EEL AS A FOOD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26229, 13 August 1946, Page 8

EEL AS A FOOD

HIGH NUTRITIONAL VALUE POPULARITY OVERSEAS The proposals that are under consideration at present for the canning of eels in Dunedin have the support, from a nutritional point of view, of Dr Muriel Bell, of the Nutrition Research Department at the Otago Medical School, who outlined to an Otago Daily Times reporter yesterday the food values of this plentiful fresh-water fish. She spoke of the great popularity of eel in overseas countries and expressed the hope that fresh eel, as well as the canned fish, would become a regular item in the New Zealand diet. Any New Zealander who had been to Petticoat Lane Market in the East End of London would have seen the popularity of eels among the East Enders, Dr Bell said. England imported big quantities of eels, mainly from Denmark, Holland, Ireland, and Norway, and in 1931 the imports amounted to 32,000 cwt, valued at £117,500. In European countries, she added, eels were regarded as a delicacy and occupied an important place among marketable fish. They were served in a variety of ways-»-as fish dishes, soup, and hors d’ceuvres—and were deservedly popular. Methods of Serving The Maoris were wise in using eels as a source of food, Dr Bell said, and it was gratifying also to find that in at least one restaurant in New Zealand the public might expect to find ” tuna-kai ” on the menu on a certain day of the week. Methods of cooking eels were discussed by Dr Bell. The fillets could be fried with Hollandaise sauce; another method was the jellying of flaked cooked eel flesh by cooking with vinegar (a tablespoon to a' cup of fish); and a third way was what was known as ’’ sousing.” Details of these methods were given in M. A. Blackmore’s book, “How to Cook New Zealand Fish.” Smoked and dried eel formed one of the Maoris’ foods. “ Most pakehas do not like the oiliness of the eel,” Dr Bell said, ” but the use of vinegar as in sousing or jellying, or of lemon juice as in Hollandaise sauce, offsets the olliness. Actually,” she added, ” the oil in the flesh of the eel is highly nutritious, for it contains a large amount of vitamin A and vitamin D. It is unusual for the body oil of fish to contain much of the fat soluble vitamins —it is in the liver oils that these vitamins are more often to be fouiid. The body oil of the eel is therefore an exception, and it has been found in the case of New Zealand eels to constitute 10 per cent, of the weight of the flesh. lEelskin Leather Possible “ This oil has a vitamin content of about a quarter of that of cod liver oil,” she continued, ” and it might even have more than a quarter at some seasons of the year. In view of the high percentage of oil, the quantity of vitamin' present in a serving is very appreciable. It is generally the case that vitamin D is not present to any great extent in our foods. For instance, to obtain what is regarded as the daily requirement for a child or for an expectant or nursing mother or for a person who does night work, here are the quantities of food that would have to be consumed in a day:—Eight eggs, or ljlb of butter, or about 51b or lamb's fry, or 14 pints of milk. But a meal of 3 to soz of eel flesh provides the daily amount required. If to its vitamin value are added the 10 per cent, of first-class protein and the vitamin B factors present, the eel should be regarded as a good food.” Dr Bell mentioned that canned eel was scarcely distinguishable from canned salmon. This was vouched for by those who had tasted both. If an eel canning industry did arise, she added, womenfolk could also expect to get eelskin gloves, for the skin of the eel was made of a very fine, soft leather.