] Variations
As a dish of homemade origin, gefilte fish preparation varies widely by locality, ethnicity, and from cook to cook, even among commercial varieties. The paste may be so finely ground as to form a dense patty of almost cheeselike texture, or may be as coarse as a traditional poultry stuffing.
Gefilte fish can be either sweet (generally among Galitzianers) or savory (common among Litvaks). Traditionally, locally available fish such as carp, pike, or whitefish were used to make gefilte fish, but more recently other fish with white flesh such as Nile Perch have been used, and there is even a pink variation using salmon. Since much of Eastern Europe is located far from the sea, the traditional fish were all fresh water varieties.
Especially in commercial varieties, traditionalists may prefer gefilte fish with a high content of the more richly (and "fishy") flavored carp, an inexpensive and prolific fresh-water fish closely related to the Japanese koi and common goldfish. However, those who prefer a milder taste, even to the point of blandness, look for preparations high in pike and whitefish, with little or no carp.
There is even a vegetarian type of gefilte fish. [1]
[edit] Influence of Judaism's traditions
According to the traditions of Judaism, one reason that has been given for the eating of gefilte fish on Shabbat is to avoid the picking of bones when eating the fully prepared fish balls, thus avoiding borer ("selection/choosing"), one of the 39 categories of activity prohibited on Shabbat derived from the Torah as outlined in the Mishnah. Were fishbones to be present they would pose the problem of doing Borer.[1] [2] [3] [4]
Another reason for using a variety of gefilte fish is that fish are viewed as not being subject to the ayin hara ("evil eye") and it is therefore meritorious to eat as many varieties of fish to symbolically connect with the spiritual qualities represented by fish. In Genesis 48:15-16 Jacob blesses Joseph and his sons by saying: "[Jacob] gave Joseph a blessing. He said, 'The God before whom my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, walked, is the God who has been my Shepherd from as far back as I can remember until this day, [sending] an angel to deliver me from all evil. May He bless the lads, and let them carry my name, along with the names of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac. May they increase in the land like fish.' " [2] Thus fish are esteemed as the symbol of fertility and fruitfulness. Fish may be eaten with meat or milk. Therefore fish dishes are relatively easy to add to meals of either type of to serve to guests who may have eaten meat or milk before.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Marks, Gil. Something's fishy in the State of Israel, Orthodox Union website. Accessed March 30, 2006.
- ^ Blech, Rabbi Zushe. The Fortunes of a Fish, Kashrut.com website. Accessed March 30, 2006.
- ^ Shulman, Adi and Israel, Shoshana. The gefilte story, SomethingJewish website, June 25, 2004. Accessed March 30, 2006
- ^ Blech, Rabbi Zushe. Fishing for Answers, Kashrus Magazine, February 2001. Accessed March 30, 2006.
