Fish - omul. We reveal the secrets of how to cook omul What is the value of Baikal omul fish
Omul It is rightfully considered the royal fish, as it has amazing taste and does not live everywhere. The omul belongs to the salmon order and the whitefish family.
Description of omul
Omul is a semi-anadromous fish that can even live in brackish water. The body of the omul is elongated, covered with firmly seated scales. The mouth of this fish is small with jaws equal length. The omul has an adipose fin. The general color of the body is silvery, the color of the back has a brownish-green tint, the abdomen is light, and the fins and sides are silvery. During the period of sexual dimorphism, epithelial tubercles become more pronounced in males.
Individual individuals of the omul can even reach 47 cm in length and weigh more than 1.5 kg, but usually the omul does not exceed 800 g in weight. This fish lives no more than 18 years.
Places and habitats of omul
Omul chooses to live in places with clean and cold water, it prefers water rich in oxygen. This fish lives in the Northern Arctic Ocean, Lake Baikal, it is known in the tundra rivers that flow into the Yenisei Bay. Baikal omul has the following populations: embassy, Selenga, Chivirkuy, North Baikal and Barguzin, depending on the spawning grounds.
The spawning migration of the omul usually begins in the 2nd-3rd decade of August. As it approaches the spawning grounds, the omul changes its herd pattern of movement to move in small flocks. Moving up the river, the omul does not come close to the banks and avoids shallow areas, keeping to the middle of the channel. Basically, the spawning grounds of this fish are located 1.5 thousand kilometers from the mouth of the river.
Puberty in omul occurs at 7-8 years, when its length exceeds 30 cm, it is interesting that males can become sexually mature a year earlier than females, the puberty period in omul can stretch for 2-3 years. Omul breeding occurs annually.
The spawning time of the omul is the end of September - October, when the water temperature does not exceed 4 ° C and a place with a sand and pebble bottom, at least 2 m deep, is chosen. The diameter of the eggs in the omul is 1.6-2.4 mm, the eggs are not sticky, bottom. After spawning, the omul rolls down to feeding places. The larvae also do not linger in the spawning grounds, rolling into the lower reaches of the river. The fecundity of omul can be up to 67 thousand eggs than bigger fish, the more caviar.
During spawning, the omul does not feed, starting to feed intensively after it. Omul belongs to fishes of a wide range of food, its diet includes zooplankton, demersal invertebrates, juveniles of such fish as the Arctic Sea slingshot, polar cod, etc. Omul feeds in the autumn-summer period in the shallow coastal zone, where it eats mysids, gammarus and crustacean plankton.
Composition of omul meat
The calorie content of omul meat ranges from 65 kcal to 92 kcal per 100 g of fish. In addition to fats, proteins and water, omul meat contains vitamin PP, B vitamins, microelements: chromium, zinc, nickel, molybdenum, fluorine and the macroelement chlorine.
Taste and nutritional value of omul meat
Omul is one of the most valuable in terms of nutrition commercial fish. About 20% of the total body weight of the omul is fat, this is especially true for the marine subspecies of the omul and, despite the fact that fatty foods are not held in high esteem today, this does not apply to the fatty meat of the omul. Since the meat of this fish has a high digestibility and nutritional value, the assimilation of omul meat by the body occurs in 1-1.5 hours by almost 95%, while it takes more than 5 hours to assimilate animal meat by 85%.
Fat in omul meat is also in abdominal cavity, and in the subcutaneous layer and in the liver, and also it is evenly distributed between the muscles and is even in the fins.
Especially low-salted omul is rich in essential fatty acids, which reduce blood viscosity, improving the functioning of the heart muscle and nervous system. Omul meat contains more B vitamins than other fish species. These vitamins are very important for the human reproductive and nervous system.
In omul, the mass fraction of bones does not exceed 7%, and this makes it possible to prepare high-quality canned food from it and use it for dietary nutrition.
Slightly salted omul is considered the most useful and tasty; smoked omul meat is valued for its delicate texture and low salt content. Residents of those places where the omul lives, they dry it, fry it, make pies from this fish and simply bake it without spices with a little salt.
Omul in cooking, features of cooking omul
Omul caviar is also a delicacy, high quality and simply very tasty product, which contains a lot of protein and full set amino acids.
Contraindications to the use of omul
Oily fish, such as omul, is contraindicated in case of hypersensitivity of the body to fish and fish products, since in this case it can cause an allergic reaction of the body.
Fish fat is not recommended if there is a large amount of vitamin D and calcium in the blood. This fish is also contraindicated for stones in the biliary and urinary tract. Do not eat omul with an increase in thyroid function.
It is difficult to overestimate the important commercial value of omul. It is possible to use omul as an object for breeding in lakes and reservoirs. And, despite the fact that restrictions have been introduced on the catch, for example, the Baikal omul, its abundance in the lake is over last years has decreased and is falling catastrophically, which means that the omul population needs care and protection.
Romanchukevich Tatiana
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(lat. Coregonus migratorius) is a fish of the whitefish genus of the salmon family. genetic research showed that the Baikal omul is close to the common and herring whitefish, and now it stands out as an independent species Coregonus migratorius.
Omul lives on Lake Baikal, and can also be found in the rivers and lakes of the Urals and Siberia.
Its first description was given by I.G. Georgi in 1775 L.S. Berg in 1932 called the omul a migratory whitefish, which is reflected in its Latin name.
A fish called omul was so popular a hundred years ago that its fishing in Baikal even became an occasion for creating songs, legends and legends...
Only in the waters of Lake Baikal four populations of omul have been recorded: North Baikal, Posolskaya, Selenga and Chivirkuy. Sometimes they also make Barguzin.
There are two hypotheses regarding its initial appearance in the waters of Lake Baikal. According to the first of these hypotheses, this fish is endemic - which means that its ancestors lived there several million years ago under subtropical climate conditions. This version is supported by the leading ichthyologists of Russia, as well as Baikal researchers.
Another group of scientists believes that the omul came to Baikal from the Arctic Ocean through the Lena River basin about 20 thousand years ago, during the interglacial period. As a result of adaptations to the habitat conditions in the lake, it has formed intraspecific forms that differ both in a number of ways. morphological features, as well as ecological characteristics.
Individual individuals of the omul can even reach 47 cm in length and weigh more than 1.5 kg, but usually the omul does not exceed 800 g in weight. This fish lives no more than 18 years. The largest specimen was a representative of the Selenga population, which weighed 5 kg and had a length of up to 50 cm. According to the fishermen, this is not the largest omul, but it has not yet been possible to catch even more fish.
The omul has a terminal mouth, the axis of the body passes through the middle of the eye, the lower jaw does not extend beyond the upper, usually the jaws are of equal length. The color of the back varies from brown to green, the sides are silvery. There are no clearly expressed differences between males and females, only during spawning, epithelial tubercles are more pronounced in males.
Favorite food for omul are amphipods, young gobies, whitefish fry, smelt, polar cod. Sometimes omul prefers to eat planktonic crustaceans. In the waters of Lake Baikal, fish do not mind eating small crustaceans. Omuls feed on pelagic amphipods and juveniles of Baikal fish (golomyankas) when the main food is not enough. The diet of the adult generation and fry is somewhat different. It is also known that in winter the omul keeps to a diet, ingesting fewer organisms than in other seasons.
Each race of omul matures differently: the earliest maturation is typical for the North Baikal fish (at the 4-5th year of life), and the latest for the embassy population (at the 7-8th year of life). It is at this age that fish first spawn in autumn. Omul spawns up to 15 years, after which it loses the ability to have caviar.
Young, spawning individuals for the first time usually lay from 5 - 6 to 12 - 15 thousand eggs. With age, the amount of eggs laid increases, reaching 30 thousand pieces or more. Studies of the last two decades show that the fertility of omul has decreased on average by 1.5 - 2 times. The maximum number of laid eggs does not exceed 20 thousand pieces, and for the first time spawning females lay up to 7 - 8 thousand eggs. It varies from year to year. Most a large number of eggs are laid by the Selenga population - from 7 to 30 billion eggs; North Baikal - from 2.5 to 13 billion; embassy - 1 - 1.5 billion; chivirkuy - also up to 1 - 1.5 billion eggs.
Omuls are born in clean water after 200 - 220 days. Fluctuations in the duration of incubation of eggs depend on the temperature and gas regime of water in the spawning grounds. The development of omul caviar occurs on natural spawning grounds at a temperature of 0.1-0.2 to 3-2 degrees C and high water saturation with oxygen. Optimum temperature for the normal development of caviar 0.5-1.5 degrees C, so the omul prefers to lay eggs on a sandy-pebble bottom, where there is clean, clear water and a constant flow that provides the necessary oxygen supply.
The weight of the larvae of the omul, born from eggs in natural conditions, is from 4 to 15 mg. The weight of larvae hatched from eggs under artificial conditions falls within the same limits, since the initial conditions in both cases - the size of the eggs and the amount of nutrients in them - are the same.
As it became known after numerous experiments, only 6-7 fish can survive from 10 thousand eggs laid by omul in clean, optimal spawning grounds for development.
Fishing for omul is not only a banal food production, it is also a sport, and it is very exciting and reckless. It is not so easy for an inexperienced fisherman to catch a Siberian fish, which turns out to be quite a cunning prey. In order for the fishing to end successfully, and the fisherman returned back with a trophy, you need to know some tricks that are very necessary when catching omul.
Let's start with the fact that omul can be caught almost all year round, with the exception of the spawning period, when fishing is strictly prohibited. Which fishing is more interesting, winter or summer - you decide. In any case, she will leave behind a lot of pleasant impressions. Perhaps, it is worth starting with catching omul in winter. Perhaps, at this time of the year, fishing is somewhat easier, although there are a lot of tricks here. main feature omul production at this time of the year - transparent ice of lakes, under which lie at least clear waters. Accordingly, the fish that comes to the hole, you can safely see and observe its behavior. The advantage of such peeping is obvious - you can choose a bait that will appeal to a particular fish school.
It is worth talking about the bait for winter omul fishing separately. The thing is that the omul behaves differently. Either he grabs almost everything in a row, then he suddenly becomes a real gourmet and does not bite at anyhow. So it's best to stock up on a wide variety of baits, ranging from simple painted pieces of foam rubber to scraps. fresh meat. Siberians make baits from a variety of materials: foam rubber, beads, fishing line, wire. It's all dyed red various shades and attached to the hook.
So, you stocked up on baits, so which one to choose? This is where clear ice comes to the rescue. You take one of the baits and lower it into the water. Through the ice, you can see fish very well, including cisco, but they just don’t react to your bait, even if it is right under their noses. So, the bait did not please capricious fish. What to do? That's right, take something else, and radically different. So, gradually, you change bait after bait until the long-awaited bite begins. On a well-chosen bait, you can drag quite a bit in just a couple of hours. big mountain omul. Isn't this a real happiness for a fisherman? However, when fishing for omul in winter, you need to take into account the fact that transparent ice is an advantage not only for you, but also for fish. After all, she also sees you perfectly and may not come to the hole. What to do? It is best in this situation to rake the ice crumbs that you pulled out of the hole into a pile, level it and lightly pour water over it, thus making a kind of platform. Staying on it, you will be less suspicious object for fish.
Schools of omul rarely stay in one place, so sometimes you have to wait quite a long time for them. But then, when the school comes up, you just have to pull out fish after fish and so on until it passes.
An important detail of winter omul fishing is top dressing. Experienced fishermen often leave the container with the bait in the hole in the evening, and in the morning at dawn they start fishing.
Summer omul fishing is no less interesting than winter fishing, and some fishermen consider it much more reckless. After all, not everyone likes to watch fish from under the water.
For summer fishing, you can use a variety of fishing rods and spinning rods. Of course, all kinds of nets, prisons, scarves and other devices are prohibited regardless of the time of year. Omul can be caught both from the shore and from a boat, and, again, each type of fishing has its pros and cons.
If you decide to fish from the shore, it is best to stock up on a good spinning rod. Omul is very fond of moving bait and willingly takes it. So, such fishing turns out to be very, very reckless. As for lures for spinning, here, first of all, it is worth using lures of small sizes and a wide variety of colors. Preference should, of course, be given to shades of red, orange and pink, but we have already talked about bad temper omul, so he can easily grab baits of other colors.
If you prefer to sit quietly with a fishing rod, then you also have a chance to catch omul, although, perhaps, the catch will be somewhat smaller. But this will be fully compensated by other fish.
A very special way of catching omul is on the spotlight. In fact, any fish can be caught in this way, but the omul is especially good. Fishing is carried out from a boat and in dark time days. The fishermen move away from the shore, turn off the engine and lower a powerful searchlight into the water so that the beam goes into the depths. A little time - and you can carry and carry fish. What's the secret? In the smallest crustaceans that are going to light. Crustaceans are the main food for fish, and therefore it also comes to the light after them. This is a kind of feeding, which is provided naturally.
Omul fishing is a gambling and exciting process. Anyone who has ever participated in such fishing will definitely want to repeat the experience. Well, the reward for the labors is always simple, but very tasty dishes from the freshest fish.
Anyone who has ever participated in such fishing will definitely want to repeat the experience. Well, the reward for the labors is always simple, but very tasty dishes from the freshest fish.
In the early 1940s, catches of omul on Lake Baikal reached 10,000 tons per year. After the war, in Hard times, when omul, along with potatoes, was the main product, we had to catch much more. Then the recession began, and gradually we forgot about the "omul barrel".
Intensive omul fishing provoked a catastrophic decline in the number of populations. In just 50 years, 39 thousand centners were destroyed! In 1969, scientists noted a significant decrease in the number of omul, and therefore its fishing was prohibited. From 1978 to 1982, a omul catching program was adopted to estimate stocks and develop rational fishing methods. IN Lately resort to incubation of omul.
As unfortunate as it may sound, but due to human influence in recent years, the fish began to decrease in size, its fertility has deteriorated qualitatively, and puberty has slowed down significantly.
Omul is a source of amazingly tasty and tender meat, so fatty that it does not require the addition of vegetable oil during cooking.
Despite the fact that omul meat contains enough high percent polyunsaturated fatty acids, it is low-calorie. That is why it is recommended to use it on a regular basis. various diseases of cardio-vascular system. In addition, it is absolutely harmless and safe even with severe obesity. Omul refers to quickly digestible foods - an hour after its use, it is absorbed by 95 percent. Animal meat is digested for at least five to six hours. In connection with this property, omul meat must be included in the diet of people who have pathologies of the digestive system.
The meat of this fish contains a significant amount of B vitamins, which are necessary for the full functioning of the reproductive and central nervous systems. In addition, omul is rich in important essential and non-essential amino acids, which are the necessary "building material" for all cells. human body. Also, omul meat contains such important elements as fluorine, chlorine, chromium, molybdenum, nickel and zinc, which are actively involved in all processes of the human body.
100 grams of fresh fish meat contains about 88 kcal.
Eating omul meat for food can be contraindicated only in the presence of food allergies, as well as individual intolerance to marine products.
Just like any other type of fish, omul can be fried, smoked, boiled, salted, and also baked. However, there are some exclusive dishes for which, it would seem, any other fish is completely unsuitable. One of these dishes is the famous Sagudai. In order to cook it, you will need to carefully separate the omul meat from the skin and bones, cut into small plates, and then pour the pre-prepared mixture of lemon juice, vegetable oil, salt and pepper. This dish is consumed immediately after the end of the cooking process, traditionally drinking a glass of vodka at the same time - this helps to protect against infection with helminths. Another surprisingly tasty dish, revered by both the inhabitants of Siberia and overseas guests, is slightly salted omul.
An unusual special aroma and very tender meat - that's why gourmets love this wonderful fish so much! Slightly salted omul, flogged and unswept cultural salting - such a dish is valued in Siberia. People who do not understand fish may think that the meat is slightly rancid. But experts know that the delicacy idea of this dish lies in this smell and taste.
Many people prefer fresh-frozen omul, prepared in the form of sliced and split. Stroganina is, in fact, raw omul. Stroganina is prepared as follows: they cut off the head of a freshly caught omul, clean it, gut it, and then freeze it. Before serving the frozen omul on the table, it is cut with a knife - planed. Cut it into thin slices, which are more like shavings. The resulting shavings are eaten until they have melted, after dipping them in a mixture of salt and black pepper.
A dish similar to stroganina is splitting. The same frozen omul, only it is not planed, but split with a hammer or an ax butt. After that, the omul breaks up into pieces that are easily separated from the skin. Splitting is also eaten with salt and pepper without letting it melt.
The most famous and widely recognized omul dish is cold smoked omul. The advantage of cold-smoked omul, in addition to its exquisite taste, is also that the omul prepared in this way can be stored for quite a long time. What can not be said about another delicacy - hot smoked omul.
To get "cold smoked" omul, and not only, but in general any fish, you need a real smokehouse, what is it like? Just a wooden box, preferably without cracks, made of hardwood, the thing is, a box made of coniferous wood, even at +20 emits resin, and resin is bitterness, which means that if there is a desire to get a cold smoked product, we make a box from larch, such as aspen, linden, oak, and so on, with the exception of birch, tar is obtained from it, so that it is also not good. It doesn’t matter what the box is made of, the main thing is that it be upholstered from the inside with larch. Now another thing, the temperature of the smoke should not exceed +28, otherwise the product will "cook", I'm not talking about fish, but in general, about any cold-smoked product. For "cold" smoking, absolutely any fish, poultry, meat, but whatever you want is suitable. It is the box that is important, and the temperature is regulated by a long pipe from the stove to the box. Well, firewood, of course, only hardwood.
For "hot smoking", we need an ordinary smokehouse, which is sold in all stores, you can do it yourself, not so a big problem, the main thing is that the hands would grow "from there". and so, we take a smokehouse, put sprigs of willow, aspen, apple tree, well, or even “stone fruits” at the bottom, I also use blackcurrant branches, for “skus” so to speak. That's it, we put the branches on the bottom, put a grate on top, and a fish on it. We close the lid and on the remains of the fire, namely on the remains. You don't want to get a fried product, do you? It is hot smoked omul that is needed, and so there should be practically no fire, there should be coals, the height from the coals to the smokehouse is 20 centimeters, the branches inside the smokehouse should just smolder, and not char. If there is not enough heat, and this can be seen from the smoke from the smokehouse, then thin twigs can be thrown up, the flame should “lick” the bottom of the smokehouse and nothing more. The taste is amazing, here you not only bite your nails, but also your fingers.
Good, also salty omul. Light-salted omul has a particularly delicate taste. Salted omul is salted during the day.
There are three types of omul salting, the so-called "dry", this is when the fish is not gutted, but simply rubbed with salt, "normal" - omul is gutted and salted from the outside and inside, as well as wet, the fish is poured with brine, the so-called "brine" - a saline solution in which an egg or a potato floats. I prefer "dry", the fact is that dry salting preserves the structure of the meat. Omul is salted in three hours, regardless of salting, but even in summer I bring it home absolutely normal, although it is +30 outside, I just lay layers of omul with fresh nettles. It is better to remove the gills, otherwise they add "bitterness" to the fish.
Another omul dish from the cuisine of the indigenous peoples of the Baikal region is suguday.
To prepare the dish you need:
- fresh omul;
- bulb onions;
- ground black pepper;
- salt;
- sunflower oil;
- lemon or vinegar.
The fresh omul is gutted, the head and tail are cut off, the skin is removed, and the bones are removed. The resulting fillet is finely cut. Then finely chop the onion too. Fish and onions are mixed - most fish, onions - less. The resulting mixture is first salt, then pepper, then pour sunflower oil, and after lemon juice or vinegar (in that order). A few minutes later, the dish is ready.
Omul is a noble and refined fish, and oddly enough, it does not require any special conditions when cooking fish soup. Ukha from omul turns out to be unusually tasty. The key to success is fasting - the main thing is to cook it with soul and preferably in nature in a battered cauldron.
We take the omul, gut it, remove the gills so that the yushka does not taste bitter, cut off the head, tail and cut into portioned pieces, you should not grind it. It is better to cut into two or three pieces maximum.
We cook fish soup, either with rice or millet, when with potatoes, but everything is minimal because we eat fish soup. Well, scooped some water from the lake.
We washed the fish, at this time, the cooks make a fire, cut the greens, in short, in the wings. The cauldron is hanging, the water has boiled, we are throwing our heads and tails, we can also throw a trifle, such as a path.
Cooked for 15-20 minutes, we take out the heads with tails. We got all the "trash", put rice, a couple of small onions. As soon as the cereal is ready, we put our portioned fish, neatly, with handles.
Together with the omul, a small peeled onion is thrown into the cauldron, and 20 minutes before it is ready, the fish soup should be salted and peppered to taste.
Then comes the most crucial moment, before pouring the ear, you need to let it stand for about five minutes. Time has passed, the ear was covered with yellow circles of fat, the aroma is breathtaking, and here it is, the moment of truth, the ear is laid out in bowls.
It is believed that any spices, except for onions, salt and pepper, will only spoil the fish soup, clogging the real taste of the fish.
And, probably, the most ancient way of cooking omul is omul baked in clay or “on the goats”. The dish is considered a dish of fishermen and hunters. Cooking on the fire.
The omul is caught, gutted, salted, coated with clay and thrown into the coals, after 20 minutes the dish is ready, we break the clay, the skin remains on the clay, and the meat in front of you, soaring and fragrant, here you can’t get by with beer, you need other drinks! "Rocks", what are "horns" - yes, it's just a couple of branches stuck into the omul right through the mouth, I apologize for such details, the branches are stuck into the ground over the coals at an angle, after 10 minutes they turn over. All omul is ready. A couple of branches are needed so that the fish does not spin on the branch.
"Northern fish": fresh omul is gutted, cleaned of scales, cut along the ridge into two halves, separating all the bones, then cut into slices of three to four centimeters. The prepared pieces are placed for 20 minutes in a strong saline solution. Then they pour it into a colander, wait until all the brine drains and add finely chopped onion(three parts of fish for one part of the onion), vegetable oil and ground black pepper. Stirring, ram well into glass jars and put in the refrigerator for 15 minutes, after which northern fish ready.
Legend
A long time ago, two wind-heroes Kultuk and Barguzin were bosom friends. The giants loved to visit each other - to have fun, to play. And for fun they had a toy - a wonderful omul barrel. The strength of this barrel was extraordinary: wherever it floats, cisco ciscos stretch there in shoals, as if they are asking for a barrel. The toy of the giants amused. How the heroes will converge, how they will start throwing it, and look who has a barrel more fish will go.
So the giants would have played with a wonderful gift, but both fell in love with Sarma - the mountain hero, the mistress of the Small Sea. Strong, strong-willed Sarma was worth two heroes at once. That is why they both wanted to take the giantess as their wife. Barguzin sent matchmakers to Sarma, sent matchmakers and Kultuk. Friends decided, let the hero herself choose which of the two of them to call her husband.
However, Sarma was in no hurry to get married. She sent the matchmakers back to the heroes and set a condition: whoever fulfills her desire faster will become the husband of the giantess. And the desire was not easy, the cunning Sarma demanded an omul barrel so that her Small Sea would swarm with fish.
And Barguzin and Kultuk started a mess! Everyone strove to take away the barrel in order to be the first to come to Sarma. But it was not there. In terms of strength, the heroes turned out to be equal. They both seized the barrel, and so they froze: neither one nor the other can release the barrel. As soon as the heroes grabbed to fight again - lo and behold, the barrel was gone! They searched, the furious winds-heroes rushed about, but calmed down. We decided to wait for the barrel to float up. Days, months passed, and the barrel did not appear. Then the bogatyrs learned from Baikal itself that he took the barrel and hid it in its depths so that the giant winds would not quarrel at all.
Sarma first waited for the end of the contest. And when she found out, she sent the news to the heroes that she would not marry and she would somehow get the omul barrel herself. Since then, two friends have quarreled - Barguzin and Kultuk. Now everyone goes their own way. And if, out of old habit, they make raids in one direction, then in turn, so as not to meet each other. Shame on the giants for making such a mistake with the barrel.
They say that Sarma did get the barrel. Played, played, but threw away. The fishermen found that barrel. We rejoiced, the nets were set. Fish got into that net apparently-invisibly. The fishermen could not pull out the net, they cut it. The second time the fishermen set their nets. Again the net was full of fish. And again they could not pull out that network. Then the fishermen returned the omul barrel to the sea. Immediately picked up the magic toy Kultuk, threw it far, far away, and there Barguzin was already catching it.
So people reconciled the wind-heroes and came with a good catch. And on Baikal, since then, the Small Sea Strait has been considered especially fishy. Well, Sarma had fun, she lured a lot of fish into her possessions!
Sarma
Strong squally wind from the valley of the Sarma River, which flows into the Small Sea. It can blow continuously for several days, and its speed reaches 60 km / h. To protect the roofs of houses from Sarma, the inhabitants of Sarma village tie them to the ground.
Barguzin
In the old days it was called "bargudzhin", "night owl". Powerful Eastern wind. It blows for several hours, and its speed reaches up to 20 km/h.
Kultuk
Wind from the southern tip of Lake Baikal. Brings the storms rainy weather and fog on the loaches of Khamar-Daban.
Omul is a fish of the salmon family that lives in cold Arctic waters river basin of the Arctic Ocean. Reaches a length of up to half a meter, with a weight of 2.5 - 3 kg. It can live in water with low salinity. The color of this fish is silvery, has a slight greenish tint. The head is small, the jaws are of the same length. Omul lives from 15 to 18 years.
habitation
Useful qualities of omul
This fish is distinguished by tender and fatty meat, suitable for any culinary research. Omul meat is so fatty that it can be fried in a pan or baked without adding vegetable oil.
Fish oil, found in the meat of this fish, contains a large number of useful trace elements, including highest value have omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. They have an anti-inflammatory effect, have a restorative effect on the kidneys and the cardiovascular system, and are involved in the regulation of metabolic processes.
Omul meat is very quickly digested and has great nutritional value. It contains a lot of protein, which is the main building block of the muscular system and tissues of the body. In addition, this fish contains vitamins B and E, which are actively involved in the formation of the reproductive function of the body and in the functioning of the nervous system.
Application
Many delicious dishes are prepared from omul, not only at home, but also in cafes, restaurants and other organizations. Catering. This fish is very tasty in any form: fried, baked, steamed, boiled, etc. It is often used to prepare fish salads, sauces, casseroles, etc. Fishermen prepare a rich and tasty camping soup from it right at the place of catch.
A specific dish that is prepared only from omul is gutai. Raw meat is separated from the bones, cut into thin slices and poured with a special brine consisting of spices, salt, vinegar and vegetable oil. The dishes are ready to eat in a couple of hours.
Omul meat is also used in the production of various canned food, with fillings from tomato sauce, olive and other vegetable oils, etc. Recently, products made without heat treatment (preserves) are gaining popularity. They can be both standard and spicy salting.
Baikal omul
A separate subspecies of this fish is the Baikal omul, which lives only in Lake Baikal. It rises to the rivers for spawning. Presumably, he entered here in the interglacial period along the ancient rivers from the Arctic Ocean, but this hypothesis, like all the others, has not been fully confirmed.
The number of Baikal omul is currently steadily declining. This is due to uncontrolled poaching. Despite the measures taken and increased responsibility for unauthorized fishing, poachers continue to reduce its population.
Omul is a fish from a legend, or rather, from many legends told about unique lake, the only one of its kind - about Baikal. In Russia, almost everyone has heard about omul, but few people know its taste - at least it was like that before, when it was possible to try this fish only not far from famous lake, or it was received as a gift from friends who visited those places. Today, omul is a Baikal miracle, you can also buy it in the western regions of Russia, although this fish is quite expensive - 400-750 rubles per 1 kg. Now we will tell you how omul fish is useful and how to cook it.
Description
Sometimes they say that the omul is a fish of the salmon family, it is found only in Russia, and even only in Baikal, but this is not so. True, the Baikal omul, which was previously considered a subspecies of its Arctic counterpart, is now considered separate view and even endemic - this means that it is not found in other places on the planet. But in fact, the differences between this type of omul and others are very small: fellows of this fish are also found in other Siberian and Far Eastern lakes, and the Arctic omul lives off the coast of the Arctic Ocean, and spawns both in Russian and in North American rivers.
However, it is the Baikal omul that we consider to be the very legendary fish delicacy, which is mentioned even in folk songs. The main food for this fish is the smallest epishura crustaceans, no larger than 1.5 mm in size: they are certainly found only in Baikal, so the taste of the Baikal omul really differs from other species. If there is not enough epishura, the omul feeds on other small crustaceans - amphipods, or small Baikal fish - golomyanka, very fatty and nutritious. Depending on in which part of Baikal the omul lives and feeds, it is distinguished by "intra-Baikal" species, or races; the largest omul can reach 7 kg of weight and even more.
Rich composition and calorie content
The benefits of omul fish are explained by its rich vitamin and mineral composition and useful fatty acids. There is a lot of fat in the omul - this helps it survive perfectly in the winter in the icy Baikal water, but this fat for the most part consists of PUFAs - polyunsaturated fatty acids. Therefore, tender omul meat is useful to use in diets for weight loss, like the meat of other representatives of salmon.
The calorie content of omul with its high fat content is surprisingly low - about 88 kcal per 100 g, but it is better to fry it without oil, using a non-stick pan, or bake it in the oven. Omul is rich in useful protein, as well as vitamin PP, or B3 (another name is nicotinic acid), which is vital for our brain to function normally. This vitamin is very necessary for people engaged in mental work, suffering from insomnia and memory problems, as well as those who are prone to obesity - it optimizes metabolism and dissolves the most dense cholesterol deposits. This property of omul will also be useful for those who want to get rid of a few extra pounds. Omul meat also contains minerals: chlorine, sulfur, zinc, chromium, fluorine, molybdenum, nickel.
What's the use?
What else is the use delicious meals from omul? Its use reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, heart attack, stroke, atherosclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis; due to the high content of PUFAs, improves the functioning of the entire nervous system. You can eat omul even with obesity, and it is digested easily and quickly - 5-6 times faster than types of meat considered dietary.
How to cook
There are not so many culinary recipes with omul, and it is not surprising: this fish has remained an exotic delicacy for many years, and even today most of our compatriots do not know its taste. Of course, the best dishes are obtained from freshly caught fish, but freshly frozen omul retains its taste and almost all useful properties for several months if the technology of quick freezing of products is used. Properly frozen omul after defrosting looks whole and neat, has a normal, even - light, or slightly pinkish - color and smells pleasantly of freshness.
Omul is cooked, like any fish: it is boiled, stewed, baked, fried, salted, smoked; it makes excellent sushi and magical fish soup.
True, there are also such dishes that may seem strange to a resident. central Russia- for example, the Baikal omul splitting. Cook this dish easier in winter, during ice fishing, as the fish must be quickly frozen while still alive - local frosts allow this. As soon as the omul is thoroughly frozen, it is beaten off from all sides so that the meat breaks into pieces inside the skin; then the icy skin is removed - it easily “falls behind” itself, and they immediately eat the fish, dipping the pieces in salt and black pepper; most fishermen like to eat such omul "with vodka" - alcohol here can act as a disinfectant. It is not recommended to cook a split at home if there is no powerful freezer.
How useful it is to salt omul fish
Salting the omul is also not difficult: a surprisingly tasty delicacy will be ready in two days. You can find recipes that suggest salting thawed omul, but experts assure that nothing will come of it: the fish must be fresh, or, in extreme cases, chilled. Omul must be gutted and thoroughly washed in cold water but do not descale. Put paper on the table and sprinkle it with salt, a layer of about 5 mm - so that it is convenient to dip the fish. Omul is first placed on the salt with one side, then the other, slightly pressing; excess salt is gently shaken off, holding the fish with both hands, by the tail and head. The omul is placed in an enameled dish, back down, arching the fish in a semicircle, pressed on top with a suitable plate with a load - as a load, you can take an ordinary glass jar of cold water, with a capacity of 1-1.5 l, - and put in the refrigerator. Wash off excess salt before serving.
How to fry omul
You can cook fish soup and aspic from omul, as from any oily fish, but the easiest option is fried omul. The omul is fried in batter, or first it is rolled in flour mixed with salt, and then dipped in a mixture of eggs (3 pcs.) And milk (100 ml). The fish is cleaned, washed and the heads are cut off; fry on both sides in a hot pan until golden. Serve with boiled rice, fresh herbs.
What you need to know when buying
Buying fresh omul in western Russia is almost unrealistic, so you should know that frozen omul must be stored in such a way as to prevent defrosting: if you freeze this fish again, it will lose its “legendary” qualities, and its meat will turn into an unappetizing, unsightly “gruel”. It is possible to recognize more than once a frozen or improperly stored omul by faded gills, sunken eyes and lesions on the skin; this can be said about any stale fish, but tender omul deteriorates especially quickly if handled and transported carelessly. After defrosting, the meat of such an omul literally “flakes off” from the bones, easily kneads in the hands and may have an earthy hue.
In Russian stores, you can sometimes buy omul in the form of canned food in own juice And tomato sauce. There are no contraindications to the use of omul: it should not be eaten only by people who are allergic to fish.
Omul is a treasure of Siberia
Siberia... Mysterious Siberia, sung by many poets and bards, a region known for its harsh climate and unique nature. Everything here is unusual and new for the inhabitants of the European part of Russia and for foreigners, and this is what gives Siberia a touch of mystery and unknown.
The unique nature of Siberia does not need to be proved. It is enough just to take Baikal, a lake known to the whole world. It was Baikal that became a kind of cradle for many treasures of Siberia, for example, omul. - This is a small-sized fish of the whitefish family. Many people think that it is found only in Baikal, but this opinion is erroneous. Omul can be found in most of the Siberian rivers, as well as in the coastal zone of the northern seas. However, it is the Baikal omul that is known to gourmets all over the world. It is quite possible that this is due to the unusual purity of Baikal water, and the omul really appreciates clean water. So the Baikal omul is something that you will not find anywhere else. It is not surprising that omul dishes have become the hallmark of this region.
Omul was, is and will be one of the main sources of income for local residents. Salted omul, as well as smoked omul and dried omul - all these products today can be found at any railway station, in any, even the smallest village, not to mention large cities. And yet it is only in Siberia. Meanwhile, not everyone can afford a trip to Baikal in order to try local delicacies (which, by the way, are not limited to one omul). Of course, not only gastronomic pleasures attract, but also nature, forests, mountains, rivers, Baikal ... But still, this is not enough.
And omul, mainly cold smoked omul, is considered a delicacy and is highly valued not only in our country, but also abroad. And no wonder, because the more difficult it is to get this or that product, the more valuable it is. Of course, it's not just that. has a very special taste. Its meat is very fatty and tender, like many fish that live in cold water. In addition, with proper preparation, it acquires an unusual flavor, for which it is valued. Indigenous Siberians call such omul "omul with a smell." To some, this smell resembles the smell of slightly rotten fish, but it is not. During cooking, omul meat undergoes chemical reactions which gives it its flavor. Most people who have tried omul believe that they have never eaten anything tastier. Of course, there are those who did not like the omul, but there are only a few of them.
In addition to the amazing taste, omul meat has a number of useful qualities. Even in the old days, there was a belief among Siberians that he was able to cure a fisherman from any, even the most serious illness, it was enough to brush his lips with the tail of a freshly caught fish.
Yes, and longevity, which Siberians are famous for, also once again proves the useful qualities of many Siberian products in general and omul in particular. Beneficial features omul meat has been proven by doctors, so these are not just beliefs and conjectures. Of course, in order for them to be present, one must eat. omul no less than the inhabitants of the Baikal regions eat, and this is not always possible.
A separate pleasure is fishing on Lake Baikal. Omul is a rather capricious fish and not every fisherman manages to outwit him. Omul can be caught in winter and summer, and, according to Siberians, freshly caught and freshly brewed omul is something divine.
And yet today it is absolutely not necessary to go to Baikal to finally taste smoked or salted omul. Now this amazing fish can be eaten in any part of Russia. Modern freezing technologies and vacuum packaging allow preserving the taste and useful qualities of omul for a long time. And this means that it can be delivered to any point in Russia without fear that the carcass will deteriorate. Salted omul and smoked omul, as well as balyki, can be eaten without any additional processing. But freshly frozen omul carcasses can be cooked in any way, including the original Siberian cooking options. For example, omul on the horns can be cooked in nature, and the splitting can be done using a conventional freezer. There would be a desire.
On our website we have placed for you the most interesting and useful information about omul. You will learn what types of omul exist in nature, where and how you can catch it, and you will also find recipes for cooking this fish at home. Everything is here, from real Siberian stroganina to stuffed omul.
Ways to cook omul
In what form is omul most valued?
In Siberia, salted omul, flogged and unswept cultural salting, is most valued. True lovers and connoisseurs believe that whipped salted omul<с душком>- a peculiar spicy smell and very tender meat in texture - it is preferable to all other types of cooking. For an unaccustomed person, such an omul seems somewhat rotten (however, it only seems, such is the specificity of the smell of delicious fish. Not everyone likes, for example, cheese<Рокфор>, but amateurs will not exchange it for any other). Fresh-frozen omul is highly valued, cooked in the form of splitting and slicing. In the summer, they prefer omul on the go.
Splitting
Heavily frozen fish is beaten with a hard object in order to remove the skin from it. After beating, the skin is easily removed, and the raw fish is seasoned with spices and onion-vinegar seasoning. Used as a snack.
Stroganina
A favorite dish of Siberian fishermen and hunters in winter. For its preparation, strongly frozen fish is used, which is planed with a knife into thin plates, like shavings (hence - stroganina). Used raw with spices, onions and vinegar.
Omul Baikal
Baikal omul (Coregonus autumnalis migratorius) fattening up in the expanses of Baikal, where its food is mainly small crustaceans - epishura. It has been established that the omul feeds on epishura if its concentration is not lower than 30-35 thousand crustaceans in a cubic meter of water. With a lack of basic food, he switches to feeding on pelagic amphipods and juveniles of wonderful Baikal fish - golomyanok. Omul is a large whitefish, reaching over 7 kg of weight.
In September, the Baikal omul enters the rivers, preparing for spawning. There are three races of omul:
1) Angarskaya (spawning in the upper Angara, Kicher, Barguzin), the most early and slow growing, maturing at the age of 5-6 years;
2) Selenga (spawning in the Selenga, Bolshoy and other rivers east coast), fast-growing and maturing at 7-8 years;
3) Chivyrkuy (the Bolshoi and Maly Chivyrkuy rivers).
This race spawns later than all (since mid-October) and, like the Selenga race, is growing rapidly. The omul finishes spawning already during freezing, when sludge floats along the spawning grounds. After spawning, it rolls down to Baikal, where it hibernates at great (300 m or more) depths.
Intensive fishing of this fish has significantly reduced its stocks, therefore, now, to maintain the herd, they resort to artificial breeding. Omul inhabiting the river. Penzhina, which flows into the Sea of Okhotsk, stands out in special kind- Penzhina omul (Coregonus subautumnalis). Almost nothing is known about its lifestyle, apparently, it is some kind of evasive form of the common cisco.
Omul (Coregonus autumnalis) the hero of songs, glorified by gastronomes, in our view is associated with Baikal. This is not entirely true: only its subspecies lives in Baikal. The omul itself is a migratory fish. It feeds in the coastal parts of the Arctic Ocean and spawns in the rivers from the Velta (west of the Pechora) to the rivers of Alaska and Northern Canada. Like the tugun, the omul has a terminal mouth, but more (up to 51) gill rakers. This large (up to 64 cm in length and 3 kg in weight) fish is an object of fishing in all Siberian rivers, except for the Ob, which for some reason does not enter, although it exists in the Ob Bay. There are summer (June - July) and autumn course of omul. Fish entering the river mature late and spawn the following year.
Fishermen well distinguish the running sea omul from the lingering in the river. Sea omul is much fatter, its insides are literally filled with fat, and the intestines are completely empty. The omul feeds in the sea on large crustaceans - amphipods, mysids; young gobies, whitefish fry, smelt, polar cod. Once in places with a high concentration of plankton, the omul switches to feeding on planktonic crustaceans. Like other whitefish, it spawns in autumn. It is not uncommon for its natural crosses with other types of whitefish - whitefish and whitefish.