Tench - fishing and interesting information about fish. Where is tench found and how to catch it
Tench is a minor commercial fish. The body of the tench is thick and quite high. The caudal peduncle is short and high. The mouth is small, facing upward, with a short antennae at the corners. The scales are very small, deeply embedded in the skin. In sexually mature males, the second branched ray of the ventral fins is wide and strongly thickened. The back is usually dark green, the sides are olive, green, with a golden tint.. The color of the tench depends on the bottom soil and its features: on a peaty or muddy bottom, darkened aquatic plants, the tench's back becomes almost black, and its belly becomes colorless and white. In a bright place it takes on a light yellow color. When taken out of the water, the tench quickly darkens, becoming covered with large black spots. This happens because it is completely covered with a thick layer of extremely thick and transparent mucus, which hardens, darkens in the air, and then falls off in pieces, in the place of which large yellow spots. It is precisely because of this characteristic feature- change color depending on conditions environment - fish and got its name: | Tench is distributed mainly in lakes and ponds throughout Europe, as well as in Siberia (in river basins (Yenisei), the Caucasus and some other areas. It is unpretentious, undemanding to oxygen, and can tolerate a short-term decrease in it to 0.3 cubic cm in 1 liter even under acidic conditions (at a pH of about 5). The permissible pH range is from 5.5-5 to 9. The destructive pH level is -4.5-5 and 10.8. This is identical to similar readings for carp, but tench can withstand sudden changes in pH better than carp and other types of fish. Tench is more sensitive to mechanical influences (very timid). It stays mostly at the bottom of the reservoir, among underwater growths. It feeds in the same way as carp, therefore they compete in shallow ponds. In deeper reservoirs, it chooses deep places, and the carp mainly stays in uninhabited and warmer areas. The main diet is bottom organisms (larvae of chironomid mosquitoes, mollusks, oligochaete worms, zooplankton, phytoplankton and plant remains. Nutritious vegetation for tench are telores, hornwort, pondweed, waterweed, elodea and water buttercup. It consumes the same artificial food as carp, only more crushed (its pharyngeal teeth are single-row, usually 4-5). In search of food, tench dig deep into the mud. At a water temperature below 10 "C, it lies in the silt, and at a water temperature above 30" C, it sinks to the bottom and becomes inactive. Despite the fact that tench can withstand a significant increase in temperature (up to 37 "C), it already experiences thermal torpor at a temperature of 23.5 C, and at a temperature of 4 "C it goes into hibernation. Males reach sexual maturity in the second or third year of life, and females in the third or fourth. Tench spawn in portions (every 12-14 days) 2-3 times per season in June-July at a water temperature of 22°C. Juveniles usually do not reach normal weight by autumn (especially from the third portion of eggs). Tench lay their eggs at a depth of 0 ,6-0.8 m on hornwort thickets or on artificial spawning grounds from spruce and juniper branches. The duration of egg development at a temperature of 22-24 "C is 3-7 days. Juvenile tench tolerate transfers and catching very poorly, so fish spawning must be carried out in large ponds, leaving in them the juveniles that have hatched, which are caught only when they grow up and become stronger. Tench grows slowly, reaching only 5-10 g in the first year of life. In the second year of life, its weight increases to 80-120 g (with a body length of 15-18 cm), and in the third year the marketable weight is 200-300 g. Lake Zaisan (Kazakhstan) is home to a fast-growing species of tench, reaching a weight of 400-600 g in the second year of life, and 800-900 g in the third. The fertility of the fish is on average up to 40 thousand. eggs, although with age it increases and can reach 200 thousand eggs. To grow tench, you can use reservoirs in which other pond fish simply cannot survive - completely overgrown with plants and even those where the oxygen concentration is below 1 ml/l. Tench is very tenacious and in this regard is not inferior to either carp or crucian carp (it can live in damp moss for up to two days). Tench is a nutritionally valuable fish with delicious meat. It has a relatively large edible body part - 52-54%. The meat is sweetish in taste and very juicy, fat content is 3-8%. In Sweden, tench meat is considered healing for many diseases (in particular, it is used for fever and headaches). However, tench has not received such wide industrial significance as carp or crucian carp. This is partly due to the fact that it is not widely caught anywhere, and also because it is caught only in the warm season (with the onset of cold weather, the tench buries itself in the silt and becomes inaccessible). You can breed tench in any pond if it contains any fish other than crucian carp. For this purpose, it is enough to release one or several dozen tench weighing from 25 to 50 g into a reservoir in the summer or autumn.
Kazantsev Sergey Alekseevich
mob. +737379480370
Tench recipes
Tench recipes
As you know, tench got its name for a reason - if you take it out of water, the mucus with which it is covered begins to darken, and the fish becomes covered with dark spots. Then the darkened mucus peels off, and yellow spots appear underneath.
Fish of the carp family (length - up to 60 cm, weight - up to 7-8 kg). Tench lives in almost all water bodies of Siberia (except for the rivers of the Arctic Ocean basin).
Tench meat is very tasty and tender, but with a slight taste of silt. To get rid of it, fish is boiled with various spices. In tsarist times, to improve the taste, live tenches were kept in running water for 12-14 hours.
Tench baked in the oven
Ingredients: 1 tench, salt, fish spices, bunch of dill, 50 gr. butter.
Fresh tench, like most carp fish, is very tasty when fried or baked - then it turns out to be the juiciest. And preparing tench in this way is not at all difficult.
We clean the scales of a large tench (the scales can be removed very easily) and gut it. It is not necessary to rinse with running water; it is enough to wipe the abdominal cavity dry with a napkin. Season with salt moderately; you can add just a little spice for the fish. Then we grease the tench carcass inside and out with butter, put several sprigs of dill in the belly and put the oven heated to 250-280°C for 30 minutes. From time to time we keep an eye on the preparation of the tench and periodically water the carcass with the juice that is released.
Tench with cumin
Ingredients: 1 tench, salt, 1 lemon, 70 gr. melted fat, cumin, parsley.
We gut the cleaned tench and cut it into portions. Salt the prepared pieces, sprinkle with caraway seeds and pour in juice from squeezed lemon. Then bread the pieces of tench in flour and fry on both sides in heated fat.
Lightly fry the chopped parsley, combine with strained fish broth from the frying pan and boil for several minutes. When serving, pour this broth over the fish.
Boiled tench
Ingredients: 1 tench, 30 gr. aromatic roots (carrots, onions, parsley), 20 gr. 3% vinegar, salt, black pepper, allspice, parsley and dill.
Sprinkle the cleaned and washed tench carcass with vinegar and then cook until tender in water to which vinegar, salt, chopped aromatic roots and spices have been added. Place the finished tench on a large plate and sprinkle generously with chopped herbs. Boiled tench is good with mashed potatoes, sour cream, egg sauce and fresh vegetables.
Jellied tench
Ingredients: 1 kg tench, 60 gr. (1 pc.) onions, 75 gr. (1 pc.) carrots, 50 gr. (1 root) parsley, 2 egg whites, 20 gr. (4 tsp) gelatin, salt, pepper to taste.
We cut the cleaned tench into pieces, add salt and leave for several hours. Cook parsley, carrots, onions. After 15-20 minutes from the start of cooking the vegetables, add the tench head to the broth and continue cooking. When the head is boiled, remove it, add the fish cut into pieces into the broth, add salt and pepper to taste and cook for another half hour.
We take out the fish, and clean the resulting broth with egg white. Then we filter the broth through cheesecloth and add gelatin diluted in water and swollen into it and fill the resulting mixture to half the volume of the jelly mold. When the broth has hardened, put chopped boiled vegetables and pieces of boneless fish on it, fill it with the rest of the broth and put it in a cold place to harden.
Stewed tench with green onions
Ingredients: 0.5 kg. tench, 50 gr. green onions, white bread 40 g., melted butter 5 g., fish broth 120 g., sour cream 30 g., boiled egg 1 pc., pepper, herbs.
We cut the cleaned and washed fish into portions, leave small carcasses whole, sprinkle with salt and pepper and put in a cold place for 1-2 hours.
Finely chop the green onions, add stale white bread rubbed through a wire sieve (breadcrumbs are fine), a little finely chopped parsley or dill and mix. Place half of this mixture in an even layer in a deep saucepan greased with oil, place the prepared fish on top of the mixture, and cover it with the remaining mixture on top. Pour all this with fish broth (or hot milk) with sour cream and simmer, covering the dish with a lid, for one hour.
When serving, you can decorate the laid out fish with chopped hard-boiled egg.
Heh from tench
Ingredients: 2 medium tench, 3 large onions, 2 bunches of cilantro, 2 heads of garlic, vegetable oil camelina.
Seasonings: Red hot pepper, red bell pepper, table vinegar, monosodium glutamate.
Tench and crucian carp live side by side. You can prepare a lot of delicacies from tench and crucian carp. But there is one dish that can’t be made from crucian carp, but from tench it’s delicious - heh tench!
We clean the fish. We cut it lengthwise into fillet pieces. Cut out the main skeleton of the fish. Next, we cut the fish lengthwise, between the bones (so that there is one bone in each strip). Season with vinegar and salt, stir and cover with a lid. Leave to marinate for 20-30 minutes in a cool place.
After 30 minutes, add chopped onion (in half rings), chopped cilantro and squeeze out 2 heads of garlic. Mix all this with the fish, add hot pepper to taste and red bell pepper for color, as well as glutamate and 2-3 tbsp vegetable oil. Mix everything thoroughly, it is better to mix with your hands. In an hour the heh will be ready to eat.
Those who do not risk just eating raw fish - be sure to disinfect yourself.
It's nice for you to kill the worm!
Universal block
TENCH
Sedentary, seemingly clumsy fish. The body is thick, on the back dark green, on the sides it is olive-green, with gilding, in the abdominal part it is yellowish, the fins are rounded, brownish-gray, the eyes are bright red, the scales are small, immersed in the skin, with a coating of mucus, in the corners of the mouth there is a short antennae.
Tench got its name from its ability to change color when taken out of the water. The fact is that the mucus, which abundantly covers the body of this fish, quickly hardens in air. Tench lives in rivers and lakes of the European part of the country, in the middle reaches of the Ob and Yenisei. Prefers calm water. It lives alone in shaded places among aquatic vegetation - heavily overgrown ponds, oxbow lakes, lakes, creeks, and river bays. Survives in frozen waters, plunging into silt.
This is a typical bottom fish, permanent places leaves its habitat only during floods.
Feeds on insect larvae, worms, small mollusks, remains plant food, which are mined in natural silt, sometimes going deep into it up to 7-8 cm.
The usual dimensions of tench are 25 - 30 cm in length with a weight of 400-600 g. Only a few record holders reach a weight of 5-6 kg. In our reservoirs, 8-10 year old tenches weighing 1.2-2 kg are sometimes caught in the nets of fishermen.
Launching tench in is not without meaning, since tench actively begins to peck in early spring. Once hooked, the tench vigorously resists, which is something one would never expect from such a sloth.
Tench grows slowly, but lives a long time, reaching a length of 50 cm. It is a sluggish and lazy fish. For most of the day, tench, like crucian carp, digs into the viscous mud, extracting from there the main food - worms; but it also feeds on the mud itself and various aquatic plants. In October-November, tench lie down for the winter in the most deep places, sometimes completely burying himself in the mud. It emerges from there very early - in March-April - and begins to feed voraciously until May, after which it hides in the mud, from where it emerges 2-3 days before the start of the game (spawning) to the grassy banks.
Universal block
TENCH |
|
Lin - rare fish, with original coloring and very small golden scales firmly embedded in the skin. The fat tench has a large forehead and small eyes, and a tail as wide as a spatula. A caught tench immediately becomes covered with large black spots. This happens because it is completely covered with a thick layer of thick and transparent mucus, which hardens in the air, darkens, and then falls off in pieces, leaving large yellow spots in these places. It should be added that this name was not only rooted in appearance. Tench is a rather sluggish, lazy fish. It is slow-moving, leads a quiet lifestyle, like crucian carp and rudd, and constantly hides in dense thickets water buckwheat, pea, horsetail, pondweed and arrowhead, lives where, as if sea stars, spiny rosettes of the teloresis float, the leaves of which are very similar to medicinal plant aloe. Tench is very clumsy, slow in its movements, but once hooked, it becomes violent. They catch tenches in river bays, lakes and ponds. Tench cannot fight a strong current, so it almost never exists in rivers. Pressed against the washed-out bank, the tench moved forward heavily and disappeared around the first turn into a quiet backwater...Tench is a sedentary fish. Like a good homebody, he always lives in the same creek, hiding in dense thickets. His whole life passes quietly and unnoticed. It is active in well-warmed water, so tench bite occurs only in the warm season: from May-June to OctoberThe tench bites very sluggishly. Tench does not like bright light, and the denser the underwater thickets, the more possibilities to catch it and, as Sabaneev wrote, “only in the evenings, mornings and nights does the tench go out for a walk in cleaner places in the pond, but even then it very rarely comes to the surface, unless he decides to grab a large midge that has fallen into the water.” At such moments, he takes a good shot at the worm “out of the water.” To install bait, you need to make “windows” in the underwater thickets and clear the bottom in several places. The rod is 3-4 meters long, the fishing line (0.25-0.30 millimeters) is dyed in a decoction of onion skins to match the color of the bottom and algae. The tench's mouth is small, so use hook No. 4-5, moderately hardened: slightly hardened - it will straighten out, overheated - it will break. For bloodworms, hooks are taken one number smaller. The worm is mounted with a “stocking”, moving it as much as possible onto the shank and the hook tip to form an “accordion”. This is necessary so that the tench does not feel the hook, since he likes to savor the bait by grasping it with his lips. Tenches can be caught using a “doughnut”. It is prepared from that dough and in the form of a flat cake, boiled in a decoction of cake and cut into small pieces. Having placed it on a hook, it can be shaped into a pellet so that it holds better. The nozzle is lowered just above the bottom or placed on the bottom so that the float lies on its side. No more than two fishing rods are placed in each “window”. |
Prepared fish [...]
|
Tench — fish with green scales. The plates can be olive or almost black. The nuances of color depend on the body of water in which the animal lives.
Dark lines occur in muddy and peat lakes and rivers. The scales acquire an olive tone by “adjusting” to the semi-sandy bottom. The interesting features of tench do not end there.
Description and features of tench
Tench belongs to the Cyprinidae, but differs significantly in appearance from most of them. Small red eyes are added to the green scales, plump lips, smooth contours of the fins. The body plates of the hero of the article are small and covered with a thick layer of mucus. Therefore, it is difficult to confuse tench with other cyprinids and Russian fish in general.
The mucus of the hero of the article is a natural antibiotic. Fish noticed this before people. Representatives of other species began to turn to tenches as doctors. Sick individuals swim up to the green-scaly one and rub against its sides.
Attacks are prohibited. Sick tenches, for example, do not touch them. If their healthy relatives swim up to the hero of the article, they strive to swallow the doctor.
The tench's body is covered with antibacterial mucus
Tench also owes its name to mucus. After the fish is caught, the secretion dries up, falling off the body in pieces. The scales under the mucus turn out to be many times lighter than they were under the coating. The fish seems to be molting. Hence the name of the species.
However, there is alternative version. Some believe that the name of the hero of the article comes from the word “laziness”, transforming over time into “tench”. Fish is associated with laziness because of its leisurely, imposing manner. Tenches rarely show agility or make sharp turns.
Antennae grow in the corners of the tench's mouth. This expresses the similarity with the main representative of the tench family -. The hero of the article is also similar to him in body structure. It is thick and elongated.
In the behavior of tench there are also minimal similarities with other cyprinids. Crucian carp, for example, fearlessly rush to bait, rise to the surface of reservoirs, and ignore noise. Tenches are cautious and timid and rarely get caught in the tackle.
Large specimens are especially difficult to catch. It is possible to “calculate” them only in moments of cataclysm. So, in the last century, one of the narrow channels of the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain froze to the bottom. Only the crucian carp survived. Lin, also considered tenacious, lost in the struggle for existence.
When the ice melted, the bottom of the channel was littered with fish. Among the pikes, carp and tenches lay weighing about 1.5-2 kilograms. At the same time, the standard weight of fish is 150-700 grams.
Tenches are very slow and cautious fish.
The length of the middle lines is 30-40 centimeters. However, in 2001, Englishman Daren Wardom caught an almost 7-kilogram specimen. There is also information about 10-kilogram fish. These data are not documented.
In what bodies of water is it found?
Tench chooses low-flow reservoirs. Therefore, fish are rarely found in rivers, populating their oxbow lakes. This is the name given to bays that are almost 100% or completely separated from the main channel. Roughly speaking, these are lakes and swamps along rivers.
Not everyone will suit Lin. You need a shallow and warm body of water. Another condition is the presence of thickets of duckweed, water lilies, and reeds. Tench also inhabit lakes covered with pondweed.
In terms of territorial preferences, tench are more western fish. To the east, the habitat of the species extends to. In the area of the relict lake, tench is rare and is listed in the Red Book of Buryatia. To the west, the species “swimmed” to Turkey. There, however, tench is rare. But in Kazakhstan the fish population is numerous.
Not tolerating cold waters, tench are loyal to brackish waters. Therefore, the hero of the article can be found in river deltas, where oceanic masses are mixed with them. Fish are caught in the Dnieper, Volga, Ural, and Don.
Types of tench
Description of tench fish in nature is the same for all individuals. Regardless of the territories they occupy, all individuals are similar. No natural subspecies of the hero of the article have been identified. But there are selective varieties.
For example, golden tench is artificially bred. It is similar to the golden carp or Japanese carp. This beauty is often purchased for populating homestead ponds in warm regions of Russia.
Pictured is a golden tench
Artificially bred and Kwolsdorf tench. On the picture it is hardly distinguishable from the usual one, but it grows many times faster. Therefore, the Kwolsdorf species is introduced into private reservoirs with paid fishing. Growing quickly, purchased fry and desired trophies become faster. In addition, the Kwolsdorf tench is larger than its natural counterpart. A weight of 1-1.5 kilograms is considered standard.
Tench feeding
Live fish tench remains due to pickiness in food. It is not for nothing that the animal chooses overgrown reservoirs. Water lilies, reeds, and algae are food for tench, and at the same time they provide shelter from predators.
However, with a lack of vegetation, the hero of the article himself does not disdain protein products. The animal can feast on mollusks, insect larvae and juveniles of other fish, including those of its own species. This is confirmed by the facts of catching tench for fry.
Tench eats its relatives as a last resort. It is not so much the question of morality that plays a role here, but the taste qualities of the hero of the article. Because of its thick mucus, other fish also disdain tench.
People don’t disdain tench. Beneath the unpleasant mucus and scales lies delicious dietary meat. It is white, dense, almost boneless. The main thing is to figure it out how to clean tench fish. The carcass is simply washed with cool running water. There is no need to clean off the scales.
The body plates of the hero of the article are not only small, but also thin. During heat treatment, the scales soften. The taste of the fish coating is comparable to its meat. Therefore, most recipes do not recommend cleaning tench. However, before you cook the fish, you need to catch it.
Tench fishing
Tench fishing at depths from 0.5 to 1.5 meters. You have to throw the gear into the plant thickets favored by the fish. To prevent the line from getting tangled in the stems, cast into the so-called windows, that is, gaps between water lilies and reeds.
For tench, use a regular float fishing rod. They fish in the morning and evening. This is feeding time for the hero of the article. Being lazy, the tench shows aggression when hooked. The animal's movements become sharp and jerky.
The fish actively resists, tries to tangle the line, leading it into the thick of vegetation. Therefore, they rarely go specifically for the lines. As a rule, the hero of the article is an accompanying catch that accidentally ended up on the hook. For the same reason, few people know that tench delicious fish. How do you know if the refrigerator is clogged with other species?
Considering the hero of the article’s love for warmth, it is worth catching it from spring to autumn. In winter, the tench goes into a kind of hibernation, burrowing into the mud. A relative of the hero of the article, the crucian carp, does the same.
By the way, in reservoirs where there are many fish of competing species, it is difficult to catch tench. Animals go to the most secluded places. Fishing can be successful where tench are not oppressed by crucian carp, bream and roach.
Reproduction and lifespan
Tench is fertile. The female lays up to 800 thousand eggs at a time. The fry immediately begin to lead an isolated lifestyle. Tench do not form flocks.
The hero of the article lives 3-4 years. Before this time, the fish can be eaten by predators or caught by people. If the carp manages to overcome the 4-year mark, the animal becomes large and almost invulnerable. There is a chance to live to 16 years.
The uniqueness of the tench in comparison with other representatives of the carp family is that in its appearance it is completely different from them. The tench has a wide and thick body, covered with a fairly thick layer of mucus. The fin in the tail area has a weak notch, and the remaining fins are without rays, spiny and rounded.
Description of the tench
Where is tench found?
The tench's eyes are red and small in size. The scales are very small, completely covered with a layer of mucus. The mouth is fleshy with two short lateral whiskers, which act as locators, picking up even subtle hydroacoustic movements. For example, tench fish is capable of perceiving subtle vibrations from a 4-meter distance, which are produced by bloodworms that burrow into the mud to a depth of 20 centimeters.
The color of tench varies greatly depending on the region where it lives.: if the fish lives in peat quarries, then the color of its body is as close to black as possible; if it is found in reservoirs with clear water and clayey soil (in lakes and rivers), then the tone of the tench is quite light. However, most often the back of the tench is greenish-olive, the sides have a yellowish tint, and the fins are dark. There are also tenches with a reddish-golden tint.
The average weight of tench ranges from 200-600 grams. There are tenches weighing one and a half to two kilograms with a body length of up to 50 centimeters. Much less common, but still found, are individuals weighing from 3 to 4 kilograms and measuring more than 60 centimeters in length. Tench are heat-loving inhabitants of water bodies, so they cannot be found in cold waters. It prefers well-warmed shallow bays, therefore, tench is not found at all in mountain rivers.
Tench slime
The mucus present on the tench’s body plays a very important role in its life.:
Situation one: water temperature is from 25 to 28 degrees Celsius, night air temperature is 20 degrees above zero. Under these conditions, tench begin feeding extremely early - an hour and a half before dawn (until 5 a.m.) and most often stay in gaps, on the border clean water and grass at a depth of up to one and a half meters. The most suitable bait for tench at this time is maggots (2-3 pieces), a small worm (bunch) and sometimes the upper parts of aquatic plants. Better weather at a temperature in which tench are guaranteed to bite - clear with a barely perceptible wind and quiet cloudy. The first tench biting period is in the early morning hours, the second is in the evening, approximately 30 minutes before sunset and at the first twilight. Here you can even use animal bait, but in the smallest doses - in the form of maggots, insect larvae and small worms mixed into clay balls. The optimal rate is 1-2 balls the size of a chicken egg.
Situation two: the water temperature is above 28 degrees Celsius, and the air layers are warming up even hotter. Due to the fact that in such weather the oxygen content in the water is sharply reduced, the tench begins to bite worse. The most promising areas in this case are the places where streams flow into rivers and where underground springs emerge, depths of more than one and a half meters with a moderately muddy bottom surface. The bait is the same as in the first case: maggots and small worms, in rare cases - the tops of aquatic vegetation. You can fish at any time of the day, since cool spring or stream waters, saturated with oxygen, attract the attention of fish.
Situation three: the water temperature fluctuates between +20 and +23 degrees, the external temperature is moderate. These are the most Better conditions for catching tench, which, in such weather, starts feeding at 4 a.m. and ends at about 6 a.m. Evening feeding - 30 minutes before sunset and until complete darkness. The optimal areas for catching tench are with depths of 1-2 meters, at the border of clear water and grass, as well as thickets of aquatic vegetation. The preferred baits for tench are the so-called “sandwiches”, when you take a little of everything, shitik, worms (in a bunch) and maggots. The presence of a weak wind in cloudy weather favors a better tench bite.
Situation four: the water temperature is below +18 degrees, the nights are cool, which leads to the rapid cooling of water in shallow places. In this situation, the tench moves extremely reluctantly. It emerges from grass beds but persists in areas 1.5 meters to 2.5 meters deep where there is a muddy bottom. The tench bite occurs much later - from 5 to 8 hours a day. morning time and from 21 to 23 hours in the evening. It is preferable to use bloodworms, shitik, worms or maggots as bait for tench. The best weather for tench to bite at this ambient temperature - a light breeze, sun and clear sky.
Precautions for forming corridors and windows when fishing for tench
If there are natural gaps among the aquatic vegetation, then there is no need to make any additional windows, but if there are none and fishing is carried out not from a boat, but from the shore, then they are simply necessary. In this regard, it is worth noting that tench reacts extremely cautiously to all sorts of changes in the familiar landscape, so it prefers to avoid artificially created windows and corridors. Therefore, when forming them, it is worth minimally interfering with the natural topography of the bottom and not completely pulling out all the vegetation.
Tench is one of the most common, but also the most mysterious inhabitants of our rivers. This fish loses its usual color in the air, its blood is poisonous, and its mucus is a powerful antiseptic that has interested Japanese biochemists. However, tench differs in many ways from other freshwater inhabitants, including its beneficial properties.
general characteristics
Tench is a freshwater member of the carp family and the only specimen of the genus Tinca. This fish is recognized by its characteristic golden-green scales and thick layer covering the carcass. Although, depending on the habitat, the color of fish can vary from greenish-silver to dark brown or bronze.
Lines grow quite slowly. Average duration life - 18 years. The size of adult individuals depends significantly on their habitat. Some do not exceed 200 g, while at the same time, although rare, sometimes fishermen come across almost two-kilogram giants. However, more often the weight of the average tench ranges from 400 to 600 g.
The natural range of tenches is very wide. Fish with green scales are caught from Lake Baikal to Western Europe and from northern Russia to Kazakhstan. Tenches are heat-loving creatures that are comfortable in the lower reaches of the Don, Dnieper, Ural, and Volga, and sometimes swim into brackish deltas. Most of all, these fish love muddy stagnant (or almost stagnant) reservoirs, overgrown with water lilies, reeds and duckweed.
Despite a very wide range, tenches, unlike many other fish, do not have subspecies: representatives from different regions practically do not differ from each other. The only exception is the specially bred decorative golden tench.
These fish do not live in schools, and often get “lost” in the neighborhood, and. Sometimes, against the backdrop of such a neighborhood, an illusion can be created that there are no lines in the reservoir at all. In reality, these greenish fish simply hide in the thickets and most remote areas of the reservoir.
Many people don’t even realize it, but the tench is not as peaceful and “toothless” as it might seem. It feeds with equal pleasure on aquatic plants, detritus, zooplankton, as well as other, smaller fish.
The diet of adult tenches includes invertebrates and even other representatives of cyprinids.
Why "tench"
In many sources so unusual name This fish is explained in the same way: “tench” - from the word “molt”. I must say, there are other versions. But let's start with the most popular.
Fishermen know: if a tench carcass is left in the air even for a short time, it literally begins to molt, that is, to lose its color. Hence, they say, the name. The part of the carcass that is not in contact with light quickly becomes dim. For many years (though many still hold this opinion today), it was believed that when exposed to air, the mucus on a tench carcass dries out and falls off, revealing light areas of skin. But there is another theory that explains this phenomenon. Some ichthyologists suggest that the whole point is a special set of pigments that, under the influence of certain hormones, affect the color of the fish. In some circumstances, melanin (the pigment responsible for skin color) can change its structure at the molecular level and affect the color of the carcass.
According to another theory, the roots of the name should be sought in the Old Slavonic word “to cling”, that is, to stick to the hands. And the carcasses of these fish are indeed covered with a dense layer of sticky mucus. There is another version of the name: from the word “lazy”, since these representatives of cyprinids are not the most energetic.
Amazing properties of lines
Scientists were also surprised by the results of a study of tench blood. It turned out that it contains ichthyotoxins - substances that have poisonous properties. Although it must be said that similar compounds were also found in the carcasses of river eels, bonito and some other freshwater and marine inhabitants. By the way, in this regard, the most dangerous thing is sea eel. Experience on laboratory mice showed that after contact with its toxic substance In almost 85% of cases, death occurs, and almost immediately - up to 10-30 minutes. The maximum concentration of ichthyotoxins in fish bodies is observed during the spawning period. Researchers do not yet know what this feature is connected with.
And now - good news: the presence of ichthyotoxins in tench carcasses is not a reason to refuse to eat this fish. During heat treatment (58 degrees Celsius is sufficient), the poisons are destroyed. The only danger to humans arises only when ichthyotoxins enter directly into the blood of the human body.
Chemical composition and beneficial properties
It is well known that any fish is a good source of... Researchers call the protein that makes up fish fillet high-quality. This means that it contains the necessary set for a person and is very well absorbed by the body. By the way, nutritionists advise people with digestive problems to eat more easily digestible fish instead of red meat. Tench is a dietary food: 100 grams of the product contains no more than 45 kcal and very little fat.
Fish dishes – best food for cardiovascular diseases. Cardiologists around the world advise their patients to consume fish products at least twice a week, which have a beneficial effect on heart function, strengthen blood vessels and prevent growth. The iodine contained in tench makes this product beneficial for the thyroid gland.
Being a dietary food, this fish is useful for people with high cholesterol, diabetes, and those with excess weight. The rich content of protein components makes this fish an important product for children who... full growth requires a lot of proteins. For the same reason, fish is on the list of desirable foods for bodybuilders. Proteins from fish are useful for restoring the body after serious illnesses, and fluorine, phosphorus and calcium make it a valuable product for bones and tooth enamel. Vitamins B and E are good for skin, hair, nails, and the presence of vitamin A in tench is already beneficial for eye health. It’s interesting, but in ancient times it was believed that tench could cure jaundice, and if you cut the carcass in half and apply it to the wound, the pain would subside and inflammation would go away. By the way, the latter looks quite plausible if you know about the unique chemical composition of the mucus of these fish.
How to choose the right one
It is not difficult to buy a good tench. To do this, just remember how to choose the right products from this group. The rules are quite simple and universal for all types of fish. The eyes should be clear and shiny, without a hint of a cloudy curtain. The flesh under the gills is pale pink. Fresh tenches will never smell of fish, but only of the river and freshness. The carcass of fresh fish is elastic and springy (be sure to pay attention to the tail: it should not sag). If the bones fall away from the fillet when cutting, the only thing you can do with such a product is to throw it away. Eating such fish is very dangerous.
Gastronomic characteristics
The most delicious meat is considered to be the meat of tenches caught at the end of April or early May, but during the spawning period the carcasses are unsuitable for food. If we talk about the taste and aroma of this fish, then for many they become the reason to abandon tench. Since this freshwater inhabitant is a lover of swampy bottoms, its meat can also taste like silt.
But this problem is being solved. To get rid of unpleasant odor and earthy taste, live fish You need to place it in a clean (preferably flowing) place for 12-14 hours. Otherwise, you will have to fight this problem with lemon juice and spices.
How to cook properly
Before preparing any dish from tench, it is important to properly clean the carcass. At this stage, you should carefully peel off all the husks without damaging the skin of the fish, which, after frying or baking, turns into a delicious golden crust.
In terms of culinary ideas, tench is a universal fish. It can be boiled, baked, fried, marinated, used for fish soup and aspic, and filled with fillets. A tench carcass can be cooked in wine and stuffed and baked with herbs. Many gourmets consider fried and baked tench to be the most delicious: in this form, their fillet is especially tender and juicy. If you plan to cook baked fish, then first you should marinate it in lemon juice and spices, and bake it with a bunch. You will need:
- 2 tench carcasses;
- a glass of vinegar;
- 2 bay leaves;
- 3-4 pcs. allspice;
- lemon zest;
- parsley;
- 0.5 teaspoon of salt.
For the sauce:
- 2 tbsp. l. butter;
- 1 tbsp. l. flour;
- 1 tbsp. l. lemon juice;
- 1 tsp. Sahara;
- 1 glass of fish broth;
- 0.5 glasses of white wine;
- 3 yolks.
Gut the fish, rinse, place in a saucepan and pour a glass of boiling vinegar. Meanwhile, pour 1 liter of water on the onions and herbs, add lemon zest, a tablespoon of vinegar and bring everything to a boil. Transfer the fish to the boiling liquid. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce.
To do this, heat the oil, add flour, lemon juice, broth and wine and bring to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stirring egg yolks, ground with salt. Place on low heat again and, whisking vigorously, heat through (but do not boil). Transfer the finished fish to a plate and pour over the sauce. Young with herbs is best suited as a side dish.
One of the most important products balanced diet is a fish. So why not opt for an affordable and useful line? After all, if you cook it correctly, you get tasty, original and nutritious dishes.
Some of the most delicious fish dishes are prepared from tench. Tench fish is quite capricious in processing and requires a lot of attention for cleaning and gutting. But ready meals of it is compared to tender chicken meat. This fish is suitable for baking, boiling (including steaming), frying and even stuffing. So, today we will tell you how to properly clean and prepare tench.
Description
Tench fish lives in fresh water, likes to burrow into mud and silt, where it finds food. There he spends the winter. Its lifestyle is very similar to crucian carp. The carcasses grow slowly, they are inactive, and mostly stick to the area near the shore. It is quite difficult to meet tench in the river; it does not like active water flow. As a rule, it is found in ponds, reservoirs or lakes where there are overgrown areas of algae, reeds and other marsh vegetation. But it is not because of this way of life that the name “tench” appeared. And because of the ability to shed when exposed to air: the fish changes color to dark in full color or partially in the form of single spots.
Golden tench
Interestingly, there is a species that belongs to ornamental fish - golden tench. It comes in a bright yellow color, as if covered with gold. But such fish are not found in simple reservoirs, it was bred artificially and is not adapted to the external environment. Weighs up to 7.5 kg.
The entire surface of the scales is covered with mucus, which is constantly produced. Fish can survive in water with low level oxygen and even in heavily polluted places. The best environment for tench is acidified water.
Primary preparation
Almost every fisherman or cook knows how to clean tench fish. But, if you have never encountered this fish, it is difficult to find your bearings right away. Indeed, on its surface there are often dense scales and a lot of mucus. How to get rid of it?
There are several ways:
- use a sharp chef's knife - under running cool water, clean off the mucus with a knife using top-to-bottom movements;
- give the carcass a contrast shower of hot and cold water- under such pressure, the mucus will begin to coagulate and come off in parts.
Tench is a river fish, so small specimens have a lot of bones. They are prepared whole carcasses or used to create minced meat.
The skin is then removed if you want to cut a clean, boneless fillet. But if you need steaks, leave the skin on. When frying or baking, the scales stick together and form a dense, crispy crust.
The head, entrails of the peritoneum and fins must be removed when cutting. For small fish You can use kitchen scissors instead of a knife.
Should I use a marinade?
Tench is a tasty fish if cooked correctly. Since its meat has a characteristic smell of silt due to the habit of this fish to burrow into it in search of food. To eliminate this aroma, use marinades or simply soak the carcass in salt water for about one hour. You can add a little acetic acid or freshly squeezed lemon juice.
For the same purpose, citrus juice or spices are used when marinating pieces or whole carcasses.
But you can go another way. Place the still living fish in a large cup of water or a filled bath. The tench will swim there for about 10-12 hours and naturally clean or filter its meat through the gills.
Options for fish marinades
Slightly sweet marinades with the addition of sugar or natural bee honey are ideal for tench. But there are other options. So, these are the mixtures used for tench:
- lemon juice, sugar, salt, ground pepper (juice can be taken from any citrus fruit to taste - orange, lime, kumquat, grapefruit);
- onions, mayonnaise sauce, garlic puree, sunflower oil, ground pepper - ideal if tench fish is cooked in the oven (in food foil) or on the grill;
- sunflower or olive oil and a couple of pinches;
- vegetables chopped in a blender (necessarily with the presence of onions and garlic) with a quarter teaspoon of table vinegar 6%, apple or wine.
Spices and seasonings
Spices and seasonings for tench are those that are most often used for fish dishes. But keep in mind that the same flavor in different ways affects different fish. As a rule, when preparing dishes they use:
- citrus juice or zest;
- white roots of parsley, celery;
- fennel, cumin or dill seeds;
- rosemary;
- basil;
- marjoram;
- ground pepper (any type - one type or a mixture);
- sage;
- garlic and onions (fresh or dried);
- nutmeg.
For one dish, take a couple or three types of spices or seasonings; you shouldn’t overdo it with them.
In addition to natural spices, you can buy the “For Fish” mixture in the store in advance. Then you will be sure that you are using the flavoring additives for their intended purpose.
Breading options
If you decide to bake fish in the oven or on the grill, then breading is not needed. And when frying in the usual way in a frying pan, you should definitely use it. Choose the following types:
- wheat flour only;
- a mixture of flour and salt;
- a mixture of flour and sesame seeds.
Fine crumbs of ground nuts are added to the same wheat flour for variety.
Breading with additions is used when preparing tench steaks or fillets. When cooking a whole small carcass, one flour will do.
Recipe for fried tench in a frying pan
To prepare this dish you will need following products:
- tench carcass - 1 pc. (weighing about 300-500 g);
- coarse salt - a couple of pinches;
- lemon - 1 pc.;
- ground pepper - a pinch;
- sunflower oil - 2 tbsp. l.;
- wheat flour - 2 tbsp. l.
How to cook tench fish? First, free his carcass from mucus. Use the contrast pouring method. Then cut open the belly and carefully remove the entrails. All actions must be performed carefully so as not to damage gallbladder, otherwise all the flesh of the fish will acquire a bitter taste. There will be no way to fix this. Then cut off the head and remove the fins. Use a stable, non-slip surface for cutting.
Prepare a 2-3 liter container and immerse the carcass there. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon and add water. Leave the tench like this for a couple of hours.
After the specified time has passed, drain the water and rinse the carcass again under the tap with cool water. Place back in the bowl and add salt, ground pepper and the juice of the second half of the lemon (about 30 ml). Rub the carcass with this mixture on all sides and leave for 40-50 minutes. Cover the bowl with a lid or plate during this period.
Now about heat treatment. How to fry tench fish? Over moderate heat without temperature surges. Turn on the heat and let the frying pan with oil heat up.
Bread the fish in flour on all sides. Place the carcass on a hot surface and do not touch until a crispy crust appears on the bottom. Then turn over and reduce heat. Close the lid and leave for a couple of minutes.
So fry the fish until done. The smaller the tench, the faster it will cook.
Baked fish in the oven with mushrooms
Bake tench fish. The description of the primary processing does not differ from the frying recipe described above. Therefore, we will omit it in the story of the cooking process. We only note that the head remains on the carcass, and the gills are cut out with kitchen scissors.
Choose mushrooms for the recipe as you wish - fresh or pickled.
You will need the following products:
- tench fish - 1-2 pcs.;
- lemon - 1 pc.;
- salt - to taste;
- ground pepper or sweet paprika - a couple of pinches;
- fresh parsley - medium bunch;
- champignons - 200 g;
- cranberries - 10-15 pcs.;
- honey - 1/3 tsp;
- breadcrumbs - 2 tbsp. l.;
- sunflower oil - 2 tbsp. l.
To prepare this dish, you need to follow the following procedure:
- First comes the initial preparation of the fish, then it is left to stand with the juice of half a lemon and washed.
- To marinate fish, mix 2-3 tbsp. l. freshly squeezed lemon juice, ground pepper and salt. Rub the tench by hand and leave for half an hour.
- Wash the mushrooms well and cut into halves. If the mushrooms are small, leave them whole.
- Bread the marinated fish in breadcrumbs and place on a baking sheet. First cover it with a thick layer of food foil and grease it with sunflower oil. Place mushrooms next to the fish. Cover the top with foil to prevent hot steam from escaping. You can pour a little water between the foil and the sides of the baking sheet so that the dish cooks as if it were steamed.
- Place in the oven at 180°C for 40 minutes.
- In the meantime, rinse and dry the greens. Shred it.
- Rinse the cranberries and place together with the honey in a small saucepan over moderate heat. It should caramelize a little. Stir the mixture so that it does not burn.
- Place the finished fish on a dish, garnish with lemon slices, mushrooms, fresh herbs and cranberries.
Choose spicy herbs for the recipe according to your preferences and taste guidelines. Instead of parsley, you can prepare a green salad of lettuce, watercress and fresh tarragon as a garnish.
Tench in batter
To prepare you need to take the following products:
- tench fish - 1 pc.;
- apple cider vinegar - 2 tbsp. l.;
- salt - a couple of pinches;
- egg - 1 pc. (or just the yolk);
- wheat flour - 3 tbsp. l.;
- mayonnaise - 2 tbsp. l.;
- sunflower oil - 2-3 tbsp. l.
Follow the following cooking instructions:
- For the tench fish recipe in batter, you will have to cut it into clean fillets. First, gut it and cut off the head. Soak in water with 1 tbsp. l. apple cider vinegar. Rinse the carcass and place on a cutting board. Hold it by the tail and slide a knife under the skin and flesh. Guide it along the spine and cut off the fillet with skin and rib bones. Turn the tench over and do the same with the second fillet.
- Remove the skin and trim the rib bones from both fillets.
- Cut and marinate the pieces in the remaining apple cider vinegar and salt.
- Prepare the batter. In a bowl, mix mayonnaise, flour, egg and a little salt. Dip the fish pieces into it and stir.
- Heat a frying pan well with oil and place the pieces. Fry on both sides until golden brown. Turn over periodically - 2-3 times. The frying time for such small pieces is short - 3-4 minutes on each side over moderate heat.
The same recipe is suitable for cooking fish steaks in batter.
Batter options
For fish, you can choose a different batter if desired. Add additional ingredients to it, including spices, seasonings, herbs or something else. Batter options for fish dishes:
- cheese - grated cheese, egg, sour cream, flour, salt, spices;
- beer - beer (preferably light), flour, salt, egg yolks (the same batter is prepared with table white wine instead of beer);
- on the water - mineral water, flour, egg, salt;
- with herbs - chopped spicy herbs (or dried), mayonnaise, egg, flour, salt, spices;
- garlic - puree fresh garlic, mayonnaise, egg, breadcrumbs;
- saffron - natural Imeretian saffron or turmeric, water for infusing seasoning, salt, sour cream, flour, egg yolks.
The mixture should be thick to completely envelop the pieces of product.
This is how tench fish is prepared. The recipes are not complicated, but do require plenty of pre-processing and marinating time.
