Sprat

In the Soviet countries the sprat is quite widespread dish, but in the West she is not so popular, and it can be carried to the category of delicacies.

Description

Sprat – the name of the gregarious pelagic fishes having silvery a color and the small size and belonging to Seldev' family. At a belly of fish there are acanthceous scales because of what deeply fish becomes imperceptible. These scales are created like a peculiar Kiel thanks to what fish and received the name.

The European sprat, the Baltic, Caspian, Azov and Black Sea, Arab, Black Sea, big-eyed tyulka concern to a sprat. Tyulk and sprats both in fresh, and live in salty water. Their greatest number can be met in the Black, Baltic, Norwegian, Mediterranean and Northern seas. Generally Russia, Latvia, Norway, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Denmark and Ukraine is engaged in trade of a sprat. Every year these countries catch more 600th tone of this small fish whose length does not exceed 15 centimeters.

History

In the world market the sprat of a spicy salting, and also tinned smoked sprats which are a gastronomic symbol of Tallinn for today enjoys the greatest popularity. However, an individual brand of Tallinn this the small fish small, ordinary-looking in appearance, is considered more than three centuries, and the can with a silhouette of the city is known far outside Estonia.

The first mentioning of a sprat belongs to the 70th years of the 17th century when Gunn Ayrman, the Swedish diplomat, described a travel to Moskovia in the book and quoted words of the famous Livonian song: if the sprat is transferred to the sea, then death threatens Swedes. Swedes who till 1710 undividedly owned the Baltic water area the first noticed advantage of a sprat and her nutritious qualities.

And emergence of fish canned food has direct link with an era of Great geographical discoveries, long wanderings by the seas led to the fact that people began to create caches with a long period of storage. In those days Europe was known for the canned meat, and also canned food from vegetables and fruit. Russia, in turn, became famous for fish canned food. In the 19th century in Russia made canned food from a sterlet, a burbot, a nelma and starred sturgeons. And at the time of Nikita Khrushchev's government in the USSR the well-known canned food "sprat in a tomato" appeared. Khrushchev personally tasted a novelty of the Kerch fish plant and commented that and you will not think up the best national product.

But more the small fish gained general national love and recognition thanks to the low cost and availability.

Use of a sprat in cookery

Today people without problems can buy a sprat on counters of shops in a marinated, salty and freshly frozen look. In cookery freshly frozen fish is quite often salted, pickled, do of it sprats of house preparation or just fry on a frying pan with vegetable oil. The fried sprat in a flour breading is perfectly combined with vegetables. Hostesses very much love this to the slave baby for saving of time and simplicity of preparation, and also low caloric content of a sprat.

And to get rid of a specific smell of a sprat, it is necessary to take her a little in acetum-hydrochloric solution.

Structure and caloric content of a sprat

In 100 g of a sprat 61 g of water, 84 mg of cholesterol, 14,3 g of ashes, 2,9 g of unsaturated fatty acids contain; vitamins: PP, B2 and B1, D; mineral substances: fluorine, nickel, zinc, calcium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, chlorine, iron, zinc, molybdenum.

Caloric content of a sprat makes 137 kcal on 100 g of a product.

Advantage of a sprat

The sprat contains a large amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids which have antiatherosclerotic effect on an organism, reduce the level of harmful lipoproteids and triglycerides of low density. Thus, if it is correct to prepare it, then the advantage of a sprat is obvious to people with cardiovascular diseases.

Useful properties of a sprat are caused by high content of calcium which is necessary for an organism for full work of many bodies and systems. The person directly depends on receipt in an organism of this valuable microelement as it exerts impact when forming a bone tissue that, in turn, affects a snow-white smile, a harmonious bearing and fortress of bones.

Besides, the main advantage of a sprat is concluded not in meat of fish, and in the ridge, scales, a tail and stones. These parts contain the greatest number of calcium and phosphorus. Therefore a sprat it is necessary to eat correctly, and to prepare in the whole look, without trying to separate meat from bones.

There is at a sprat also a vitamin D, so necessary for people with osteoporosis, and also to pregnant women and children.

Contraindications

The sprat preserved in a tomato is harmful to people with diseases of the alimentary system as at their structure there is a vinegar and other additives, the irritating digestive tract walls.