White salmon fish (Caspian Nelma). Nelma fish: a detailed description and fishing methods Is it possible to eat raw nelma

Nelma (Yakut. Tuuchchakh) is a fish of the whitefish genus, a subspecies of the whitefish.

Most numerous in large rivers - Ob, Irtysh, Yenisei and Lena.

Description

Nelma - the largest representative of whitefish, reaches a length of up to 1.5 m and weighs up to 50 kg. The average weight of nelma ranges from 5 to 10 kg.

Like whitefish, nelma has rather large, silvery scales and small caviar; the belly is white. The body is elongated, spindle-shaped. The sides of the body and belly are white with a silvery tint. Has an adipose fin. The mouth of the nelma is large, of course, the upper one. The lower jaw protrudes noticeably forward and curves upwards in front, in the form of a "tooth" it enters the notch of the upper jaw. Its articulation with the skull lies behind the posterior margin of the eye. Small teeth on jaws, vomer and tongue. Unlike other salmon, the color of nelma is devoid of dark spots. The courtship attire is poorly expressed, only in males, very rarely in females, comb-like and tuberculate outgrowths develop on the scales and head.

There are two subspecies: whitefish from the Caspian Sea basin and nelma from the rivers of the Arctic Ocean. The origin of the species is arctic. The whitefish entered the Caspian Sea from the Arctic Ocean basin in the late glacial period. Nelma reaches a length of 150 cm and a weight of 28 (occasionally up to 40) kg., Whitefish - 130 cm and 14 kg. The maximum age is up to 22 years. The growth rate is very high compared to other whitefishes, but within a wide range there is a significant variability in growth rate and sexual maturation, as well as large differences in the size-age structure of the population. Especially fast growth noted in the whitefish.

Spreading

Nelma is a semi-anadromous and freshwater fish. Distributed in the rivers of the Arctic Ocean basin. Most numerous in large rivers - Ob, Irtysh, Yenisei and Lena. It mainly lives in the mouths and deltas of large Siberian rivers beyond the Arctic Circle. To the spawning grounds located in the middle and upper reaches of the rivers, nelma begins to rise immediately after the ice drift; the most intensive move is in June-July.

Approximately two months later, in August and September, it reaches the south of Siberia and enters numerous rivers and streams. But for spawning, nelma does not choose all rivers and does not enter all rivers. Having entered the river, the nelma keeps closer to the bottom and goes along the very channel. With further advancement, it often rises to the upper layers of the water. Nelma avoids small places and rifts.

Climbing up the river to spawning grounds, nelma continues to feed, destroying on the way a large number of small fish. During the feeding of nelma in the morning and evening dawns, it is found in the middle and upper layers of the water. Its feeding is similar to that of an asp, the nelma hunts for small fish very energetically - it breaks into a flock of small fish and drowns it with its tail, and then collects the confused fish.

Only nelma is capable of truly frightening the angler with its splash on the river, no other fish in Siberia (perhaps with the exception of taimen) makes such loud and amplitude bursts. Moreover, these bursts sometimes occur 5-10 meters from the shore near bushes or snags, where fry keep or in wide quiet bays next to a strong current.

reproduction

The puberty of nelma occurs in the 4-5th year in males with a length of 80-90 cm and in the 5-6th year in females with a length of 90-95 cm. at the age of 5-6 years, the total life expectancy is 8-10 years.

Nelma spawns in the second half of September and in October at a water temperature of 3 to 8°C, mainly in fast places with sand and pebble soil. Fertility 125-420 thousand eggs. Caviar develops between stones throughout the winter.

Begins to eat fry from the first year of life. In the stomachs of 30-day-old fry, scientists found not only various larvae, but also small juveniles of other fish. Adult individuals in the sea feed on smelt, vendace, and juveniles of other whitefish. After spawning, nelma rolls into the sea. Some fish linger in the river for 1 - 3 years, sometimes going in search of food in flood lakes.

Fisherman

When catching nelma, it must be borne in mind that she is shy and cautious. Her protective actions are very energetic and strong. Nelma is a rheophil, that is, it always stands in the water with its head against the current. For life, she needs only clean and running water. Nelma pulled out of the water is fragrant with the smell of fresh cucumbers. Nelma dies without water in just a few minutes and bleeds heavily through the gills.

They catch nelma on turntables and large narrow-bodied spoons, as a rule, silvery in color, the color of smelt or vendace fry, which nelma is used to feeding on. Basically, nelma is caught, like ide, in the upper and middle water horizon at a depth of up to 2 meters from the surface, or even near the surface. This is a typical feeding level for nelma.

Evening fishing is often worse than morning fishing. Catching nelma at night is unlikely. Sometimes it is caught during the day, but on quiet and cloudy days. Nelma resists very energetically. But, having made several sharp throws, he completely fizzles out, lies on his side and allows himself to be calmly picked up with a landing net.

Security

All fish of salmon species of commercial importance are under special protection of the state, therefore catching nelma is prohibited in all southern and central regions of Siberia. The exception is the northern outskirts of Siberia, where fishing artels extract nelma industrially and then sell it to the whole country. But very often amateur fishermen catch nelma by-catch while catching other fish. Catching nelma in the south of Siberia with sports gear is quite difficult - its concentration is not as large as, say, in its permanent habitat, for example, in the Ob delta. In those places, nelma fishing is allowed and it can be successfully caught on spinning there.

Unfortunately, recently in the Siberian and North Ural rivers it has become much less than before, and this is not only the fault of poachers, although they also make a significant contribution: nelma are caught en masse and uncontrollably, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for it to breed - places, where you can safely spawn, there is not much left. Many hydroelectric power stations have been built on the rivers of Siberia, and people need more and more electricity - already more than half of the areas for fish spawning have been cut off, and in the remaining places the water has become dirty; nelma, on the other hand, spawns - like all salmon - only in clean and clear water. Of course, they are trying to breed it artificially, but so far it is not working out too well: nelma fry do not survive well in captivity.
But this fish belongs to valuable commercial species, and is strictly protected: it is strictly forbidden to catch it industrially in Russia - precisely because it has become worse to multiply, and only in one region - in the northern part of Siberia - fishermen's artels work legally. Catching nelma in other areas is possible only at the expense of by-catch, when it gets into the nets along with other fish.

It is likely that the situation will change for the better in the near future, since the meat of this fish is characterized by high palatability, which makes nelma a promising object of commercial fish farming.

Nelma in cooking

Nelma dishes are highly valued not only for their beneficial and nutritious properties, but also for their delicious taste. Protein-rich nelma meat contains a balanced composition of fats and amino acids. Being an easily digestible product, nelma can be eaten without fear for the digestive system, even in large quantities. From its meat you can cook a variety of dishes, including delicacies.

Gourmets highly appreciate the unsurpassed taste of nelma. If you are cooking this noble fish for the first time, then do not rush to use it in complex recipes, simply frying white salmon is enough to get a wonderful dish. To do this, you need to gut the fish, removing large bones, salt, and then cut into large pieces without removing the fins. Each piece of nelma should be breaded in flour, to which spices and spices are first added to taste. Nelma is fried quickly, no more than 3-4 minutes on each side. Spread on the pan and turn the nelma carefully to maintain the shape of the piece. Ready-made pieces of fried fish are laid out on a large dish and decorated with lemon slices and herbs. Nelma prepared in this way will be not only tasty, but also a very spectacular dish on your table.

In stores, you can buy canned nelma in oil or in its own juice. In this form, it is very good in the composition of fish salads.

Stenodus leucichthys nelma, or Nelma, is a fish of the salmon family and the whitefish genus. Moreover, it is nelma that is the largest representative of whitefish, since the length of one fish can reach one and a half meters, and its weight can be fifty kilograms.

Like all fish of the whitefish family, nelma has rather large, silvery scales, as well as small caviar, which is also suitable for consumption. The body of the nelma is elongated, spindle-shaped, the abdomen is white, the sides are whitish with a silvery tint. In fish of this type, you can easily find the fin.

The mouth of the nelma is large, finite, while the bone of the upper jaw does not reach the vertical of the posterior margin of the eye. The fish has many small teeth in its mouth.

Nelma is very different from other salmon fish - it does not have dark spots in color. The mating outfit of the fish is also rather weakly expressed: it is found mainly in males, and much less often in females. It is evidenced by comb and tuberculate outgrowths located on the scales and head.

Nelma spawning and habitats

Nelma is a freshwater fish found in the rivers of the Arctic Ocean basin, as well as in the Bering Sea and less often in the pre-estuary areas of the seas. Nelma spawning takes place from the second half of September, and also in October. The fish spawns at a water temperature of 3 to 8°, and it chooses fast places with sandy-pebble soil as a place for spawning. Nelma is quite prolific - from 125 to 430 thousand eggs develop in the body of the female, and the eggs grow between stones throughout the winter. Nelma grows quite quickly: in five years, the length of the fish can be up to ninety centimeters, and the weight is from five to seven kilograms and more.

From the first year of life, the nelma feeds on fry, and in the stomachs of thirty-day-old nelma fish, scientists found not only fry, but also various larvae, as well as other young fish. When the fish grows up, it gradually switches to an adult diet, which consists of smelt, vendace, and juveniles of other whitefish.

After spawning, nelma goes to sea, but it often happens that the fish lingers for one to three years. Sometimes nelma can be found in flood lakes, where it comes in search of food.

Nelma is a freshwater and semi-anadromous fish. Especially widely, as mentioned above, it is common in the rivers of the Arctic Ocean basin. Quite often, fish is found in large rivers - the Irtysh, Ob, Lena, Yenisei. It is difficult to catch fish: as a rule, it gathers in the mouths and deltas of large Siberian rivers beyond the Arctic Circle. Immediately after the icebreaker, the nelma begins to rise to the spawning grounds; the most intensive course of the fish is noted in the middle of summer and in June. But after two months, somewhere in August-September, it reaches the southern borders of Siberia, appears in small rivers and rivulets. However, far from all rivers are suitable for spawning nelma: fish avoids rifts and small places. Entering the river, the fish seems to evaluate it - it keeps close to the bottom, passes along the very channel.

Gradually rising along the rivers to spawning grounds, nelma continues to actively absorb food, destroying huge numbers of small fish on its way. During feeding, fish in the evening and morning hours are noticeable in the upper and middle layers of the water. The feeding of the nelma is, in general, similar to the feeding of the asp: it hunts for small fish quite actively and vigorously - it simply bursts into the flock, drowns out the fish with its tail, and then collects its catch.

With its splash during the hunt, nelma often scares anglers. It is understandable: perhaps no other fish living in Siberia emits such loud and amplitude splashes, which are quite often found five to ten meters from the shore - in bushes, near snags and in other places. In general, nelma frolics where fry keeps, as well as in places of quiet bays next to strong currents.

It is worth noting that all salmon fish, including nelma, are under special state protection. Because of what, fishing for this fish is prohibited in the southern and some central regions of Siberia. The exception today is, perhaps, only the northern outskirts of Siberia, where nelma is mined industrially by fishing artels.

For the life of nelma, only clean and running water is needed - in other conditions, the fish does not survive. But the smell of nelma pulled out of the water for some reason strongly resembles the smell of fresh cucumbers. Without water, the fish dies after a few minutes.

Catching nelma is carried out using special devices - turntables and large narrow-bodied oscillators, usually silver in color, which resemble nelma fry of vendace or smelt.

It is caught, like ide fish, in the upper and middle water horizon at a depth of up to two meters from the surface, or it can also be found near the surface itself. Evening fishing is much worse than morning fishing, and at night catching nelma is completely problematic. More often caught in the morning, but sometimes in the afternoon, especially on quiet, cloudy days.

However, catching nelma is not as simple as it might seem at first glance. This fish is cautious and shy, and its defensive actions are quite energetic, which complicates the task of anglers. But despite the fact that the nelma fish is strong and resists very, very energetically, nevertheless, after making several throws, it completely runs out of steam.

Benefits and taste

In nelma, its meat is valued - it is tender, juicy, nutritious, without prickly bones and has an unsurpassed taste. Cooked nelma, like salmon, has a slightly pinkish tint, but its meat is much easier to digest than the meat of other salmon.

In frozen form, the fish retains all its beneficial properties, vitamins and nutrients that are found in fish oil. After thawing, nelma can be used for various culinary purposes.

Method of preparation and serving

As a rule, the fish is served boiled. To do this, it is necessary to boil the thawed fish in a small amount of lightly salted water, but it is important to prevent a strong boil. If the fish is served cold, it is necessary to let it cool in the very water in which it was cooked, then take it out and serve it to the table along with herbs and mayonnaise. Hot nelma is usually served with egg-butter sauce, parsley and boiled potatoes.

Nelma fish does not belong to very large ones, given that it belongs to the salmon family, but among the whitefish genus it is considered very large - the weight of nelma can reach up to 15 kg. It happens to catch a larger nelma - up to 50 kg and about 1.5 m long, but this is still a rarity.

What is this fish

In appearance, the nelma fish is not very similar to salmon: there are no dark spots on its body, and it is quite light - silvery, with a white belly and a grayish-green back. True, the scales of the nelma are also large, like many salmon, and have many small sharp teeth - it begins to hunt in the first year of its life, and feeds on small fish (vendace, smelt, etc.) and fry of other species. The meat of the nelma is also light, only slightly pinkish, and not pink-red or red-orange, and it is not so high in calories - only about 115 kcal per 100 g - although it is rich in healthy fats. Nelma lives in the basins of the northern seas and the Arctic Ocean; it is freshwater, so you can meet it in the rivers of North America, and here, in large Siberian rivers, such as the Yenisei or Lena.

Disappearing delicacy

Unfortunately, recently in the Siberian and North Ural rivers, nelma fish have become much smaller than before, and this is not only the fault of poachers, although they make a considerable contribution: nelma are caught en masse and uncontrollably, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for it to breed - places where you can safely spawn, there is not so much left.

Many hydroelectric power stations have been built on the rivers of Siberia, and people need more and more electricity - already more than half of the areas for fish spawning have been cut off, and in the remaining places the water has become dirty; nelma, on the other hand, spawns - like all salmon - only in clean and transparent water. Of course, they are trying to breed it artificially, but so far it is not working out too well: nelma fry do not survive well in captivity.

But nelma fish is a valuable commercial species, and is strictly protected: it is strictly forbidden to catch it industrially in Russia - precisely because it has become worse to multiply, and only in one region - in the northern part of Siberia - fishermen's artels work legally. Catching nelma in other areas is possible only at the expense of by-catch, when it gets into the nets along with other fish.

Nelma is caught on a lure, on live bait - a small fish, with the help of turntables, spinning rods and other "small" methods, but it is very difficult to do this: nelma is a shy and cautious fish, and does not go to shallow places, although it rises to the upper layers of the water when feeding.

This is where you can catch it, but for this you need to have skill and experience - this fish is very strong, and resists very actively.

Rich composition and calorie content

What are the health benefits of nelma? The nutritional properties of nelma are very high - it contains many substances that our body cannot do without. In addition to healthy fish oil, high-value protein and carbohydrates, nelma contains many B vitamins - there are 8 of them, and in considerable quantities, and especially a lot of choline and niacin; there are vitamins E and PP; minerals - zinc, selenium, copper, manganese, iron, and nelma is especially rich in phosphorus, sodium, magnesium, calcium and potassium.

In addition to the fact that nelma is very nutritious and healthy, it has a delicious taste, so dishes from it are highly valued, and are often considered delicacies. Nelma is digested quite easily, and you can use it regularly, without harm to your figure and health - because it is low-calorie (as mentioned above, only about 115 kcal per 100 g).

How to fry nelma

You can find a lot of recipes with nelma, however, if you are lucky enough to buy or catch it, you should not look for a too intricate and sophisticated way of cooking. To begin with, you can simply fry nelma, and serve it with fresh vegetables and herbs - the dish will turn out to be delicious and healthy, and it will be perfectly digested. Fresh nelma must be gutted, large bones removed, and the fillet cut into sufficiently large pieces, salt, sprinkle with herbs and pepper to taste, leave for a while, and then breaded in flour and quickly fry in a hot pan on both sides - 3- 4 minutes on each side. You don’t need to pour a lot of oil, but you need to carefully turn the fish over, as it is very tender.

The finished nelma is just as carefully laid out on a large dish, decorated with fresh vegetables, herbs and slices of fresh lemon - this is not only amazingly tasty, but also looks very beautiful.

Nelma is an ideal fish for sushi and rolls

In our stores, frozen nelma is more often sold, but you can also buy chilled, or at least canned - it makes delicious fish salads.

Recipe and preparation of slightly salted nelma

Lightly salted nelma is very useful and good - this is a real delicacy, and now you can also buy it - it is freely transported in vacuum packaging. You can eat it separately, or cook sandwiches with it, add it to snacks and other dishes, but the price of this product is quite high - more than 1000 rubles per 1 kg, so not everyone can afford it. Fortunately, lightly salted nelma can be cooked at home - it is salted in much the same way as salmon, but it is salted even faster - it has very tender and soft meat.

How to cook slightly salted nelma

Preparation: fresh nelma is cleaned, gutted, cut off the head, washed and cut along the ridge into 2 parts. The backbone is also taken out using a thin and sharp knife, and large bones are pulled out. Coarse (medium grinding) salt is poured onto a cling film spread on the table, several pieces of bay leaf, allspice peas and freshly ground white pepper are placed on it. The nelma fillet is placed skin side down on the film, and more salt is poured on top - all the fish should be covered. The film is wrapped so that the pieces of fish lie on top of each other, they put everything in a deep bowl and put it in the refrigerator for a day - on the bottom shelf (you can put oppression). Since nelma salts faster than salmon, you can eat it after 12 hours: you need to pull out the fish, remove the spices and wash off the excess salt - you can cook sandwiches with it, or just serve it on a platter with onions and vegetables.

Nelma can be baked in sour cream, fried on a grill, in a pan with fresh vegetables, stewed, cooked from it aspic, main dishes and snacks; with it, delicious pies and a fragrant, rich fish soup are obtained.

Nelma recipe with oranges

Here is another small but very useful nelma recipe - with oranges.

How to cook: wash a few oranges, cut them into slices, breaded in salted flour - just like fish, and fry in vegetable oil. When the oranges are pulled out, the flesh of nelma, cut into small pieces, is fried in the same oil, as usual. Then oranges are again put in it, everything is poured over with cream and stewed over low heat until it thickens.

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Nelma (Stenodus leucichthys nelma)- fish of the salmon family, the whitefish genus. Nelma is the largest representative of whitefish, reaches a length of up to 1.5 m and weighs up to 50 kg. The average weight of nelma ranges from 5 to 10 kg.

Like whitefish, nelma has rather large, silvery scales and small caviar; the belly is white. The body is elongated, spindle-shaped. The sides of the body and belly are white with a silvery tint. Has an adipose fin. Mouth large, terminal. The maxilla does not reach the vertical of the posterior margin of the eye. There are many small teeth in the mouth of the nelma. Unlike other salmon, the color of nelma is devoid of dark spots. The courtship attire is poorly expressed, only in males, very rarely in females, comb-like and tuberculate outgrowths develop on the scales and head.

Nelma spawns in the second half of September and in October at a water temperature of 3 to 8°C, mainly in fast places with sand and pebble soil. Fertility 125-420 thousand eggs. Caviar develops between stones throughout the winter. Nelma grows quite quickly. For 5 years it grows in length up to 80-90 cm and gains weight 5-7 kg.

Begins to eat fry from the first year of life. In the stomachs of 30-day-old fry, scientists found not only various larvae, but also small juveniles of other fish. Adult individuals in the sea feed on smelt, vendace, and juveniles of other whitefish. After spawning, nelma rolls into the sea. Some fish linger in the river for 1 - 3 years, sometimes going in search of food in flood lakes.

Nelma is a semi-anadromous and freshwater fish. Distributed in the rivers of the Arctic Ocean basin. Most numerous in large rivers - Ob, Irtysh, Yenisei and Lena. It mainly lives in the mouths and deltas of large Siberian rivers beyond the Arctic Circle. To the spawning grounds located in the middle and upper reaches of the rivers, nelma begins to rise immediately after the ice drift; the most intensive move is in June-July.

Approximately two months later, in August and September, it reaches the south of Siberia and enters numerous rivers and streams. But for spawning, nelma does not choose all rivers and does not enter all rivers. Having entered the river, the nelma keeps closer to the bottom and goes along the very channel. With further advancement, it often rises to the upper layers of the water. Nelma avoids small places and rifts.

Rising along the river to spawning grounds, nelma continues to feed, destroying a large number of small fish along the way. During the feeding of nelma in the morning and evening dawns, it is found in the middle and upper layers of the water. Feeding it is similar to feeding asp, nelma hunts for small fish very vigorously - it breaks into a flock of small fish and drowns it with its tail, and then collects the confused fish.

Only nelma is capable of truly frightening the angler with its splash on the river, no other fish in Siberia (perhaps with the exception of taimen) makes such loud and amplitude bursts. Moreover, these bursts sometimes occur 5-10 meters from the shore near bushes or snags, where fry keep or in wide quiet bays next to a strong current.

All fish of salmon species of commercial importance are under special protection of the state, therefore catching nelma is prohibited in all southern and central regions of Siberia. The exception is the northern outskirts of Siberia, where fishing artels produce nelma industrially and then sell it to the whole country. But very often amateur fishermen catch nelma by-catch while catching other fish. Catching nelma in the south of Siberia with sports gear is quite difficult - its concentration is not as large as, say, in its permanent habitat, for example, in the Ob delta. In those places, nelma fishing is allowed and it can be successfully caught on spinning there.

When catching nelma, it must be borne in mind that she is shy and cautious. Her protective actions are very energetic and strong. Nelma is a rheophil, that is, it always stands in the water with its head against the current. For life, she needs only clean and running water. Nelma pulled out of the water is fragrant with the smell of fresh cucumbers. Nelma dies without water in just a few minutes and bleeds heavily through the gills.

They catch nelma on turntables and large narrow-bodied spoons, as a rule, silvery in color, the color of smelt or vendace fry, which nelma is used to feeding on. Basically, nelma is caught, like ide, in the upper and middle water horizon at a depth of up to 2 meters from the surface, or even near the surface. This is a typical feeding level for nelma.

Evening fishing is often worse than morning fishing. Catching nelma at night is unlikely. Sometimes it is caught during the day, but on quiet and cloudy days. Nelma resists very energetically. But, having made several sharp throws, he completely fizzles out, lies on his side and allows himself to be calmly picked up with a landing net.

The number of nelma is declining everywhere due to the massive poachers and the deterioration of reproduction conditions. Works on artificial reproduction and release of juveniles into natural reservoirs are at the stage of experiments and are carried out in small volumes.

Nelma meat is distinguished by the highest taste qualities. Perhaps she is one of the most delicious fish You can cook literally any dishes from Russia and from it, and all of them will turn out to be among the best. The most interesting dishes are nelma fish pie, kebab (it tastes like chicken kebab) and, of course, slightly salted nelma or stroganina from nelma.

- this is one of the subspecies of fish of the genus white salmon, belongs to the family of whitefish, a detachment of salmon. is a freshwater or semi-anadromous fish. It lives in the basin of the Arctic Ocean, up to the Mackenzie River from the Ponoi River. The fish spawns from 125 to 420 eggs. Spawning period of nelma takes place in the autumn period, falls on the month of September-October.

spawns in places with a sandy-pebble bottom, with a water temperature of 3 to 8 ° C. Caviar develops on the bottom between stones throughout the winter. In the first year of life, nelma becomes a predator and feeds on smelt, vendace, juvenile perch cyprinids and whitefish. This fish is very valuable for the industry and is very easy to artificially breed.

differs from salmon in its coloration, it lacks characteristic dark spots. The body of the nelma is slightly flattened laterally and elongated. The color of the back is dark brown, the sides are light silver, the belly of the nelma is white, a large mouth with medium-sized teeth. This fish is quite large in size, its average weight is from 5 to 16 kg., But you can still meet individuals weighing about 30-40 kg.

Distribution of nelma

Toward the end of June, a large mass of nelma enters the rivers from desalinated sea spaces, the lower the water temperature, the higher the intensity of the course of nelma will be. When a fish enters a river, it moves near the bottom and moves along the channel itself. Moving further along the river, nelma in most cases rises to the surface of the reservoir. Nelma does not like rifts and shallow water, so she rests only in the deepest holes in the river bed. Moving to the spawning place, nelma rises along the river and destroys a huge number of various small fish on its way. Nelma They are caught immediately after the opening of the rivers until the very spawning. After spawning, nelma goes to the sea, although a small number of individuals remain in rivers for 1 to 2 years for some time and end up in flood lakes in search of food.

Nelma habitats

Mostly nelma lives in large cold rivers - Lena, Irtysh, Yenisei and Ob. Usually she chooses desalinated sections of the lower reaches of the rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean. Also, nelma can be found in some lakes (for example, in Kubensky or Zaisan). In these lakes you can find its local forms. Nelma intensively caught by amateur fishermen. The number of fish is declining everywhere, not only because of its massive catch, but also because of the deteriorating natural conditions for reproduction. Work is constantly being carried out on artificial reproduction with the subsequent release of juveniles into their natural habitat, but in large cases they are at the level of experiments that are carried out in small volumes.

Nelma meat has high taste qualities, which make this fish a promising object of commercial fish farming.

Composition, calorie content and useful properties of nelma

Calorie content of nelma equal to 88 kcal per 100 grams of meat. Fish meat contains proteins, fats, water, and is also very useful for human body vitamin PP, macroelement chlorine and microelements: zinc, molybdenum, chromium, nickel and fluorine.

During the diet, lean or moderately oily fish are usually used, but some diets use protein-rich, oily fish such as nelma. Nelma fats are useful in that it is well absorbed by the body and contains mainly unsaturated fatty acids, including those essential for the human body. However, due to fats that can oxidize very quickly, in the open air, in the presence of light and elevated temperature, fish is considered a perishable product and rancid under the above conditions.

Nelma in cooking

Dishes from nelma highly appreciated not only for its useful and nutritious properties, but also for its unusual taste. The meat of nelma, rich in proteins, has a balanced composition of fats and amino acids. Nelma is an easily digestible product without fear for the digestive system; it can be eaten even in large quantities. You can cook a variety of dishes from nelma meat, including gourmet dishes.

Gourmets highly appreciate the unsurpassed taste of nelma. If you are cooking this noble fish for the first time, then you do not need to rush to use it in complex recipes, just fry the fish and you will get a wonderful dish. To do this, you need to gut the fish, remove large bones, salt, then cut into large pieces without removing the fins. Each piece of nelma should be breaded in flour, to which spices and spices must first be added to taste. Nelma is fried quite quickly, no more than 3-4 minutes on each side. Spread on the pan and turn the nelma carefully so that the shape of the piece is preserved. Ready-made pieces of fried fish are laid out on a large dish and decorated with lemon slices and herbs. Nelma prepared in this way will be not only tasty, but also a very spectacular dish on your table.

In stores, you can buy canned nelma in oil or in its own juice. In this form, it is very good in the composition of fish salads.

Professional cooks use nelma in the process of preparing complex fish dishes that require skill and time - fish pies, unusual lightly salted nelma salads and others.

Stroganina from nelma

You can try to cook the national dish of the northern peoples - stroganina from nelma, the calorie content of which is 172.6 kcal per 100 gr. product.

To do this, you only need - nelma, salt and black pepper. From fresh, quick-frozen fish, you need to remove the scales and skin, after which, with a very sharp knife, remove the plates from the whole carcass with thin chips, as if strict fish. The length of fish strips should not exceed 3 cm. Freshly planed fish should be served with salt and pepper or tomato sauce.

To date, the special catch of nelma is prohibited. Only its production as by-catch to other species of fish is not prohibited.