What kind of red mullet fish is this, a description of the red mullet, where it is found and what it looks like

While relaxing on the Crimean and Krasnodar coasts, you can often hear a funny name - red mullet. It is sold on the beach and served in restaurants as a delicacy. The little sea creature has been known since ancient times and was served at the table of high-ranking officials. The main thing people love about red mullet fish is its excellent taste, unusual coloring and a fabulous aura.

Description of the fish

The common mullet or red mullet belongs to the class Ray-finned fish and the order Perciform fish.

Red mullet is a bottom-dwelling sea fish. It has commercial significance, is considered a delicacy and is part of the culture of various countries.

Name features and alternative names

The Latin name of the fish is “mullus barbatus”, in Russian “red beard”. The nickname “sultana” stuck to the red mullet because of its mustache, or rather “beard,” reminiscent of the beard of Arab rulers.

The Sultan also has other overseas names:

• “fish from the rocks” - for the Spaniards;
• “goat fish” - for Africans and Indians;
• “barbunia”, “sea snipe” - for the Mediterranean.

The word "red mullet" is of foreign origin. The Turkish "barbunya" comes from the Italian "barbone", which means "beard". In Russian it turned into red mullet. This name of the fish is due to the fact that in the old days only sultans wore lush beards and mustaches.

It turns out that the red mullet is the mistress of the sea. It is likely that it was she who sailed to the old man and fulfilled wishes in A.S. Pushkin’s fairy tale.

Appearance

Sultana is a bright fish worthy of admiration among aquarists. The color of its scales is predominantly red with a metallic tint. The red mullet has a striped back and a white or gray belly.

Biological description of fish:

• length - 10-20 centimeters;
• short anal and dorsal fin;
• forked, forked caudal fin;
• large head with an almost vertical profile line;
• large eyes are located at the top of the head;
• the mouth with small bristle teeth is located in line with the abdomen.

The main feature of the red mullet, a pair of antennae under the chin, serves to distend mud and search for food.

Habitat

Sultanka is found in warm currents.The fish's habitat is the seabed at a depth of 15-30 meters. Sometimes it goes deeper, 300 meters below the surface of the water. The red mullet's antennae are designed for digging out soft sand and silt. Less often, she looks for food in stones.

Sultana is sensitive to changes in the aquatic environment. If the fish has left its habitat, there is a possibility that the water is somehow contaminated.

Distribution in Russia

The red mullet swims in the Azov and Black Seas. Goldfish are well known to vacationers and residents of the Crimean coast. In the Kerch Strait, red mullet is caught on an industrial scale. The fish is also found near Chersonesus and Balaklava, but does not reach the Taganrog Bay.

Lifestyle

The red mullet is active during the day. From spring to autumn, the fish swim closer to the shores, and for the winter they go into the ocean depths. The sultan moves slowly along the bottom, moves its antennae and thus obtains food.

Diet

The queen of the sea feeds on benthic microorganisms. Young individuals catch plankton in the water above the bottom.

Are there any enemies?

The red mullet does not hunt other people's fry and eggs, but itself becomes prey to predators. Horse mackerel, flounder, ruffe, and gurnard are dangerous for her. The Crimean sultana is food for the katran shark.

Reproduction and spawning

The fish reaches sexual maturity in the second year of life. The Black Sea red mullet goes to spawn in May. Females spawn in water at a depth of 10 to 55 meters. Their fertility is low - 88 thousand eggs in total per season. Spawning ends in August.

After fertilization, the eggs rise closer to the surface of the water.The larvae hatch on 2-3 days, develop for two months, feeding on plankton and camouflaging themselves from predators with a blue-green color. Having reached a length of 4-6 centimeters, the fish join the bottom community of mullet.

Varieties

The fish that is found off the coast of the Black Sea is the common or Crimean red mullet. Its subspecies is the Mediterranean or striped plume. There are also two more types. Their differences:

• Argentine - a bright fish common off the coast of South America, distinguished by a pink belly, orange fins and a red back;
• golden or toothy - has an atypical yellow color of scales and small purple stripes on the back, swims in the Indian and Pacific Oceans;
• striped or Mediterranean - lives in the Black and Mediterranean Seas, notable for its sloping muzzle and longitudinal stripes of orange and brown.

Another subspecies is called the European mullet. It is almost no different from the ordinary one - the same red variegated color with a silver tint, yellow fins and a white belly.

Fishing Features

The sultana feeds at depth, so you need to catch it at a distance of up to 300 meters from the surface of the water. Schools of golden fish should be looked for in places with sandy, shell and rocky bottoms. Sometimes in the spring fish swim into river mouths.

The red mullet fishing season lasts from May to October. The fish is especially active in summer, during the spawning period. Zhor forces it to come off the bottom to a depth acceptable for fishermen. Red mullet bites weakly, so the favorable time for fishing is an early, windless morning, when vacationers are not yet stirring up sea waters.

Sultanka is caught from the shore or from a boat. Suitable gear:

• fly fishing rod - with a tackle length of 5-7 meters, you can get fish from the shore at a depth of 7 meters.The float should be bright and light so that the delicate bite of the sea mistress can be clearly seen;
• donka and picker - gear for fishing from a boat. The line reserve on the reel should be 100 meters. To avoid missing a bite, bells are used;
• match fishing rod - tackle for long casting requires skill, but allows you to catch fish from a distance of 20 meters and further from the shore.

Hooks number 4 and 5 are suitable for catching red mullet. Small live shrimp, Nereis sea worms, and maggots are used as bait. Their size should be less than five centimeters so that the fish can swallow the bait. For complementary feeding, mussels and earthworms are thrown in.

The main rule of catching red mullet is to release small fish back into the sea. Fishing is only allowed for specimens larger than 8.5 centimeters.

About fish meat

Red mullet is a nutritious and low-calorie gift of the sea. 100 grams of meat contains 117 kilocalories; after frying, the calorie content increases. Boiled and stewed fish is suitable for the diet.

Nutritional value of 100 grams of sultana meat:

Due to the high content of vitamins and minerals, red mullet, when consumed regularly, helps restore metabolism and the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. It is rich in B vitamins, omega fatty and lactic acids, vitamins A and E, as well as phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, iron and sulfur. In addition to meat, fish caviar and liver fat are rich in useful substances.

Benefits of Sultana:

• Suitable for feeding children from 9 months, promotes the health of children's skin;
• Omega-3 acid in meat reduces the risk of diseases of the nervous and cardiovascular systems;
• useful during periods of increased physical activity and sports training, as it quickly replenishes energy;
• stimulates the secretion of gastric juice, increases appetite in case of dyspepsia;
• natural vitamin complex for the elderly, during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Red mullet is a fish with a high iodine content. Its meat is useful for thyroid hormone deficiency. Regular consumption of sultanka dishes promotes weight loss, restoration of hormonal balance, and vigorous well-being. The only contraindication is an allergy to seafood.

Cooking recipes

Red mullet is a universal product for all types of heat treatment, as well as drying, drying and smoking. It is not necessary to gut a small fish, but you will have to clear the dense scales. Sultanka meat turns out soft and juicy using any cooking method.

Red mullet in Greek

A simple oven baking recipe is suitable for a culinary introduction to fish.

Ingredients:

• 1 kilogram of red mullet;
• onion head;
• 5 cloves of garlic;
• 3 tomatoes;
• a glass of dried thyme;
• spices and salt to taste.

For cooking, fresh or frozen fish, previously cleaned of scales, is suitable. How the Greeks prepare it:

• rinse in a colander, sprinkle and rub with salt, leave to marinate;
• set the oven to preheat to 200 degrees;
• peeled tomatoes are cut into slices and placed in a bowl;
• chop onion, garlic, thyme with a knife and add everything to the tomatoes;
• vegetables are salted, peppered, mixed;
• grease a deep baking tray with olive oil and spread half of the vegetable mixture on it;
• place red mullet on the fragrant layer and cover with the rest of the tomato mixture;
• the fish is sprinkled with olive oil and baked in the oven.

The dish will be ready in 45 minutes. You can add your favorite herbs to the mixture with tomatoes, garlic, onions and thyme - parsley, basil, cilantro.

In the Alexandrian version of the recipe, the tomatoes are pre-fried, the fish is also fried breaded with flour or breadcrumbs for 5 minutes on both sides. The overall baking time for the dish is reduced to twenty minutes.

Cambodian red mullet

The special feature of this dish is the spicy sauce with the addition of wine.

Ingredients:

• 0.5 kilograms of fish;
• 4 tablespoons dry white wine;
• 100 grams of wheat flour;
• 5 cloves of garlic;
• 5 medium tomatoes;
• olive oil;
• a bunch of saffron and parsley.

The first step is to turn on the oven to preheat to 180 degrees. Then the cleaned sultana needs to be fried in a frying pan in olive oil on each side for 5 minutes, after being rolled in flour. While the fish is cooling, prepare the sauce:

• Peel the tomatoes, cut into cubes, place in a frying pan and pour with olive oil;
• finely chop the saffron, garlic and parsley, add to the tomatoes;
• pour wine into the pan with the tomato-spicy mixture and simmer for 5 minutes;
• Grease a baking sheet with olive oil, place the fish on it and pour the sauce over it.

The final stage is to place the red mullet in a preheated oven. The dish will be ready in 20 minutes. Before serving, decorate the fish with herbs.

Red mullet with cheese

To prepare this dish, gutted fish is used.

Ingredients:

• 2 large plumes;
• 100 grams of hard cheese;
• 2 large tomatoes;
• 2 onions;
• half a lemon;
• a bunch of parsley;
• olive oil;
• nutmeg, bay leaf, ginger, ground black pepper and salt to taste.

First of all, you need to preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Cooking method:

• chop the lemon and parsley, place in a ceramic or glass bowl along with a bay leaf - prepare the marinade;
• sprinkle the fish with spices and spices, place in a bowl with the marinade and keep in the refrigerator for 1 hour;
• cut the onion into rings and fry in olive oil;
• Coarsely chop the peeled tomatoes;
• grate the cheese on a fine grater;
• fry the pickled red mullet on each side for five minutes;
• place the fried fish in a baking dish, place onion rings, herbs, tomatoes on top, pour over the marinade;
• bake for 30 minutes.

Finally, sprinkle the dish with grated cheese and keep in the oven until it melts.

You can use any herbs and spices when preparing red mullet.

Interesting Facts

There is an eastern legend about the red mullet. One Turkish sultan loved to try new dishes. One day he was served a small fried fish for lunch. The Sultan liked the dish and called the cook to find out what it was called. The cook said it was a sultana fish.

Why red mullet is interesting:

• in water the scales of the fish are very bright, but after catching and contact with air the color fades. Therefore, they try to sell it quickly, before the presentation deteriorates;
• The special anatomy allows the sultana to be eaten along with its entrails. Without the gall bladder there is no bitterness in the taste;
• the fish is not afraid of people and allows scuba divers to get close to it. It is caught directly under water, lured with worms;
• In coastal towns, freshly caught red mullet is sold at fish markets. It is distinguished by the smell of cucumbers;
• the fish was known and revered among the gourmets of Ancient Rome and was depicted in mosaics. Large specimens sold at a high price - the seller was given as much silver as the sultana weighed. Before cooking, it was shown in a transparent vessel so that guests could see the play of colors and the shine of the scales;
• in the late 80s, in the Mozambican waters of the Indian Ocean, the delicious sultana was caught as part of fishing cooperation between the USSR and Mozambique;
• the mullet is the heroine of the masterpieces of the classic impressionists Claude Monet, Pierre Renoir, Edouard Manet, as well as the British illustrator of the 19th century Kate Greenaway;
• In Greece, goldfish are fried in olive oil and eaten with the head. On the islands of Hellas they joke that red mullet leaves cats hungry;
• writer and hunting connoisseur James Aldridge said that for those who once taste a red mullet, it will become the only desirable object of hunting.

Sultanka dishes are popular in the resorts of the Krasnodar region. In the Mediterranean, restaurants serve small delicacy fish. They are prized for their lack of bones and tender meat.