Mackerel as food: Difference between revisions

[[File:Maquereaux etal.jpg|thumb|300px|right|{{center|Atlantic mackerel on ice in a fish shop.}}]]

[[File:Maquereau fumé Luc Viatour edit.jpg|thumb|300px|{{center|Smoked mackerel}}]]

[[File:Mackerel fish fry - Kolkata - West Bengal - 1.jpg|alt=Indian mackerel deep fried with salt and turmeric in mustard oil.|thumb|375x375px|Indian mackerel deep fried with salt and turmeric in mustard oil. ]]

Mackerel preservation is not simple. Before the 19th-century development of [[canning]] and the widespread availability of [[refrigeration]], [[Salting (food)|salting]] and [[Smoking (cooking)|smoking]] were the principal preservation methods available.<ref>Croker (1933), pages 104–105</ref> Historically in England, this fish was not preserved, but was consumed only in its fresh form. However, spoilage was common, leading the authors of ''The Cambridge Economic History of Europe'' to remark: "There are more references to stinking mackerel in English literature than to any other fish!"<ref name=Clapham1941 /> In France mackerel was traditionally pickled with large amounts of salt, which allowed it to be sold widely across the country.<ref name=Clapham1941>Clapham JH, Postan MM and Rich EE (1941) [https://books.google.com/books?id=gBw9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA166&dq=%22Mackerel+fisheries%22+history&hl=en&sa=X&ei=hLhRT7XCF5COmQXB47ysDg&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Mackerel%20fisheries%22%20history&f=false ''The Cambridge economic history of Europe''] CUP Archive, pp. 166–168. {{ISBN|978-0-521-08710-0}}.</ref>

In Japan mackerel is commonly cured with salt and vinegar to make a type of [[sushi]] known as saba-zushi. Historically saba-zushi originated in [[Kyoto]] as a solution for transporting mackerel to the inland city, which otherwise would not have made the journey from the coast still fresh.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Itou | first1 = K | last2 = Kobayashi | first2 = S | last3 = Ooizmi | first3 = T | last4 = Akahane | first4 = Y | year = 2006 | title = Changes of proximate composition and extractive components in narezushi, a fermented mackerel product, during processing | journal = Fisheries Science | volume = 72 | issue = 6| pages = 1269–1276 | doi = 10.1111/j.1444-2906.2006.01285.x | s2cid = 24004124 }}</ref> The road linking [[Obama, Fukui|Obama bay]] and Kyoto is now also called "mackerel road" (saba-kaido).

|pages=1353–7|s2cid=30973040 }}</ref> According to the [[United States Food and Drug Administration]], [[king mackerel]] is one of four fishes, along with [[swordfish]], [[shark]], and [[tilefish]], that children and pregnant women should avoid due to high levels of [[methylmercury]] found in these fish and the consequent risk of [[Mercury poisoning#Organic mercury compounds|mercury poisoning]].<ref name="Mercury Levels in Commercial Fish and Shellfish">{{cite web | url = https://www.fda.gov/food/foodsafety/product-specificinformation/seafood/foodbornepathogenscontaminants/methylmercury/ucm115644.htm | title = Mercury Levels in Commercial Fish and Shellfish (1990-2010) | author = FDA | access-date = 2011-09-14 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130115185859/https://www.fda.gov/food/foodsafety/product-specificinformation/seafood/foodbornepathogenscontaminants/methylmercury/ucm115644.htm | archive-date = 2013-01-15 | url-status = dead}}</ref><ref name="Protect Yourself and Your Family">

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|+ Comparative mercury levels<ref name=FDA>The mercury levels in the table, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from: [https://www.fda.gov/food/foodborneillnesscontaminants/metals/ucm115644.htm Mercury Levels in Commercial Fish and Shellfish (1990–2010)] U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Accessed 8 January 2012.</ref>

|-

! colspan="2"| Species

! Mean [[Parts per million|ppm]]

! Comments

|-

| style="background:#ff00ff;"|

| [[Tilefish]]

| align="center" | 1.450

| Gulf of Mexico

|-

| style="background:#ff56ff;"|

| [[Swordfish]]

| align="center" | 0.995

|

|-

| style="background:#ff58ff;"|

| [[Shark]]

| align="center" | 0.979

|

|-

| style="background:#ff5bff;"|

| [[King mackerel]]

| align="center" | 0.730

|

|-

| style="background:#ff5dff;"|

| [[Bigeye tuna]]

| align="center" | 0.689

| Fresh/frozen

|-

| style="background:#ff74ff;"|

| [[Atlantic Spanish mackerel]]

| align="center" | 0.454

| Gulf of Mexico

|-

| style="background:#ffa0ff;"|

| [[Spanish mackerel]]

| align="center" | 0.182

| South Atlantic

|-

| style="background:#ffb6ff;"|

| [[Chub mackerel]]

| align="center" | 0.088

| Pacific

|-

| style="background:#ffb8ff;"|

| [[Herring]]

| align="center" | 0.084

|

|-

| style="background:#ffc6ff;"|

| [[Flatfish]] *

| align="center" | 0.056

| [[Flounder]], [[plaice]] and [[sole (fish)|sole]]

|-

| style="background:#ffcdff;"|

| [[Atlantic mackerel]]

| align="center" | 0.050

|

|-

| style="background:#ffd0ff;"|

| [[Catfish]]

| align="center" | 0.025

|

|-

| style="background:#ffddff;"|

| [[Salmon]] *

| align="center" | 0.022

| Fresh/frozen

|-

| style="background:#ffe2ff;"|

| [[Sardine]]

| align="center" | 0.013

|

|-

| style="background:#ffe4ff;"|

| [[Tilapia]] *

| align="center" | 0.013

|

|-

| colspan="8" | <small>* indicates methylmercury only was analyzed (all other results are for total mercury)</small>

|}

==Gallery==

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|{{multiple image

| align = left

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| header =

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| image1 = Okhostk atka mackerel,hokke-yakizakana-teisyoku,syari-town,japan.JPG

| width1 = 216

| alt1 =

| caption1 = [[Okhotsk atka mackerel]], Japan

| image2 = Flickr - cyclonebill - Rugbrød med røget pebermakrel.jpg

| width2 = 193

| alt2 =

| caption2 = Rye bread with smoked "pepper mackerel", Denmark

| image3 = Makrill.JPG

| width3 = 109

| alt3 =

| caption3 = Grilled mackerel with dill butter, Sweden

| image4 = Chicharro asado con bilbaína.jpg

| width4 = 216

| alt4 =

| caption4 = Roasted horse-mackerel with fried garlic and pepper, Spain

| image5 = Korean.cuisine-Godeungeo.jorim-01.jpg

| width5 = 194

| alt5 =

| caption5 = Godeungeo jorim made with mackerel, radish and seasonings, Korea

}}

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