Generality
" Trout " is a generic term that identifies some fish belonging to the Order of the Salmoniformes and to the family of the Salmonidae.
The trout can be creek, lake and sea; in Italy, the most known trout are certainly the lacustrine and torrential ones.
Diet, fish culture and trout predators
the trout is a particularly voracious animal; despite the big differences mentioned above, all the trout seem to have the same diet, composed respectively of: larvae, worms, fish eggs, small fish, crustaceans, molluscs, tadpoles, small frogs and insects. The farmed trout eat any edible element that touches the water (even corn) and the use of animal meal based feed is widespread.
Some species of trout are exceptionally resistant; others, with regard to the peculiar biological needs, are more difficult to breed and / or repopulate. The trout is therefore the object of reproduction in captivity, of both extensive and intensive type; It is NOT a fishing product that is difficult to find or particularly expensive.
The natural predators of the trout are essentially: the trout itself (for cannibalism), other predatory fish, birds, large reptiles and large mammals (the latter two especially in other areas of the planet).
Description
although the shape and the livery differ a lot from the various types of trout, in general, it is possible to say that this fish has an elongated body, more tapered in the young specimens and more stocky (and fat) in the adult ones. It has a more or less conical and medium rounded head near the jaws; some male trout, similar to salmon, develop the protuberance of the jaw which increases in size and bends to form a sort of beak. The trout always have a tiny dorsal (adipose) fin positioned close to the caudal fin. The pectoral fins are normally developed and positioned below the gill operculum, while the ventral ones appear to be considerably set back towards the anal fin.
The skin of the trout is rich in mucus, provided with small scales and with variable coloring; the sea specimens tend to be silver and dotted, while those of inland waters show a more developed variegation (with red or purple dots bordered in white or black, and golden lines on the sides). The color of the trout also varies according to the habitat but some of them have excellent mimetic mutation skills.
The size of the adult trout varies greatly depending on the species and habitat. They range from 60-75cm in small streams, to 120-150cm in the deeper major lakes, in the marshes and in the large rivers.
Types of trout available in Italy
as anticipated, it is not easy to distinguish which trout are autochthonous and which are allochthonous; moreover, in recent years, both for sport fishing and for human nutrition, others have been imported that are even more difficult to catalog. The most recent theories upset the traditional classification and define only three species of trout, the Mediterranean (Genus Salmo, Specie mediterraneus ), the Atlantic (Genus Salmo, Species trutta ) and the Caspian (Genus Salmo, Specie caspius ).
Below we will make a small list of the most common trout in Italy:
- S. mediterraneus mediterraneus FARIO: it mostly colonizes the waters of rivers and streams with a very rushing course and cold lakes; it is typical of alpine areas; probably it is the most valuable trout from the organoleptic and gustatory point of view.
- S. mediterraneus mediterraneus MACROSTIGMA or SARDA or AFRICAN: like the previous one, but it is present above all in the central-southern Apennines.
- S. mediterraneus Sott . marmoratus (or marbled trout or brown trout): it mostly colonizes the waters of rivers with less rushing course, the lakes and the marshes (although this does not mean that it cannot be captured even in the streams). Very delicious and coveted (also due to the considerable size it can reach), it was typical of the Po valley areas; today it represents an occasional capture in this area.
- S. mediterraneus Sott . carpio (carpione or trout of Lake Garda): it is a lake trout typical of the lake from which it takes its name.
- S. mediterraneus Sott . fibreni (carpione or trout of the Posta Fibreno Lake): it is a lake trout typical of the lake from which it takes its name.
- Oncorhynchus mykiss (rainbow trout or rainbow trout): is an American trout introduced in Italy. It has an extremely adaptable character and physiology; he lives almost everywhere he enters, provided that the oxygenation is sufficient. It is the most used species in sport fishing lakes and for breeding.
- Sea trout : the classification of these species is very complex; there are different kinds and varieties, which is why we only specify that they colonize the river deltas and coastal areas of different seas in the world. This trout makes small migrations in a similar, albeit lower, way to salmon.
Italian char, salmon and grayling, although belonging to the same order and family of the trout, cannot be considered as such.
NB : The salmon trout is NOT a hybrid species or a stand-alone species, but a rainbow trout whose flesh is pigmented through a diet particularly rich in carotenoids ( astaxanthin - a powerful antioxidant present in crustaceans, plankton and algae).
Gastronomy
Trout is probably the best known freshwater / mixed fishery product along with salmon (foreign or bred in Italy), Nile perch (foreign), pangasius (foreign), eel, pike, perch, whitefish and tench.
Trout can be cooked in many ways; the most common are undoubtedly:
- Trout in white (boiled) with fresh parsley, pepper, lemon and / or homemade mayonnaise
- Roasted trout
- Baked trout, in foil or pan
- Sable trout.
Nutritional properties
Trout is a low-energy animal food, rich in high biological value proteins and low in fats (most of which are polyunsaturated) and cholesterol. These characteristics make the trout an excellent product to be included in the low calorie diet for the reduction of excess weight and those suffering from metabolic pathologies, in particular hypercholesterolemia. NB : Among the polyunsaturated acids, those of the ω ‰ 3 family also favor the reduction of hypertension and hypertriglyceridemia.
Trout does not provide carbohydrates or dietary fiber.
Among the mineral salts of the trout there is a low sodium intake (excellent feature in hypertension therapy), excellent amounts of iron (useful in the case of iron deficiency anemia) and potassium (lacking in athletes). As regards the trout's vitamins, thiamine (vit. B1) and niacin (vit. PP) are distinguished; the salmon one also contains excellent amounts of antioxidant carotenoids.
Nutritional values
Nutritional composition for 100g of: Fresh trout, rainbow trout, fillets, raw frozen rainbow trout, frozen rainbow trout cooked in the oven and microwaved frozen rainbow trout - Reference values of the food composition tables - INRAN
| Trout, fresh | Fillet rainbow trout | Raw frozen rainbow trout | Baked frozen rainbow trout | Deep-frozen rainbow trout cooked in the microwave | ||
| Edible part | 55.0% | 100.0% | 55.0% | 55.0% | 55.0% | |
| water | 80.5g | 74.3g | 77.2g | 74.1g | 68.5g | |
| Protein | 14.7g | 20.3g | 17.8g | 20.4g | 26.7g | |
| Prevailing amino acids | B.C. glutam., lysine, ac. aspart. | - | - | - | - | |
| Limiting amino acid | Tryptophan | Tryptophan | - | - | - | |
| Lipids TOT | 3.0g | 4.1g | 2.3g | 2.6g | 3.2g | |
| Saturated fatty acids | 0.70g | 1.05g | 0.41g | 0.48g | 0.59g | |
| Monounsaturated fatty acids | 0.77g | 1.58g | 0.49g | 0.61g | 0.66g | |
| Polyunsaturated fatty acids | 1.17g | 1.06g | 0.70g | 0.74g | 0.98g | |
| Cholesterol | 55.0mg | - mg | 56.0mg | 60.0mg | 62.0mg | |
| TOT Carbohydrates | 0.0g | 0.0g | 0.0g | 0.0g | 0.0g | |
| Complex sugars | 0.0g | 0.0g | 0.0g | 0.0g | 0.0g | |
| Soluble sugars | 0.0g | 0.0g | 0.0g | 0.0g | 0.0g | |
| Dietary fiber | 0.0g | 0.0g | 0.0g | 0.0g | 0.0g | |
| Soluble fiber | 0.0g | 0.0g | 0.0g | 0.0g | 0.0g | |
| Insoluble fiber | 0.0g | 0.0g | 0.0g | 0.0g | 0.0g | |
| Power | 86.0kcal | 118.0kcal | 92.0kcal | 105.0kcal | 136.0kcal | |
| Sodium | 40.0mg | 61.0mg | 42.0mg | 48.0mg | - mg | |
| Potassium | 465.0mg | 319.0mg | 470.0mg | 530.0mg | - mg | |
| Iron | 2.0mg | 2.0mg | 2.1mg | 2.3mg | - mg | |
| Football | 14.0mg | 50.0mg | 15.0mg | 17.0mg | - mg | |
| Phosphorus | 220.0mg | 279.0mg | 220.0mg | 250.0mg | - mg | |
| Thiamine | 0.08mg | 0.09mg | 0.08mg | - mg | - mg | |
| Riboflavin | 0.06mg | 0.06mg | 0.06mg | - mg | - mg | |
| Niacin | 3.00mg | 3.00mg | 3.00mg | - mg | - mg | |
| Vitamin A | tr | tr | tr | tr | tr | |
| C vitamin | tr | tr | tr | tr | tr | |
| Vitamin E | - mg | - mg | - mg | - mg | - mg | |
