fish

Palombo by R.Borgacci

What's this

What is dogfish?

Palombo is the name of a cartilaginous sea fish widely used as a food.

Of the genus Mustelus and mustelus species - or as Mustelus canis - it has the typical features of a shark: the coat is gray, dark on the back and clear or whitish on the belly. The snout is tapered, with the skull flattened and the mouth rather broad, characterized by a predatory teeth but not too developed. The gill slits are five. It has two dorsal fins, the first of which is large and triangular. The tail has the less developed lower lobe of the upper. It can reach two meters in length but are commonly caught specimens of about 100 cm. In the British Isles it is known as "rock cod".

Like many other sharks not dangerous for humans - emery or sea calf, spurdog, verdesca, gattuccio etc - and the races - trigone, torpedo etc - also the palombo constitutes a widespread fishery product; in the past it was occasionally undermined close to the breaker even with the techniques of small fishing but, to date, the catches take place mainly by trawling, in depth and with large boats; therefore he cannot be considered an exponent of the "poor fish" category. Note : the dogfish population, like many other sharks, due to over-intensive fishing, has suffered a drastic decrease in almost all the territory; except in the Adriatic Sea, this fish is also recognized as a "vulnerable" or "endangered" species.

Although not a blue fish, even the dogfish has excellent nutritional characteristics. It is framed in the first fundamental group of foods as a source of high biological value proteins, specific vitamins and minerals; the profile of fatty acids is valuable and the intake of cholesterol is not excessive. For more information, see the paragraph below. Note : dogfish, if large, has a tendency to accumulate mercury and methylmercury.

The consumption of dogfish is potentially suitable for most diets. It has no major contraindications even in the case of metabolic and overweight pathologies but, on the other hand, there are conditions in which it is advisable not to exceed the portion and frequency of consumption.

The dogfish is consumed fresh or in salt. The fins are intended for the preparation of the famous Chinese "shark fin soup". Cartilage can be used in the formulation of joint supplements. Processing waste is destined for the fish meal industry - useful as animal feed and fertilizer. The liver is also used for the extraction of fish oil.

In the kitchen it is used like other edible sharks. It is widespread and appreciated especially in fish soups and roasted or baked, baked or grilled - although, being rather thin, it tends to dry out.

The dogfish lives on the entire continental shelf of the North Eastern Atlantic Ocean, including the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea, from 5 to over 600 m deep. It is a predator and feeds on other fish, crustaceans and cephalopod molluscs; it is preyed only at a young age. It is viviparous, meaning that it does not lay its eggs but gives birth to puppies.

Nutritional Properties

Nutritional properties of dogfish

The dogfish is a product of fishing that falls within the 1st fundamental group of foods. It is not part of the category of poor fish even if, in the past, its availability in the seas was very abundant - which allowed it to be caught even with less advanced techniques, in not too open waters and reasonable bathymetric even for small fishing. It is not a blue fish, but contains equally good doses of omega 3 EPA and DHA semi essential fatty acids; Vitamin D and iodine concentrations are also remarkable. The chemical and nutritional characteristics are generally similar to those of other edible sharks, such as emery or sea veal, spinarolo, verdesca and gattuccio.

The dogfish is a low energy food, nutritional property mainly due to the low lipid concentration. Calories are mainly supplied by proteins, followed by low concentrations of lipid carbohydrates. Peptides have a high biological value - they contain all the essential amino acids compared to the human protein model - predominantly unsaturated fatty acids - with an excellent percentage of biologically active semi-essential omega 3 polyunsaturated: eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid - and simple carbohydrates.

The fibers are absent and the cholesterol is present but not excessive; no significant traces of marine wax esters are shown.

deepening

Sea wax esters, in English "wax ester", are complex molecules formed by the union between a fatty acid and fatty alcohol. They have a potential beneficial effect on the organism, especially in conditions of malnutrition - over-nutrition due to the western lifestyle; on the other hand, certain insights suggest that sea wax esters are not completely digestible and absorbable. It already constitutes food supplements and is generally extracted, due to its greater degree of purity, from the small crustacean Calanus finmarchicus - zooplankton.

Lactose and gluten are completely absent. The concentration of purines is very abundant. Histamine, absent in the fresh product, increases exponentially in poorly preserved fish. Being a highly protein food, it is also a significant source of phenylalanine amino acid.

The dogfish is rich in water-soluble B vitamins, especially niacin (vit PP), pyridoxine (vit B6) and cobalamin (vit B12); it also has excellent levels of the liposoluble vitamin calciferol (vit D), while the alpha tocopherol or tocotrienol (vit E) is relevant but not significant. The levels of phosphorus, iron and iodine are appreciable.

The dogfish is one of the fish in which the accumulation of mercury and methylmercury is closely related to its size. It is therefore considered necessary to avoid eating large dogfish, especially in large portions.

Palombo
NutritiousQuantity'
water79.2 g
Protein16.00 g
Lipids1.20 g
Saturated fatty acids0.17 g
Monounsaturated Fatty Acids0.33 g
Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids0.34 g
Cholesterol70.0 mg
TOT Carbohydrates1.30 g
Starch / Glycogen- g
Soluble Sugar1.30 g
Food fiber0.0 g
Soluble0.0 g
Insoluble0.0 g
Power80.0 kcal
Sodium120.0 mg
Potassium290.0 mg
Iron1.0 mg
Football31.0 mg
Phosphorus218.0 mg
Magnesium- mg
Zinc0.40 mg
Copper- mg
Selenium- mcg
Thiamine or vitamin B10.03 mg
Riboflavin or vitamin B20.03 mg
Niacin or vitamin PP5.6 mg
Vitamin B60.37 mg
folate0.0 mcg
Vitamin B12- mcg
Vitamin C or Ascorbic Acid2.0 mg
Vitamin A or RAE15.0 RAE
Vitamin D360.0 IU
Vitamin K- mcg
Vitamin E or Alpha Tocopherol1.00 mg

Diet

Palombo in the diet

The dogfish is a protein food but quite digestible. However, excessive portions are however inadequate for the diet of subjects with digestive complications such as dyspepsia, gastritis, gastroesophageal reflux disease, gastric ulcer or duodenal ulcer.

The dogfish is a food suitable for most diets, including slimming ones, which must be low-calorie and normolipidic. Being very thin, this fish can be cooked using extra virgin olive oil also in the treatment against obesity.

The abundance of high biological value proteins makes the dogfish ideal in the diet of malnourished, weakened or with an increased need for essential amino acids. This type of food is advisable in the case of very high intensity sports activity, especially in the disciplines of strength or with a very important muscular hypertrophied component, and for all particularly prolonged aerobic disciplines. The dogfish is also suitable in case of breastfeeding, pathological intestinal malabsorption and in old age - in which the eating disorder and the decreased intestinal absorption tend to create a protein deficit.

EPA and DHA, semi-essential but biologically active omega 3, are very important for:

  • The constitution of cell membranes
  • The nervous system and eyes - in the fetus and in children
  • Prevention and treatment of some metabolic pathologies - hypertriglyceridemia, arterial hypertension, etc.
  • The maintenance of cognitive functions in old age
  • Reduction of some symptoms of neuroses - depressants. Etc.

Due to the absence of gluten and lactose, dogfish is relevant in the diet for celiac disease and for intolerance to milk sugar. The abundance of purines makes it undesirable, in considerable portions, in the nutritional regimen for hyperuricemia, especially of a serious nature - with gouty attacks - and in that of calculosis or renal urinary lithiasis. As for histamine intolerance, if perfectly preserved, it has no contraindication. The massive presence of phenylalanine precludes a massive use in the diet against phenylketonuria.

The B vitamins have a mainly coenzymatic function; this is why dogfish can be considered a good source of nutrients that support the cellular functions of all tissues. D, on the other hand, is crucial for bone metabolism and the immune system. Note : we remind you that dietary sources of vitamin D are very rare. However, phosphorus, which is hardly lacking in diet, constitutes both bone (hydroxyapatite) and nervous tissue (phospholipids). Iron constitutes hemoglobin, the functional group of red blood cells. Its deficiency can cause iron deficiency anemia, more frequent in fertile women, in pregnant women and in marathon runners. Finally, iodine is necessary for the proper functioning of the thyroid gland - responsible for the regulation of cellular metabolism after the secretion of hormones T3 and T4.

Dog meat is allowed in the diet during pregnancy, provided it comes from medium-sized creatures and not large specimens - rich in mercury and methylmercury. In this case, it would still be a good idea to limit its consumption to one-off.

The average portion of dogfish - as a dish - is 100-150 g (80-120 kcal).

Kitchen

Palombo in the kitchen

The dogfish is probably the most valuable type of shark; it can be cooked in different ways and is not particularly welcome raw.

It lends itself to all cooking systems and methods, even mixed:

  • for conduction: stir-fried, grilled, poached / boiled in water and fried in oil
  • by convection: baked, grilled on refractory stone
  • by irradiation: charcoal or wood grill
  • mixed conduction-convection: steam
  • vacuum - even at low temperature - for conduction in drowning in water
  • vasocottura - even at low temperature - by conduction and convection.

Overcooking it you notice the particular tendency, like all edible fish of the same type - sharks - to dry excessively becoming stringy and rubbery. It seems particularly susceptible to grilling - especially for irradiation - and baked.

The dog meat marries with many ingredients of vegetable origin; the associations with spices such as oregano or marjoram or parsley, chilli and black pepper, with citrus fruits such as lemon or orange, with olives, with capers, with vegetables such as cherry tomatoes and yellow peppers are classic., with anchovies and other sea ingredients such as bottarga and fish eggs in general - including sea urchin - anchovy sauce, seaweed etc. In cooking it is often shaded with white wine.

Some famous recipes are: fish soup, fish soup, dogfish soup, marinated dogfish, fried palombo cutlets, oven-roasted dogfish, stewed Mediterranean mussel, grilled dogfish / grilled, steamed or boiled dogfish, dogfish with lemon etc.

Palombo fins are a highly sought after ingredient for shark fin soup - of Chinese origin. For the food industry, this fish is a perfect substitute for cod, especially in fried preparations such as fish sticks.

The food and wine pairing with dogfish depends above all on the finished recipe; it's hard to go wrong choosing a still white wine, with a medium-sized body, like the chardonnays.

Description

Description of the dogfish

The dogfish has a pointed but short head with a flat skull and a tapered body. The distance from the tip of the snout to the base of the pectoral fins varies from 17% to 21% of the total body length. The eyes are large and oval, horizontally elongated. The upper labial furrows are slightly longer than the lower ones. The mouth is rather short, almost does not pass the eyes, with a length of 2.2-3.5% compared to the body. The teeth are not too large and are blunt, flattened and asymmetrical, with a small central tip. The side teeth are present only in very young specimens. The pharyngeal teeth cover only the tip of the tongue and the anterior part of the pharynx. It has two dorsal fins, two pectoral fins, two pelvic fins, an anal fin and a caudal fin. The first dorsal fin is triangular in shape and longer than the second. The caudal fin is stretched almost horizontally and shows the upper lobe much more developed than the lower one. A ventral notch is visible on the edge of the upper lobe of the tail. The color is gray or gray-brown, without marks, darker on the back. The belly is clear, almost white. The skin is very rough, especially if touched in the opposite direction to the direction of swimming.

Biology

Notes on dogfish biology

The dogfish belongs to the Chondrichthyes biological class, Subclass Elasmobranchii, Order Carcharhiniformes, Family Triakidae, Genus Mustelus and species mustelus .

It lives in temperate waters, across the entire continental shelf of the Western Atlantic Ocean, but most of the population is stationary in the north end - from the British Isles to the Canaries. The Mediterranean Basin and the Black Sea are included. Note : being similar to other species, it is possible that some false sightings may have occurred.

The dogfish has demersal aptitude and colonizes a wide bathymetric range. It has been detected from 5 to 624 m of depth, although mostly it remains in the first 50 m; specimens caught at 300-350 m are not rare. It is an excellent predator that feeds mainly on fish - herring - cephalopod molluscs - octopus, octopus, cuttlefish, squid, squid - and crustaceans - lobster, lobster, crab and shrimp. It is naturally hunted, only at a young age, by large groupers.

Males and females reach sexual maturity at a length of 70-74 cm and 80 cm, which corresponds to the age of 9.1 and 10.8 years. Mating takes place in spring and the pregnancy lasts 10-11 months. It is one of the viviparous sharks, that is, that do not lay eggs but give birth to puppies - from 4 to 15 - that during gestation remain in the womb closed in a placenta vitellina to feed on the yolk.

The maximum fixed life expectancy of the dogfish is 24 years, in which they reach about 2 meters in length. It is most frequently sighted at 100 cm in length.

The fishing of dogfish takes place mainly with large boats, trawls and very deep waters. Only in the Adriatic Sea there are quite frequent catches in small-scale fishing. He is occasionally interested in amateur fishing with the line and never in apnea.

Ecology

Outline of palombo ecology

Due to intensive fishing, the population density of the dogfish has undergone a drastic decrease in "almost" the whole territory; this is why most countries consider it a vulnerable or endangered species.

However, according to an estimate of the catches of fishing vessels made in the Adriatic Sea from 1948 to 1998, the population of the dogfish would have remained unchanged. A study carried out in 2000 in the waters of the seas that lap the Italian coasts showed that most of the specimens of dogfish is concentrated in the Adriatic Sea and off the southern coast of Sicily. In the Ligurian Sea and off Sardinia, these sharks are almost totally absent.