Panfish

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Pan-fried fish Pan-fried-fish.jpg
Pan-fried fish

The word panfish, also spelled pan-fish or pan fish, is an American English term describing any edible freshwater fish that usually do not outgrow the size of an average frying pan. It is also commonly used by recreational anglers to refer to any small game fish that can fit wholly into a pan for cooking but are still large enough to be legal. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term was first recorded in 1796 in American Cookery , the first known cookbook written by an American author. [1]

Contents

Usage

A typical panfish, a bluegill from an Alabama farm pond. AlabamaFarmPondBlueGill.jpg
A typical panfish, a bluegill from an Alabama farm pond.

The term panfish or pan-fish has been used to refer to a wide range of edible freshwater and saltwater fish species that are small enough to cook whole in one frying pan. The fish species that match this definition and usage vary according to geography. [2] One early-20th-century source identifies all the following as panfish: yellow perch, candlefish, balaos, sand launces, rock bass, bullheads, minnows, Rocky Mountain whitefish, sand rollers, crappie, yellow bass, white bass, croaker and most of the common small sunfishes such as bluegill and redear sunfish. [3]

Here is one example:

As a pan-fish we do not know of any better among American freshwater fishes. We have experimented with the yellow perch and several other species, including both species of black bass, the bluegill, wall-eyed pike, and rock-bass, eating each for several days in succession, and found the yellow perch the sweetest and most delicious of them all. One does not tire of it so soon as of the other kinds. Several other persons who tried the same experiment reached the same conclusion. In most parts of its range it is highly esteemed, and in many places it is of very considerable commercial importance. In the Great Lakes, the Potomac River, and the small lakes in the upper Mississippi Valley large quantities are taken, which always find a ready sale. [4]

The following is a typical example of the term as it was commonly used in cooking taken from The White House Cookbook compiled by Hugo Ziemann, chief kitchen steward in the White House in 1901:

TO FRY FISH – Most of the smaller fish (generally termed pan-fish) are usually fried. Clean well, cut off the head, and, if quite large, cut out the backbone, and slice the body crosswise into five or six pieces; season with salt and pepper. Dip in Indian meal or wheat flour, or in beaten egg, and roll in bread or fine cracker crumbs. Trout and perch should not be dipped in meal; put into a thick bottomed iron frying pan, the flesh side down, with hot lard or drippings; fry slowly, turning when lightly browned. PAN-FISH. Place them in a thick bottomed frying pan with heads all one way. Fill the spaces with smaller fish. When they are fried quite brown and ready to turn, put a dinner plate over them, drain off the fat; then invert the pan, and they will be left unbroken on the plate. Put the lard back into the pan, and when hot slip back the fish. When the other side is brown, drain, turn on a plate as before, and slip them on a warm platter, to be sent to the table. Leaving the heads on and the fish a crispy-brown, in perfect shape, improves the appearance if not the flavor. Garnish with slices of lemon. [5]

In most angling literature,[ citation needed ] members of the freshwater family Centrarchidae (also called sunfishes) are the target species most likely to be called panfish. They include:

The term panfish may also be used for members of Percidae families, such as:

The term panfish may also be used for members of other families, such as:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Centrarchidae</span> Family of fishes

Centrarchidae, better known as sunfishes, is a family of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the order Perciformes, native only to North America. There are eight universally included genera within the centrarchid family: Lepomis, Micropterus, Pomoxis (crappies), Enneacanthus, Centrarchus, Archoplites, Ambloplites, and Acantharchus. A genetic study in 2012 suggests that the highly distinct pygmy sunfishes of the genus Elassoma are also centrarchids.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tippecanoe River</span> River in Indiana, USA

The Tippecanoe River is a gentle, 182-mile-long (293 km) river in the Central Corn Belt Plains ecoregion in northern Indiana. It flows from Crooked Lake in Noble County to the Wabash River near what is now Battle Ground, about 12 miles (19 km) northeast of Lafayette. The name "Tippecanoe" was derived from a Miami-Illinois word for buffalo fish, reconstructed as */kiteepihkwana/ or as kiteepihkwana siipiiwi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crappie</span> Common name for two species of game fish

Crappies are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus Pomoxis in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bluegill</span> Species of fish

The bluegill ,(which has three relatively unknown subspecies,the Florida Bluegill, Hand Painted Bluegill and Northern Bluegill), is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and wetlands east of the Rocky Mountains. It is the type species of the genus Lepomis, from the family Centrarchidae in the order Perciformes.

<i>Lepomis</i> Genus of fishes

Lepomis or true sunfish is a genus of North American freshwater fish from the family Centrarchidae in the order Perciformes. The generic name Lepomis derives from the Greek λεπίς ("scale") and πῶμα. The genus' most recognizable type species is perhaps the bluegill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redear sunfish</span> Species of fish

The redear sunfish, also known as the shellcracker, Georgia bream, cherry gill, chinquapin, improved bream, rouge ear sunfish and sun perch) is a freshwater fish in the family Centrarchidae and is native to the southeastern United States. Since it is a popular sport fish, it has been introduced to bodies of water all over North America. It is known for its diet of mollusks and snails.

Lake Hook, sometimes referred to as Hook Lake, is a 330 square acre lake in McLeod County, in the U.S. state of Minnesota, that is a popular fishing destination. The lake is approximately 18 feet at its deepest point with an average depth of 8 feet and a shoreline spanning 4 miles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plastic worm</span> Plastic fishing lure

A plastic worm or trout worm is a soft-bodied fishing lure made of elastomer polymer material, generally simulating an earthworm. Plastic worms are typically impaled onto a hook, and can carry a variety of shapes, colors and sizes, awith some are even scented to simulate live bait.

Bayles Lake is a freshwater reservoir located in west Loda, Illinois in Iroquois County, 13.6 miles from Onarga and separated by a road from Lake Iroquois, Illinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishing in Wyoming</span>

A game fish is any species of fish pursued for sport by recreationalists (anglers). The capture of game fish is usually tightly regulated. In comparison, nongame fish are all fish not considered game fish. Game fish may be eaten after being caught, though increasingly anglers are practicing catch-and-release tactics to improve fish populations.

Fishing in Colorado has brought in a large amount of revenue for the state. In 2019 Colorado Parks and Wildlife estimated outdoor recreation contributed roughly 62 billion dollars to the state economy. Fishing was reported to be the 5th most popular outdoor activity and 110, 511 fishing and hunting combination licenses were sold. Ice fishing makes up part of this total fishing revenue and is a common annual sport for Colorado residents and out-of-state visitors. There is no legal definition of ice fishing season. Rather, people begin to ice fish once the lakes freeze over with thick enough ice. Colorado Parks and Wildlife also recommend that people always ice-fish with another person. Typically, this starts in December and ends in April for Colorado. Lakes size, depth, elevation, and seasonal weather can cause variance to the season. Once the lakes freeze over with thick enough ice, anglers go out onto the ice, drill holes through the ice, and fish for a variety of species.

References

Article References

  1. ↑ panfish, n. Oxford English Dictionary Third edition, March 2005; online version September 2011. Accessed 29 October 2011. An entry for this word was first included in New English Dictionary, 1904.
  2. ↑ New Mexico Game and Fish. "Warm Water Species: Panfish" "Warm Water Fish - Species". Archived from the original on 6 June 2007. Retrieved 9 June 2007. (accessed 3 June 2007).
  3. ↑ Jordan, David Starr; Evermann, Barton Warren (1908). 'American Food And Game Fishes. A Popular Account Of All The Species Found In America North Of The Equator, With Keys For Ready Identification, Life Histories And Methods Of Capture. New York: Doubleday, Page and Company. pp.  120, 227, 242, 247, 263, 329, 335, 366, 338, 376, 377, 463.
  4. ↑ Jordan, David Starr; Evermann, Barton Warren (1908). American Food And Game Fishes. A Popular Account Of All The Species Found In America North Of The Equator, With Keys For Ready Identification, Life Histories And Methods Of Capture. New York: Doubleday, Page and Company. p.  366.
  5. ↑ Ziemann, Hugo; Gillette, F. L. (1901). The White House Cookbook-A Comprehensive Cyclopedia of Information for the Home. Akron, Ohio: The Saalfield Publishing Company. pp. 49–50.

Other References

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