CATDOLL : CATDOLL: What is the difference between silver carp and bighead carp?

1. What is the difference between silver carp and bighead carp?

Located in Tai'an, Shandong, there are not many rural people eating silver carp, especially white carp. As far as I know, in the last century when every household was short of supplies, many people, both rural and urban people, ate silver carp, because silver carp was very common and the price was always very cheap. It was good to have fish to eat, and who would care about what kind of fish to eat, so the cost performance was very high. Now, there are fewer people eating silver carp, not only because the living standards of the people have improved and they like to eat all kinds of marine fish, but also because the shopping channels are wide now and there are many choices. Let's get back to the topic, and summarize the differences between silver carp and bighead carp.

Although silver carp and bighead carp differ by only one letter, they are actually very different in appearance, color, price and eating methods. The first time I came into contact with these two fish was in elementary school textbooks. They were known as the four major carps along with grass carp and black carp. Of course, the textbooks used their scientific names, silver carp was called silver carp and bighead carp was called bighead carp.

The difference between silver carp and bighead carp

Difference 1: Different appearance features

Silver carp has a flat body, thick flesh, an extremely large head, a large mouth, small eyes, and no whiskers. The upper half of the body is gray-black, the abdomen is gray-white, and there are many irregular small spots of light yellow and black on both sides.

Silver carp is flattened and hammer-shaped, and its flesh is not as thick as that of bighead carp. Its back is blue-gray, and its sides and belly are white. Its head is much smaller than that of silver carp, and its eyes are located lower.

Difference 2: Different prices

The price of silver carp has always been around 3-4 yuan per catty, while bighead carp is half as expensive as silver carp. The reason is that the head of bighead carp is valuable. The essence of bighead carp lies in the head, which is rich in phospholipids and posterior pituitary hormone. Eating it regularly has many benefits. Therefore, silver carp is often sold as a whole in the market, while bighead carp is sold in grades. If you only buy the head of bighead carp, the unit price is about 10-12 yuan per catty.

Difference 3: Different ways of eating

As we all know, silver carp usually moves in the upper layer of water, often eats phytoplankton such as green algae, has a relatively tough meat texture, and has many small bones. In addition, silver carp is easy to die after being taken out of the water, and is not easy to keep fresh. It deteriorates very quickly, and has a strong fishy smell (the freshness of fish mainly comes from trimethylamine oxide in the body. After the fish dies, trimethylamine oxide will continue to be reduced to trimethylamine with a fishy smell, which makes the fish smell fishy. The longer the fish has been dead, the stronger the fishy smell). In our area, the common way to cook silver carp is to make crispy fish. The whole fish is put into the dish, and balsamic vinegar, sugar and other seasonings are added to slowly crisp it for 4-5 hours. When eating, you can eat it with the bones.

There are many dishes made from silver carp after they are graded, such as the classic dishes of Jiangsu and Zhejiang cuisine, such as "braised fish head" and "Tianmu Lake fish head stew", and the classic Hunan cuisine, "chopped pepper fish head". The fish body is relatively cheap, and it is usually cut into pieces for frying, deep-frying, and stewing to make fish soup, or making fish meatballs and dumplings.

Tips for removing the fishy smell of silver carp and bighead carp

Whether you use silver carp or bighead carp to make dishes, removing the fishy smell is definitely the first priority. Many friends will add salt and cooking wine to marinate fish meat, but I think the effect is not obvious. I recommend two techniques to remove the fishy smell.

1. Use white vinegar to remove fishy smell: When marinating fish, add a little white vinegar and marinate for a dozen minutes to remove the fishy smell. Generally, 50 grams of white vinegar is needed for about 1 kg of fish.

2. Use pepper water to remove the fishy smell: add water to the pot, put in peppercorns, green onion and ginger slices, etc., boil until fragrant and let cool. Then put the fish in and soak for about half an hour to achieve the purpose of removing the fishy smell.

Final Thoughts

There is still a big difference between silver carp and bighead carp, especially from the size of the head and the color of the body, they can be easily distinguished. If you are interested, you can also go to the market to buy two fish for comparison.

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In terms of the size of the fish head, both silver carp and bighead carp have large heads, but silver carp's head is even larger, accounting for 1/2 or even more of the body, so silver carp is also called "big-headed fish" or "fat-headed fish". In terms of the scale color of the fish body, silver carp has light black spots on its body, while silver carp has all white scales without black spots, which is easier to distinguish.

In terms of the size of the fish head, both silver carp and bighead carp have large heads, but silver carp's head is larger, accounting for 1/2 or even more of the body, so silver carp is also called "big-headed fish" or "fat-headed fish". In terms of the scale color of the fish body, silver carp has light black spots on its body, while silver carp has all white scales without black spots, which is easier to distinguish.

Silver carp and bighead carp are both freshwater fish. They can be distinguished mainly by their bellies. Generally, the belly of silver carp is white, while that of bighead carp is not so obvious.

2. What is the difference between silver carp and bighead carp?

1. Judging from the color of the scales on the fish's body, the silver carp has light black spots on its body, while the bighead carp is covered with white scales, which are silver in color and have no black spots.

2. In terms of meat quality, silver carp has delicate meat and more meat in the head. Silver carp has slightly loose meat, more small bones, and is not as delicious as silver carp.

3. Judging from the proportion of the head, the silver carp has a large head, which can account for up to 1/2 of the body length; the bighead carp's head only accounts for about 1/4 of the body length.

4. From the perspective of fishing methods. The difference lies in the distance of the fish hook from the water surface. Silver carp is 40 cm deep, and bighead carp is 60 cm deep. In addition, silver carp prefers a mixed smell of sour, sweet and smelly, while bighead carp prefers a mixed smell of fishy, ​​fragrant and smelly. Use sour bait for silver carp and smelly bait for bighead carp.

Generally speaking, silver carp has advantages over bighead carp in terms of meat quality, nutrition and weight of the fish head. Be sure to observe carefully when buying fish and do not buy the wrong one, which will affect the eating effect.

3. What are the differences between the silver carp and bighead carp that are commonly eaten in rural areas?

First, although silver carp and bighead carp are both silver carp, there are still many differences between the two fish. We can first look at their living environment. Silver carp prefers to live in the upper layer of water, and its main food is phytoplankton, such as diatoms and green algae. But bighead carp is different. It likes to live in the middle and upper layers of water, and its main food is zooplankton, such as water fleas.

Second, there are some differences in the appearance of silver carp and bighead carp. Although the heads of silver carp and bighead carp both look big, if we compare them carefully, we will find that the head of bighead carp is bigger, almost accounting for 1/2 of the whole fish body. Therefore, many people also like to call bighead carp bighead fish or fathead fish, especially when we make fish head soup, most of them use the head of silver carp.

Third, the colors of silver carp and bighead carp also look different. We can observe the scales of bighead carp, which are mainly light black and have some spots, but the scales of silver carp are different from those of bighead carp. They are white and do not appear to have any spots. Therefore, we can distinguish them very well just by looking at the scales and colors of these two fish. And when we eat them, we will also find that the taste of silver carp and bighead carp is different. The meat of silver carp is relatively loose compared to that of bighead carp, and the taste is slightly worse than that of bighead carp. Silver carp also has more bones than bighead carp, so it is more troublesome to eat.

Fourth, we can also observe the abdomen of silver carp and bighead carp. We can clearly see that silver carp has ribs on its abdomen. In simple terms, it looks like there is a crease in the middle of its abdomen. But bighead carp does not have this. Its abdomen is very smooth and has no creases. This method can also help us better distinguish them.

The meat of silver carp is more delicate, while the meat of bighead carp is worse than that of lotus fish. Silver carp has relatively fewer bones and more meat, and the price of silver carp is higher than that of bighead carp.

The meat quality and taste are different, and they have different breeding methods. Silver carp is relatively thin and has a relatively poor taste, while bighead carp is relatively large and has delicious meat.

The colors are different, the patterns are different, the value is different, the quality is different, the protein content is different, and the shape is different.