Omul caviar calorie content. Fish omul (Coregonus autumnalis). Places and habitat features
Omul - the treasure of Siberia
Siberia... Mysterious Siberia, sung by many poets and bards, a region known for its harsh climate and unique nature. Everything here is unusual and new for residents of the European part of Russia and for foreigners, and this is what gives Siberia a touch of mystery and unknown.
The unique nature of Siberia does not need to be proven. You just need to take Baikal, a lake known throughout the world. It was Baikal that became a kind of cradle for many treasures of Siberia, for example, omul. is a small-sized fish of the whitefish family. Many people think that it is found only in Lake Baikal, but this opinion is wrong. Omul can be found in most parts Siberian rivers, as well as in the coastal zone northern seas. However, exactly Baikal omul known to gourmets all over the world. It is quite possible that this is due to the extraordinary purity of Baikal water, and the omul really values clean water. So the Baikal omul is something you won’t find anywhere else. It is not surprising that omul dishes have become the hallmark of this region.
Omul was, is and will be one of the main sources of income for local residents. Salted omul, as well as smoked omul and dried omul - all these products today can be found at any railway station, in any, even the smallest village, not to mention large cities. And yet this is only in Siberia. Meanwhile, not everyone can afford a trip to Baikal in order to try local delicacies (which, by the way, are not limited to just omul). Of course, not only gastronomic pleasures attract, but also nature, forests, mountains, rivers, Baikal... But still, even this is not enough.
And omul, mainly cold smoked omul, is considered a delicacy and is very highly valued not only in our country, but also abroad. And it’s not surprising, because the harder it is to get a particular product, the more valuable it is. Of course, there's more to it than that. has a very special taste. Its meat is very fatty and tender, like that of many fish living in cold water. In addition, when properly prepared, it acquires an unusual flavor, for which it is valued. Native Siberians call this omul “omul with a scent.” To some, this smell resembles the smell of slightly rotten fish, but this is not the case. During cooking, omul meat undergoes chemical reactions, due to which it acquires its flavor. Most people who have tried omul believe that they have never eaten anything tastier. Of course, there are those who did not like omul, but there are only a few of them.
In addition to its amazing taste, omul meat has a number of useful qualities. Even in the old days, there was a belief among Siberians that he could cure a fisherman of any, even the most serious, ailment, just by passing the tail of a freshly caught fish across his lips.
And the longevity for which Siberians are famous also once again proves the beneficial qualities of many Siberian products in general and omul in particular. The beneficial properties of omul meat have been proven by doctors, so these are not just beliefs and speculation. Of course, in order for them to be present, you need to eat omul no less often than residents of the Baikal regions eat, and this is not always possible.
A special pleasure is fishing on Lake Baikal. Omul is a rather capricious fish and not every fisherman manages to outwit it. Omul can be caught in winter and summer and, according to Siberians, freshly caught and freshly cooked omul is something divine.
And yet today it is absolutely not necessary to go to Baikal to finally try smoked or salted omul. Now this amazing fish can be eaten in any part of Russia. Modern freezing technologies and vacuum packaging make it possible to preserve the taste and beneficial qualities of omul for a long time. This means that it can be delivered to any point in Russia without fear that the carcass will spoil. Salted omul and smoked omul, as well as balyki, can be eaten without any additional processing. But freshly frozen omul carcasses can be prepared in any way, including original Siberian cooking options. For example, omul on rods can be prepared in nature, and chopping can be done using ordinary freezer. There would be a desire.
On our website we have posted for you the most interesting and useful information about omul. You will learn what types of omul exist in nature, where and how you can catch it, and also find recipes for preparing this fish at home. Here you can find everything from real Siberian stroganina to stuffed omul.
Methods for preparing omul
In what form is omul most valued?
In Siberia, salted omul, flogged and unflogged, culturally salted, is most valued. True lovers and experts believe that flogged salted omul<с душком>- a peculiar piquant smell and very tender meat in consistency - preferable to all other types of preparation. To an unaccustomed person, such omul seems somewhat rotten (however, this only seems so, this is the specific smell of delicious fish. Not everyone likes, for example, cheese<Рокфор>, however, lovers will not exchange it for any other). Freshly frozen omul, prepared in the form of chopped and sliced meat, is highly valued. In the summer, they prefer omul on the rod.
Splitting
Heavily frozen fish are beaten with a hard object in order to remove the skin. After beating, the skin is easily removed, and the raw fish is seasoned with spices and onion-vinegar seasoning. Served as a snack.
Stroganina
A favorite dish of Siberian fishermen and hunters in winter. To prepare it, heavily frozen fish is used, which is sliced with a knife into thin slices, like shavings (hence - planed). Consumed raw with spices, onions and vinegar.
Baikal omul
Baikal omul (Coregonus autumnalis migratorius) feeds itself in the vast expanses of Lake Baikal, where its food is mainly small crustaceans - epishuras. It has been established that omul feeds on epishura if its concentration is not lower than 30-35 thousand crustaceans per cubic meter of water. When there is a lack of basic food, it switches to feeding on pelagic amphipods and juveniles of the wonderful Baikal fish - golomyanok. Omul is a large whitefish, weighing over 7 kg.
In September, the Baikal omul enters the rivers, preparing for spawning. There are three races of omul:
1) Angara (spawning in the upper Angara, Kicher, Barguzin), the most early-ripening and slow-growing, maturing at the age of 5-6 years;
2) Selenga (spawning in Selenga, Bolshaya and other rivers east coast), fast growing and matures at 7-8 years;
3) Chivyrkuiskaya (Bolshoi and Maly Chivyrkui rivers).
This race starts spawning later than everyone else (from mid-October) and, like the Selenga race, grows quickly. The omul finishes spawning already during freeze-up, when slush floats across the spawning grounds. After spawning, it migrates to Baikal, where it winters at great depths (300 m or more).
Intensive fishing for this fish has significantly reduced its reserves, so now to maintain the herd they resort to artificial breeding. Omul inhabiting the river. Penzhina, which flows into the Sea of Okhotsk, stands out in special kind— Penzhina omul (Coregonus subautumnalis). Almost nothing is known about its lifestyle; apparently, it is some kind of evasive form of the common omul.
Omul (Coregonus autumnalis) The hero of songs, glorified by gastronomes, in our minds is associated with Baikal. This is not entirely true: only its subspecies lives in Baikal. The omul itself is a migratory fish. He feeds in coastal parts Arctic Ocean and goes to spawn in rivers from the Velta (west of Pechora) to the rivers of Alaska and Northern Canada. Like the tugun, the omul has a terminal mouth, but more (up to 51) gill rakers. This large (up to 64 cm in length and 3 kg in weight) fish is fished in all Siberian rivers, with the exception of the Ob, which for some reason does not enter, although it is present in the Ob Bay. There are summer (June - July) and autumn runs of the omul. The fish that enter the river mature late and spawn the following year.
Fishermen are good at distinguishing sea omul from those that have lingered in the river. Sea omul is much fattier, its insides are literally filled with fat, and its intestines are completely empty. The omul feeds in the sea on large crustaceans - amphipods, mysids; juvenile gobies, whitefish fry, smelt, polar cod. Finding itself in places with a high concentration of plankton, the omul switches to feeding on planktonic crustaceans. Like other whitefish, it spawns in the fall. Its natural crosses with other types of whitefish - muksun and pyzhyan - are not uncommon.
The omul fish, the photo and description of which are given in this article, belongs to the whitefish genus, which has more than forty species. Omul, like most whitefish, has excellent taste due to its fatty, high-calorie meat and a number of useful qualities. Usually you can buy smoked omul in stores, since it is in this form that they are valued most by fish lovers.
Depending on its habitat, omul is divided into two main types:
- Baikal;
- arctic.
Arctic is classified as anadromous. It lives in the Arctic Ocean basin, and spawns in the rivers of Asia and North America. In Russia, omul can be found in almost all northern rivers. The only exception is the Ob, where it is not found.
The Baikal omul can be found, as you might guess from its name, in Lake Baikal. Sometimes it comes across to fishermen Far East and in some rivers of the tundra. In the lake itself, it can be found only in the southeast, but it does not swim to the northwest.
Appearance and habitat of omul
Omul is a finicky fish. He prefers to live in a cold and clean water saturated with oxygen. It lives mainly in deep places - up to three hundred meters. Can live not only in fresh water, but also lightly salted. Omul has an oblong body, silvery in color with emerald or brown tints. The back is darker, and the belly is light. The scales are small and fit tightly to each other.
The length of the Arctic omul reaches more than thirty centimeters. His puberty occurs in the seventh or eighth years of life. On average, the Arctic omul lives about ten years, which allows it to spawn no more than two or three times.
The Baikal omul grows on average to twenty-eight centimeters. Its ability to spawn occurs earlier than its northern counterpart - at the age of five to six years. At the end of summer and beginning of autumn, adult Arctic omul gather in large schools and go in search of spawning grounds. Sometimes they travel up to one and a half thousand kilometers until they find a suitable place. Omuli from Lake Baikal do not go to such extremes, swimming only short distances deep into the rivers flowing into the lake.
Taste and calorie content of omul fish
Omul is not only very tasty, but also healthy fish. And all this is thanks to the fat in his body, which helps him cope with low temperatures water. Despite large number fat, omul meat has a surprisingly low calorie content - about 80 kcal per 100 g of fish. The whole point is that omul fat consists of polyunsaturated acids. This allows fish to be included in diets for those wishing to lose weight.
Omul, both Arctic and Baikal, is rightfully considered a valuable commercial fish. At one time, its uncontrolled catching led to a decrease in the fish population. Moreover, in the sixties of the last century, the Baikal species was even on the verge of complete extinction. Laws and bans on fishing were hastily passed, which helped save the situation, return the population to its previous limits and allow fishing to begin again. However, today the Baikal omul is again in danger of extinction.
What does omul eat?
The favorite food of omul are plankton, amphipods, various larvae, mysids, fry and caviar. In the sea, it prefers crustaceans, gammarus and all kinds of fry. Just before spawning, the omul stops feeding. The fish begins to gain fat after spawning, actively hunting in coastal zones.
The benefits of omul for the human body
What mass fraction omul bones make up no more than seven percent; it is used to prepare high-quality canned food used in dietary nutrition. The acids contained in fish fat significantly thin the viscous blood and help improve the functioning of the heart and the entire body. nervous system. In addition, omul meat is rich in vitamin B, which is necessary for the human reproductive system.
Despite the fact that the Baikal omul is found in the cleanest lake in the world, about ninety percent of all fish are infected with diphyllobothriasis, which can be contracted by lovers of stroganina prepared from freshly caught and unseasoned fish. heat treatment fish. To prevent this from happening, the omul must be gutted and thoroughly salted before consumption in order to destroy all the infection.
Price for omul and its caviar
The cost of omul directly depends on its type: smoked, dried, fresh frozen, fillet. And of course, from the place of sale. So in Irkutsk you can buy fresh frozen omul from 350 rubles per 1 kilogram. Lightly salted omul fillet costs from 200 rubles per 100-120 grams. Smoked omul costs from 800 rubles. Omul straws in retail stores can be purchased from 1600 rubles per 1 kg.
Dried omul can be bought in Irkutsk from 550 rubles per 1 kg - for wholesale purchases, and retail from 650 and above. The price of omul caviar starts from 500 rubles per 1 kg.
In Moscow, fresh frozen omul can be purchased from 1,100 rubles, hot smoked omul - 1,880 rubles/kg, lightly salted omul will cost 1,250 rubles/kg.
How to catch omul
Amateur fishing for omul is allowed all year round, excluding only the spawning period. By open water they catch it, or, and with the onset of frost they switch to.
Among artificial baits, small spinners, various flies, jig baits and others predominate. It performed well with its tiny lures and invisible fishing line. The drill is considered the best live bait among local fishermen. The meat of crustaceans and small live bait is also used.
When fishing at night from a boat, you can use a powerful flashlight, the light of which attracts the attention of plankton, which is a living bait for omul. During bottom fishing, they use gear with a load of 20-40 g and several habits with a natural bait. In winter, you can replace live bait with flies (from 6 to 10 pieces on one tackle), made in different shades of red.
Catching omul on Lake Baikal video
Fishing for omul on Lake Baikal video
Spawning of omul in Bolshoi Chivyrkui video
Omul fishing on Lake Baikal from the first person
What does omul fish look like photo
Omul- a fish belonging to the whitefish family and living only in Siberia. The closest relatives of omul are whitefish, vendace and some other species. Contrary to current opinion The omul lives not only in the waters of Baikal, but in most Siberian rivers and northern seas. Depending on their habitat, scientists identify several varieties of omul, all of which are divided into races or populations. The Baikal omul has gained the greatest popularity among the people. The migration of omul is strictly subject to phases life cycle. During the period between spawnings, omul lives in lakes, primarily in Baikal, near river mouths, in coastal waters northern seas. IN autumn period The omul enters the rivers of Siberia in shallow waters to spawn, where it lays eggs. After the spawning period, the omul descends downstream into Baikal or returns back to the sea.
The omul fish is short in length; even the largest individuals reach a maximum length of 60 cm. The body of the fish is long and narrow, similar to a torpedo or a cigarette. Such structural features help the omul to move quickly in the water. The main food for omul are crustaceans, insect larvae, etc. Almost all varieties of omul feed at a depth of up to 5 meters, which is very convenient for fishermen.
Omul refers to fatty fish. A large reserve of fat helps it survive in harsh winter conditions. In addition, cooking omul in various dishes gives omul delicacies a special tenderness, which is so valued by Siberians.
Omul habitats
If most of us are asked where omul lives, the answer will probably be this: in Siberia, in Lake Baikal. And you will undoubtedly be right. It was Lake Baikal, famous throughout the world for its depth and amazing purity of water, that gave us the most delicious fish called the Baikal omul. However, perhaps it will be news to you that Baikal is not the only habitat for omul.
In addition to the Baikal omul, there are other varieties of this fish, which, accordingly, live in other places. Actually, on this basis they are divided into subgroups, although, in essence, they are the same fish. Arctic omul (or Yakut) lives in the Arctic Ocean, and Penzhina generally prefers small lakes associated with the Penzhina River. These subspecies of omul differ in taste because they feed differently.
And yet, let’s return to Baikal omul, as the most popular variety of Siberian delicacy. Lake Baikal is far from small, so even there the omul fish are unevenly distributed. Scientists have been studying the distribution of omul throughout Lake Baikal for many years and have come to some conclusions. If the southeastern part of the lake abounds in this fish, then in the northwest there is none at all. There may be several reasons for this phenomenon. Apparently, the Baikal omul prefers to stick to those places where large rivers flow into the lake, because with their flow a lot of silt gets into the waters of Baikal. And in the mud are the smallest crustaceans and insect larvae are the omul’s favorite delicacy. So he prefers to stay close to food. In addition, in this part of the lake the bottom is exactly what fish like - flat and quite shallow. In the upper layers of water heated by the sun, there are a large number of small living creatures, which are also eaten by fish. The Baikal omul does not like great depths too much, as you probably already understood. Only during winter does he descend into deep places, and even then it regularly rises to the surface to feed, to the delight of the fishermen. However, at great depths he also has something to profit from.
In contrast to the southeastern part of Baikal, the northwestern one looks completely different. There are no rivers there, and the bottom drops sharply down immediately to greater depth. Apparently the fish don't like it too much, so it's not surprising that they don't appear there.
Although, according to by and large, all these theories remain just theories. It is not yet possible to say exactly why the Baikal subspecies of omul prefers the southeastern part of Baikal. All that remains is to make assumptions.
If we talk about the habitats of the Baikal omul more specifically, it prefers the confluence of the Barguzin, Selenga, Chivyrkui and Upper Angara rivers. Apparently, they are the ones who carry with them greatest number stern.
It is especially worth mentioning that part of Baikal, which is called the Small Sea. Here Baikal omul is also found in abundance. It was even classified as a separate subspecies or population – the Malomorsky omul. By the way, it is most valued among Siberians, despite its relatively small size. But why the Small Sea attracts omul is still unclear.
The Baikal omul, as well as its other subspecies, has one important feature. Once every few years, the fish migrates upstream the rivers, near the mouth of which it feeds. Of course, the purpose of this migration is spawning. Having started their journey at the end of summer, the fish swim hundreds of kilometers, moving towards their goal. At this time, they are very easy to catch, but fishing for any kind of fish, including omul, is strictly prohibited during spawning. This is done in order to protect the fish from extinction.
After spawning, which occurs in late autumn, the fish returns back to recuperate.
The Arctic subspecies of omul behaves almost the same as its Baikal counterpart. He also prefers to stay close to the confluence large rivers. The point here is not only the crustaceans that the fish feed on, but also the fact that near the mouths the water in the ocean is not so salty. The Pechora, Yenisei, Kolyma, Lena and many other Siberian rivers shelter the Arctic brother of the Baikal omul near their mouths, and during spawning the fish rise up their currents. The behavior of the Penzhinsky omul during spawning is the same, only they serve as a spawning site small rivers(primarily Penzhina), flowing into small lakes where this fish is found.
By the way, if we talk about the Baikal and Arctic omul, today it is believed that their ancestors initially lived in the ocean, and only then moved along the rivers to Lake Baikal. Considering the ability of this fish to move, this scenario is quite likely.
So, Baikal is not the only place where the miracle fish omul lives. It lives in other bodies of water, both smaller ones and such huge ones as the Arctic Ocean. However, even the Arctic subspecies of this fish is found exclusively in the coastal zone of Siberia, so that with a clear conscience it can be called a Siberian delicacy.
Storage conditions for omul
Omul is an extremely tasty and healthy fish. Unfortunately, the habitats of the omul fish do not allow us to feast on it all the time. In order to fully appreciate the benefits of omul, you need to store it correctly.
Freshly frozen omul retains all its beneficial properties, but only if the omul fish is not allowed to be re-frozen. Smoked omul fish is best stored in vacuum packaging, and if it is not available, in parchment paper. Dried omul should be stored in the same way. Smoked and dried omul fish does not last long - from a week to two to three months, depending on the packaging. As for salted omul fish, the only option to preserve its quality is to make preserves.
Fresh frozen omul
Fresh frozen omul is a real find for those who love to cook. In fact, if you or your loved ones really love fish or seafood, you simply must try fresh frozen omul. You don't have to go to Siberia to do this. When freshly frozen, omul can not only be stored for a long time, but also does not lose its beneficial qualities. After defrosting, the fish will be as aromatic and tasty as if it had just been pulled out of the river.
Freshly frozen omul is the basis for a huge number of delicious dishes. Fried omul, fish soup, pies and salads with omul - omul fish can be prepared any way you like. Freshly frozen omul meat is tender and fatty enough to not add any oils to dishes. This is important for those who are watching their figure, because dishes made from freshly frozen omul are dietary and very healthy. By the way, they are also suitable for those who cannot eat fatty foods due to digestive problems. So fresh frozen omul is an excellent product for all occasions.
Cold smoked omul
Cold smoked omul is an incredibly tasty dish. It is in this form that omul was most often delivered and continues to be delivered from Lake Baikal as gifts. Even without vacuum packaging, cold smoked omul can be stored for a week or two, which means it can be transported to its destination.
Cold smoked omul can safely be called one of business cards Baikal regions. You can buy omul almost everywhere - at small stations and large railway junctions, in supermarkets and markets, in restaurants and just on the street. Smoked omul exudes a truly mind-blowing aroma, so sometimes it’s simply impossible to resist.
Today, thanks to vacuum packaging, the shelf life of cold-smoked omul is significantly increased, so you can try omul while in any part of the country.
Those who have ever tried cold smoked omul fish will agree that this is a truly amazing dish. Omul can be eaten just like that (and many believe that nothing else is needed), or it can be added to various salads and other dishes. Tender, cold-smoked omul meat is simply perfect for making sandwiches and canapés, as well as main courses. Omul gives them a special delicate aroma.
The main thing in preparing omul dishes is to use your imagination and not be afraid to experiment. Cold smoked omul can be combined with many products, so feel free to go into battle!
Dried omul
Dried omul is the product that is always associated with a steamy glass of ice-cold beer. And no wonder, because this fish is considered one of the best snacks for a foamy drink. Omul is a fish characterized by surprisingly tender meat with quite high content fat It is this property of omul meat that makes it simply inimitable in its dried form. Properly prepared dried omul is never overdried. It is generally quite difficult to dry this fish, but it is still possible.
It is enough to clean the dried omul carcass to make sure highest quality this product. The nose immediately catches the inimitable aroma of Baikal omul, a fish that is glorified in poems, songs, stories and novels. Dried omul meat glistens with fat, and a torn slice appears translucent, reminiscent of a piece of amber. Well, as for the taste of omul, it is simply inimitable. Even those who are difficult to surprise with dried fish will be able to appreciate the quality of the Siberian delicacy.
Cooking dried omul is an art. Despite the fact that this fish is quite difficult to spoil, its drying is carefully monitored. After all, it is very important that during drying the omul does not get direct sun rays. But a good wind is what is needed. Just a little time - and the omul becomes exactly what everyone loves and appreciates.
However, the large amount of fat in omul is not only its advantage, but also its disadvantage. Due to this, the meat spoils quite quickly. So the fish has to be eaten quite quickly. Sometimes it happens that people bring omul as a gift to relatives and friends thousands of kilometers away, and then improper storage or extreme heat cause product damage. IN best case scenario the matter ends with the Siberian delicacy having to be thrown away; at worst, the result is poisoning. However, today this problem has been solved. In vacuum packaging, omul lasts much longer than without it. Moreover, the product does not require any special conditions except for the integrity of the packaging. In addition, the fish does not dry out, which is another very big plus.
However, vacuum packaging can be a source serious problems. The thing is that there are bacteria that can reproduce without oxygen. These bacteria cause a serious disease - botulism. To avoid getting infected, it is important to purchase dried fish only from trusted manufacturers. In addition, before opening the vacuum packaging, you need to inspect it properly. If the packaging is swollen, it is dangerous to eat such fish.
But let's not talk about the unpleasant. As we have already written, our products are completely safe for your health, unless the packaging was damaged during transportation. But we monitor this from the factory to the store itself.
Did you know that omul can be used not only as a snack for beer, although, undoubtedly, it is incomparable in this regard. Omul has such tender meat that it can be used in preparing various dishes. First of all, these are, of course, various snacks to which this wonderful fish gives an unusual piquancy. It doesn’t matter whether it’s salads or regular sandwiches – they will always be successful. It’s also great to take the dried Siberian delicacy with you on hikes, since it doesn’t spoil for a long time in vacuum packaging. And at a rest stop, just pour slices of fish into a pot of stew or porridge - and a fragrant and very satisfying dish is ready! So dried omul is not just a snack with beer, it is also a lifesaver on a hike and in the kitchen at home.
How to cook omul
Omul is widely considered a delicacy; today almost every visitor tries to try this Siberian fish. Omul meat has excellent taste - very tender and fatty, in addition, the fish contains a large amount of nutrients.
Siberians know many recipes for preparing omul - splitting, stroganina, thickening. Omul, like regular fish, can be smoked, salted and fried. The most popular among gourmets in the Baikal region is omul on rods, the preparation of which does not require much trouble.
Today, not only residents of Siberia and Lake Baikal have the opportunity to try omul dishes. Our company supplies omul to any region of Russia on order; now you have the opportunity to prepare dishes from this delicacy without leaving your hometown.
Omul in batter
This is a quick and easy recipe. Cut the omul fillet into small pieces, add salt and spices and leave in the cold for 30 minutes.
For the batter, beat 2 eggs with half a glass of milk and the same amount of flour. Dip omul fillet in batter and fry in a frying pan until golden brown. Bon appetit!
Omul (Coregonus autumnalis) is a fish from the order Salmonidae and the whitefish family. First of all, omul is known for its taste qualities and fantastic gastronomic properties. It is not for nothing that it is considered the royal fish; it is truly a delicacy with a very delicious meat. Add here the fact that omul does not live in all water bodies, i.e. in fact, it is in great short supply, and you will understand why this trophy is so highly valued among fishermen and simply fish lovers.
Omul, in general, not very good big fish, reaches a maximum length of about 60 cm and 3 kg of weight. Its body is narrow, somewhat elongated, and looks like a torpedo. The scales sit tightly on the body. Thanks to this structure of its body, it moves quickly in the water. Omul has a silvery color with a greenish back and a light belly.
Omul is quite omnivorous, because its diet includes zooplankton, benthic invertebrates, and small fish (slingshot, cod, etc.). In the autumn-summer period, the omul feeds in shallow water in the coastal zone, where it eats mysids, gammarus and crustacean plankton.
The omul lives only in the cold North Ural and Siberian rivers and lakes (the Arctic Ocean basin) in clean and cold water saturated with oxygen. Some people believe that this is exclusively Baikal fish, but this is not entirely true. There are various types of this fish, depending on its habitat, the most famous, perhaps, is the Baikal omul (by the way, the omul just came to Baikal from the Arctic Ocean: once the fish went so far to spawn that it reached Baikal, and I couldn’t roll back). Omul is a migratory fish that lives in the coastal zone of the northern seas, in lakes, river mouths and goes to Russian rivers to spawn at the end of August. Its spawning begins at the end of September and continues throughout October.
The omul breeds every year, starting from the age of seven or eight. It travels quite far to spawn, more than a thousand kilometers, while avoiding shallow water and not approaching the shores. Large individuals lay large quantities of eggs, up to approximately 60-70 thousand eggs. During the spawning period it does not feed, but afterwards it does so intensively, i.e. The omul begins to eat. After the eggs are laid, the omul returns to its feeding grounds. In general, in the northern Ural and Siberian rivers there are two “moves” of omul: summer (June-July) and autumn (spawning itself).
Photo by Vitaly Shurukhin
Omul is the closest relative of the whitefish (as reflected in the name of the family to which it belongs). There are even natural crosses of omul with other types of whitefish - muksun and pyzhyan.
Omul is a valuable commercial fish. Its meat is very high in calories and contains a large amount of fat (by the way, sea omul is much fattier than river omul), which helps this fish survive in the difficult conditions of Siberian rivers and northern seas. Its meat is tender and is quite well absorbed by the human body, while providing positive influence on the functioning of the heart and nervous system. In addition to fatty acids, omul meat is rich in B vitamins and beneficial microelements - chromium, molybdenum, fluorine. Omul is fried, dried, salted, smoked, and canned. It can be used as a dietary food.
IN recent years The omul population is declining, especially the Baikal species. Therefore, it is necessary to take measures to protect it.
Omul – commercial fish from the salmon family, living in regions with cold climates. Mainly, this is the coastal zone of the Arctic Ocean and the rivers flowing into it, where the omul comes to spawn. In addition, there is also the Baikal omul, which is usually classified as a separate species.
Fishing for omul has been carried out since time immemorial, and there were periods - about a hundred years ago - when its volumes became so critical that measures had to be taken to protect the fish from complete extermination. This increased interest is due to the incredibly high energy value and beneficial properties of omul fish.
High fat and low calorie
One of the reasons why omul meat is considered a gourmet product is the combination of seemingly two incompatible qualities. So, on the one hand, fans of this fish value it for its high fat content - You can fry pieces of omul without adding any oil, directly in a dry frying pan. At the same time, the dish turns out incredibly soft and tender. This becomes possible thanks to a large number of polyunsaturated acids.
At the same time, omul meat is incredibly low in calories - 100 grams of the product contains only 88 kcal. For this reason, omul dishes can be safely included even in the diet of people with severe obesity and heart disease, for whom a strict diet is recommended.
Good digestibility
The most important beneficial property of omul fish is that it is one of the most quickly and completely digestible foods. On the one hand, it is digested much faster than any other fish or traditional types meat, such as lamb or beef. This makes omul indispensable for people who experience problems with the digestive system.
At the same time the degree of absorption of omul by our body reaches a record 95%. That is, this fish is digested almost completely, which also has a positive effect on intestinal function and human well-being.
Vitamins and microelements
Omul meat contains a large amount of vitamins and microelements vital for our body. First of all, this is a group of B vitamins, which are an indispensable material for the normal functioning and restoration of the human central nervous system.
Among the trace elements, it is necessary to highlight fluorine, chromium, nickel and molybdenum. Organism modern man is experiencing an acute shortage of these substances and regular consumption of omul can restore their deficiency.
Speaking about the beneficial properties of omul fish, one cannot fail to mention the fact that it is a source of non-essential and essential amino acids, without which the development of a growing organism is generally impossible.
Harm and contraindications
With all the undoubted advantages that omul and dishes prepared from it have, of course, it has disadvantages. True, against the backdrop of positive properties, they can be considered insignificant, but they will still have to be mentioned.
First of all, this high probability of infection with helminths, which is typical for any fish, especially predatory ones. This problem can be solved simply - through appropriate heat treatment, which does not at all reduce the beneficial properties of omul fish. Anyone can cook omul traditional way: boil, fry, steam, bake and even smoke. At the same time, in the traditional cuisine of the inhabitants of Siberia there are dishes that contain almost raw omul. Before eating such foods, it is recommended to drink a glass of vodka or other strong alcoholic drink - solely for the purpose of disinfecting the body.
There are practically no contraindications to the use of omul. The only exception is individual intolerance to seafood and food allergies. In all other cases, you can safely include omul in your diet.