fish

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What is the Alaccia

The alaccia is a sea fish, whose scientific name corresponds to Alaccia Aurita, a species belonging to the Clupeidae family and to the "blue fish" category.

Habitat, Biology, Description

The alaccia is a gregarious pelagic fish that feeds on zooplankton; it is silver-colored with a blue-green back and is distinguished from the sardine by a yellow median line that separates the back from the belly; commonly reaches 35-40 centimeters in length.

The alga populates the whole Mediterranean, in particular the southern areas of the basin; it represented a predominant fish colony of the Egyptian coasts, but currently its availability to the fishing is extremely diminished. The alaccia, feeding on zooplankton, during the summer of the fregola is close to the coasts and in particular to the river mouths, where the availability of food does not represent a limit for reproduction; a good population of alaccia also guarantees the fishing of needlefish, imperial needlefish, horse mackerel, mackerel, lanzards, bonito, swordfish, tuna and sharks. The alaccia represents a very important link in the marine food chain, and while boasting excellent nutritional properties also for humans, its fishing and trade are somewhat underestimated.

In recent years, even the "alaccia" (like many other alien species) has begun to populate the Adriatic area; this species does not tolerate the cold that is typical of the winter months with a continental climate and the result has been the almost total annihilation of its population in the whole northern area (see die-off in the alacie in January 2010).

Nutritional and Gastronomic Properties

The meats of the branches are not valuable as they are a little stringy and thorny, however, the frequent and systematic consumption of this fish species would guarantee a protein source of high biological value and of essential omega3 fatty acids at low cost.

As with almost all blue fish, alaccia lends itself to different cooking methods, but tradition favors grilling, baking and frying; even the leaf can be eaten raw, but the prophylactic hygiene rules must be complied with to prevent parasites from Anisakis :

instant evisceration and thermal abatement at -18 ° C, followed by storage in the freezer for at least 4-5 days.