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August 28, 2020,
They have whiskers.
Sexy is absolutely not their name.
Delicious is though. Very much so.
We should know since we used to fish for them in rural California and Texas.
There is no fish quite like the catfish.
Where did they get those whiskers anyway?
Now if you are a catfish and a human is paying you a compliment, blush but get the heck out of there. Why?
Because they are going to eat you.
And boy does catfish taste so good.
Catfish are a diverse group of ray-finned fish.
Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat‘s whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia, the wels catfish of Eurasia, and the piraíba of South America, to detritivores (species that eat dead material on the bottom), and even to a tiny parasitic species commonly called the candiru, Vandellia cirrhosa.
Neither the armor-plated types nor the naked types have scales.
Despite their name, not all catfish have prominent barbels or “whiskers”. Members of the Siluriformes order are defined by features of the skull and swimbladder.
Now for the compliments.
Catfish are of considerable commercial importance. Many of the larger species are farmed or fished for food.
Catfish are easy to farm in warm climates, leading to inexpensive and safe food at local grocers.
About 60% of U.S. farm-raised catfish are grown within a 65-mile radius of Belzoni, Mississippi.
Channel catfish supports a $450 million a year aquaculture industry
The largest producers are located in the Southern United States, including Mississippi, Alabama, and Arkansas.
Many of the smaller species, particularly the genus Corydoras, are important in the aquarium hobby.
Many catfish are nocturnal. No wonder they look so sleepy.
Extant catfish species live inland or in coastal waters of every continent except Antarctica. Catfish have inhabited all continents at one time or another.
They are found in freshwater environments, though most inhabit shallow, running water.
That is where we used to fish for them.
In the South where we are from, catfish may be known by a variety of slang names, such as “mud cat”, “polliwogs”, or “chuckleheads.
In the south we also had out nicknames. Freely.
Now we loved to fry them, add ketchup, fries and a salad with mayonnaise.
What we liked about them is that they possessed far less bones than carp who seemed to be filled with them.
When cooked right, they are so tasty and tender.
That is the Southern USA way.
We are also crazy about the Chinese way of cooking them.
There is a friend in our circle who loves to eat at Chinese restaurants and one of her favorite past times is to choose the catfish of her choice that they have gently swimming around in their giant fish tanks.
Perfect. Found it.
How does she like it cooked?
Steamed in black bean sauce. Incredibly delicious.
If you desire to cook catfish yourself, just make sure it is cooked well. Undercooked fish can still have live parasites.
Sometimes you might let others catch and cook the catfish for you.
We’ve found a company that intrigues us.
At deltapride.com they share, “Delta Prime catfish, available to the restaurant industry, is a premium catfish filet, which has been FlavorTrimmed(TM) to resulting in larger, more mature fish with succulent filets and a bold, flaky texture. Heart healthy and Every Day Fresh.”
Sounds wonderful. Seconds please.
They continue, “Since this time, we continue to be an industry leader in farming and processing catfish. Through the years we made many business decisions to grow our impact on the catfish industry market, and we are proud to provide so many great folks with the world’s best catfish with a simple guarantee: Every day fresh!”
Sounds perfect. We love fresh.
“Catfish’s mild taste adapts well to a wide array of flavors, especially strong assertive ones, which is why you used to see it ‘blackened’ Cajun style on so many restaurant menus – a trick which soon became a tired cliché.”… Tom Douglas
Catfish have widely been caught and farmed for food for hundreds of years in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America.
Catfish is high in vitamin D.
Vitamin D is incredible for a healthy lifestyle.
The informative team at webmd.com educate, “As the research into vitamin D is accumulating, it’s hard to know where the accolades should start. “Activated vitamin D is one of the most potent inhibitors of cancer cell growth,” says Michael F. Holick, PhD, MD, who heads the Vitamin D, Skin, and Bone Research Laboratory at Boston University School of Medicine. “It also stimulates your pancreas to make insulin. It regulates your immune system.”
In these modern times that an extremely important benefit.
The United States Institute of Medicine (IOM) reports, “Outcomes related to cancer, cardiovascular disease and hypertension, and diabetes and metabolic syndrome, falls and physical performance, immune functioning and autoimmune disorders, infections, neuropsychological functioning, and preeclampsia could not be linked reliably with calcium or vitamin D intake and were often conflicting.”
Here is some really important vitamin D news in 2020.
In general, vitamin D functions to activate the innate and dampen the adaptive immune systems.
Deficiency has been linked to increased risk or severity of viral infections, including HIV.
Supplementation slightly decreases the risk of acute respiratory tract infections and the exacerbation of asthma.
Farm-raised catfish contains low levels of omega-3 fatty acids and a much higher proportion of omega-6 fatty acids.
Consumption of non-rancid nuts, which are high in omega 6, is associated with a lower risk for some diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases including coronary heart disease (CHD), cancer, stroke, heart attacks, and lower rates of premature death.
The more that we read about catfish and its nutritional benefits, the more we desire to include this curious looking fish in our diet.
Look, they may not look sexy, and as we previously stated, they can be delicious, but that seems to pale in comparison of how incredibly healthy they are.
The latter is the highest compliment of all.
~ ~ ~
OPENING PHOTO grapplingstars.com, femcompetitor.com, fciwomenswrestling.com, fcielitecompetitor.com fciwomenswrestling2.com articles, photo via The Fishing Community
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catfish
https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/vitamin-d-vital-role-in-your-health#1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_D
https://deltapride.com/the-delta-pride-catfish-story-our-history
https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/catfish-quotes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega-6_fatty_acid
https://fciwomenswrestling.com/
