A large family of cod fish

In this article we will talk about the family of cod fish. All its members have tasty and healthy meat recommended for diet. The best characteristics are Atlantic cod. But other representatives of this family, for example, haddock, hake, blue whiting, pollock, pollock are popular and favorite kinds of fish on our table.

Lots of meat, few bones

The habitats of fish of this family are the seas of the Northern Hemisphere. Especially often they are found in the Atlantic Ocean. The family of cod fish includes individuals with a large head, small bone, small scales and large liver. Many of them are mined in industrial quantities.

The chemical composition of these fish includes many useful elements: vitamins, fatty acids, phosphorus, iodine, calcium. Fleshiness and low fat content allows using them in dietary nutrition. Fish can be cooked in different ways. Good cod in fried, stewed, smoked and dried. There are a lot of recipes that are used by ordinary housewives and cooks in restaurants.

The most useful

Atlantic cod is a well-known representative of this family. Such a fish can reach a length of up to 1.8 meters, but, as a rule, it is caught before it reaches this size. From other fish it is distinguished by a fleshy mustache on the chin, olive-brown color of the scales and white belly. Cod dwells in the Atlantic Ocean, but is also found in the White and Baltic Seas. Useful is not only dense and white meat, but also the cod liver, from which oil is prepared for medical purposes.

If you take this substance regularly, you can improve your health, mood, get rid of joint diseases, increase your intellectual abilities. But it's better to use fish caught in ecologically clean places, since cod can accumulate mercury and arsenic, which means that excessive consumption of it can be dangerous.

Gentle fish

The family of cod fish includes haddock. Her meat is delicious and more tender than cod. Dark-gray with purple impregnations, the body of this fish is flattened from the sides. The belly is white or milky-silvery. There is a dark spot between the thoracic and dorsal fins on both sides. Hatching haddock in the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. This fish prefers sea water, so in the Baltic Sea it almost does not occur because of its desalination. Haddock lives most often near the bottom in shallow depths. There she is looking for her usual food - bottom mollusks, worms, echinoderms, fry and other fish eggs.

It is worth noting that the diet of haddock includes northern blue whiting, which also belongs to the cod family. This fish eats crustaceans and fry. It lives at a depth of 180-300 meters. Whiting is often found on the shelves of our stores. Someone eats it herself, but most often this fish is bought for cats who simply adore it. In addition, the cost of blue whiting is low compared to other members of the cod family.

Useful and inexpensive

Another fish loved by our fellow citizens is the Far Eastern pollock. It is inexpensive and always in stores. But do not treat her with disdain. Like all members of the cod family, it is nutritious and useful. Of course, her meat is a little dry, but a good housewife will find a way to save her from this shortcoming. Eating pollock helps to regulate metabolism, the amount of sugar in the blood. The meat of this fish has antioxidant properties, rich in iodine and chromium. Eating 100 grams of pollock per day, you get a daily rate of iodine. They get it in the Pacific, where it is found in huge quantities.

Not only in the sea

Balsam refers to cod-like ones. It mainly lives in fresh water. Although there are also marine burbot. These fish have a long body, slightly flattened from the sides, a flat head, a mustache on the chin and upper jaw. Sea burbot lives in the Bay of Biscay, the Barents Sea, near Iceland, the British Isles and even near the shores of North America.

These fish are of two kinds - white and red. The best taste qualities are the meat of red burbot. The liver contains a large amount of iodine, although the meat itself is rather dry. However, this does not make it less valuable. The meat of the river burbot is on the contrary, tasty and soft. His liver is also considered a delicacy. Microelements contained in this fish have a positive effect on vision, intelligence and the nervous system. The habitat of burbot is quite wide, it is widespread in our country. It is best to catch burbot in cold water in inclement weather, then it is most active.

Other cod

The family of codfish includes merlang. It dwells in the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean, in the Barents Sea, off the coast of Iceland and Portugal. Sometimes found in the Black Sea. The taste of this fish is pleasant and not inferior to cod or haddock. On the shores of Murmansk, Norway, the Faroe Islands, Iceland catch a flicker, although this fish is not widely spread and not produced on an industrial scale. On the territory of the Arctic Ocean, there lives a saika. This small fish prefers to live in cold water. It feeds on squid crustaceans, zooplankton, fry of other fish. She, as well as other representatives of cod, has a small antennae under the chin. The same distinctive feature is also found in the saithe. This fish can grow up to 1 meter in length. Food for it is served by other small brethren, crustaceans.

In our article you learned about the family of cod fish. Surely many of the names were familiar to you. After all, this fish is a frequent guest on our tables. It turns out that you can save a lot if you buy pollock, haddock, blue whiting, and not cod. They are just as useful as other members of this family, and are cheaper.