Like the dogfish, the bluefish, the dogfish, the dogfish, etc., it is one of the most used sharks for food purposes.
Emery does not fall into the category of blue fish or even poor fish; its precarious availability in the seas and the deep fishing techniques essential to catch it make it a medium or medium-high range fishing product.
In the nutritional field, the sea calf is classified in the 1st fundamental group of foods - foods rich in proteins with high biological value, specific vitamins and minerals. It also contains iodine and vitamin D; the breakdown of fatty acids is very good - thanks to the presence of the essential omega 3 seeds: eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) - and the cholesterol level is more than acceptable.
The meat and fins of the emery - the latter for the famous shark fin soup - are highly prized around the world which, unfortunately, has resulted in a long history of intense human exploitation - intensive non-sustainable fishing.
The sea calf is robust and fusiform. The long snout is conical and tapers to the tip of the nose. The back is gray and the belly is white. It has several distinctive features (see below), the best known of which are the shape of the tricuspid teeth in adult specimens and a white spot at the base of the first dorsal fin. It can reach 2.5 m for 135 kg.
The emery is a fish considered "endangered" in most of the world's seas. In some places it is even labeled as "endangered". Fishing, occasional or specific, is regulated but still in place. Its reduced reproductive capacity - of about 4 chicks per year - and the intensive collection, are the essential reasons why fishing for this shark should be stopped.
essential omega 3 seeds EPA and DHA; the concentrations of vitamin D and iodine are also remarkable - it fully reflects all the properties of its food group. The chemical and nutritional characteristics are generally similar to those of dogfish, dogfish, blue shark and dogfish; let's go into more detail.
ATTENTION! No detailed information is available on the chemical profile of the sea calf. We therefore refer to the most reliable sources but the level of accuracy remains in doubt.
Emery has a medium-low energy intake (≤ 125 kcal / 100g), thanks to the modest concentration of total fats. Calories are mainly provided by proteins (> 20 g / 100 g), followed by lipids (≤ 5 g / 100g and possibly by negligible concentrations of carbohydrates (0.2-0.35 g / 100 g). are of high biological value - they contain all the essential amino acids compared to the model of human proteins and mainly unsaturated fatty acids, with an excellent percentage of the biologically active semi-essential omega 3 polyunsaturates: eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acid (0.3-1.0 g / 100 g).
Fibers are absent. Cholesterol is not excessive but not negligible and there are no traces of sea wax esters.
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 body, especially in conditions of malnutrition-overnutrition due to the Western lifestyle. ; on the other hand, certain insights suggest that the sea wax esters are not completely digestible and absorbable. It already constitutes food supplements and is generally extracted, for the highest 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 fresh produce, increases exponentially in poorly preserved fish. Being a high protein food, it is also a significant source of phenylalanine amino acid.
The data concerning the vitamin profile are limited; However, it is reasonable to think that emery is rich in water-soluble vitamins of group B - such as niacin (vit PP), pyridoxine (vit B6), cobalamin (vit B12) - and fat-soluble vit D (calciferol). The level of phosphorus and iodine is appreciable, but there is insufficient information regarding the other minerals.
Mercury
The sea calf is one of the fish in which the accumulation of mercury and methylmercury is proportional to its size. In particular, it has been estimated that the equation that includes the retention parameters of heavy metal in the tissues and length is perfectly linear. It is therefore considered necessary to avoid eating large emery often, especially in large portions.
. However, excessive portions are still inadequate to the diet of subjects with digestive complications such as dyspepsia, gastritis, gastroesophageal reflux disease, gastric or duodenal ulcer.
The sea calf is a food suitable for most diets, including slimming ones, which must be low-calorie and normolipidic.
The abundance of high biological value proteins makes the emery ideal in the diet of malnourished, defied or with an increased need for essential amino acids. This type of food is recommended in the case of very high intensity physical activity, especially in the disciplines of strength or with a very important hypertrophic muscular component, and for all particularly prolonged aerobic disciplines. The sea calf is also suitable in case of lactation, pathological intestinal malabsorption and in old age - in which eating disorder and decreased intestinal absorption tend to create a protein deficiency.
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 children
- The prevention and treatment of some metabolic diseases - hypertriglyceridemia, arterial hypertension, etc.
- The maintenance of cognitive functions in old age
- The reduction of some symptoms of neurosis - depressive. Etc.
Due to the absence of gluten and lactose, emery is relevant in the diet for celiac disease and for milk sugar intolerance. The abundance of purines makes emery undesirable in the nutritional regimen for hyperuricemia, especially of severe entity - with gouty attacks - and in that for kidney stones or uric acid lithiasis. As for the "intolerance to" histamine, on the other hand, if perfectly preserved, it has no contraindications. The massive presence of phenylalanine makes it inappropriate for the diet against phenylketonuria.
The B vitamins have a mainly coenzyme function; this is why the sea calf can be considered a good source of nutrients that support the cellular functions of all tissues. The D, on the other hand, is crucial for bone metabolism and for the immune system. Note: remember that food sources of vitamin D are very rare. Phosphorus, hardly lacking in the diet, however, constitutes both bone (hydroxyapatite) and nervous tissue (phospholipids). Finally, iodine is necessary for the proper functioning of the thyroid gland - responsible for regulating cellular metabolism after secreting the hormones T3 and T4.
Emery meat is allowed in the diet during pregnancy, as long as it comes from medium-sized creatures and not from large specimens - rich in mercury and methylmnercury.
The average portion of emery - as a dish - is 100-150 g.
commercial. Due to its similarity, it is often passed off as a swordfish; only the most experienced consumers are able to recognize it, while novice buyers are inexorably prey to this widespread scam.
At the same time, other less valuable shark species are marketed under the name of "sea calf"; this is, most of the time, a cheat, given the now scarcity of this fish in all seas.
It is suitable for all cooking systems and methods, even mixed:
- for conduction: sautéed, grilled, poached / boiled in water and fried in oil
- by convection: baked, grilled on refractory stone
- by irradiation: charcoal grill
- mixed conduction-convection: steam
- vacuum - even at low temperature - for conduction in water drowning
- vasocooking - even at low temperatures - by conduction and convection.
There is a particular tendency, like all edible fish of the same type - sharks - to dry out excessively, becoming stringy and rubbery. It seems particularly susceptible to grilling - especially by irradiation - and to the oven.
The flesh of the emery is combined 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 urchins - anchovy sauce, seaweed etc. In cooking it is often blended with white wine.
Some famous recipes are: marinated and sautéed sea veal with aromatic herbs and lemon zest, spicy emery soup, pendolini and black olives, sea veal with pizzaiola, fried emery cutlets, baked sea veal, breaded with capers and anchovies, Mediterranean emery, sauteed sea veal with soy sauce, grilled / grilled emery, sea veal in tuna sauce, steamed or boiled emery etc.
Emery fins are a highly sought after ingredient for shark fin soup - of Chinese origin.
The food and wine pairing with emery mainly depends on the finished recipe; it is difficult to go wrong by choosing a still white wine, with a medium body, such as chardonnays.
very robust which stretches towards the snout - long and pointed - and flattens transversally before the tail.It has two large pectoral fins and a very developed first dorsal fin - rounded in shape; the two pelvic fins, the secondary dorsal and the anal, are instead tiny; the caudal is crescent-shaped, with the two lobes almost equal - the lower one is smaller.
The eyes are large and black, with no protective lids. The small "S" shaped nostrils are positioned in front of and below eye level.
The mouth is wide and strongly curved, with a moderately protruded jaw. The North Atlantic emery has 28-29 rows of upper teeth and 26-27 rows of lower teeth, while those of the southern hemisphere have 30-31 rows of upper teeth and 27-29 rows of lower teeth. strongly arched base and an almost straight, snail-shaped central cusp, which is flanked by a pair of smaller cusps in all but the smallest individuals.
The five pairs of gill slits are long and precede the bases of the pectoral fins.
The skin is soft and covered with small flattened skin teeth (scales), which give it a velvety texture. Each tooth has three horizontal ridges leading to the teeth on the posterior edge.
The most distinctive features of this species are the three-pointed teeth, the white spot at the base of its first dorsal fin, and the two pairs of lateral keels on the caudal peduncle.
The emery usually reaches a length of 2.5 m and a weight of 135 kg; the specimens of the North Atlantic grow more - the record was 3.7 m and 230 kg - compared to the sharks of the southern hemisphere and differ both for the coloration and for the habits of life.
Curiosity
The sea calf or emery is among the most efficient sharks in swimming and hunting. He is able to move his tail while keeping his body rigid; this style is more effective but at the expense of the range of movements. It has larger gills, which allow it to better oxygenate the tissues. In addition, it is laterally equipped with two strips of involuntary contraction aerobic red muscle, which allow it to continue to swim optimizing your efforts.
- Family Lamnidae, Genus Lamna and species nasus.
The emery is widespread in the cold and temperate marine waters of the North Atlantic, including the Mediterranean Sea - not in the Black Sea - and of the southern hemisphere - it is absent in the tropics. In the North Pacific, its ecological equivalent is the salmon shark - or emery. Pacific - Lamna ditropis. The fact remains that, in certain areas, L. nasus And L. ditropis share the same ecological niches.
Curiosity
As we said, the species nasus And ditropis they are closely related. Their phylogenetic separation occurred, hypothetically, 65-45 million years ago, due to the formation of the polar ice cap on the Arctic Ocean that separated the Atlantic Ocean from the Pacific.
The emery is an opportunistic hunter that acts on the entire water column - including the seabed - and preys mainly on the smallest bony fish and cephalopod molluscs. It mostly colonizes the external continental shelf, near the shoals rich in food, and only occasionally it approaches the coast or moves away in the open sea up to a depth greater than 1300 m. It engages in long-distance seasonal migrations, moving between different bathymetrics. The sea calf is fast and very active; it is characterized by various physiological adaptations that allow him to maintain a higher body temperature than the surrounding water. It can be solitary or gregarious.
Did you know that ...
The emery is known among marine biologists for its aptitude to assume "playful" behaviors and, although not aggressive, it loves to nibble on any floating object.
This shark is viviparous aplacental and has an ovophagic aptitude, ie it develops embryos which are kept in the mother's uterus by eating the unfertilized eggs. The females give birth to about four cubs a year. Ordinarily it does not attack humans; only a few attacks - among other things of uncertain origin - have been attributed to the emery.
and technological systems - for example the Norwegian longlines. At the amateur level it is caught during the "big-game" or coarse fishing; usually the amateurs of this activity engage in "no-kill", or in the release of live prey. He is not interested in spearfishing.
