 |
TOURISM >The Park's Typical Products >Parco del Delta del Po Emilia - Romagna | |||||||||||||
 |
|
|
TOURISM >The Park's Typical Products >Parco del Delta del Po Emilia - Romagna | |||||||||||||
|
|
Parco del Delta del Po Emilia - Romagna |
||||
 |
Parco del Delta del Po is a Protected Area of great naturalistic value. There is no doubt that its most characterizing natural element is water. The unstable relation between water and land, their uncertain balance, has created in the Po Delta a changeable environment where woodlands, pinewoods, and flooded forests alternate with inner freshwater or brackish wetlands. Parco del Delta del Po dell’Emilia-Romagna preserves the largest Italian extension of safeguarded wetlands, including Valli di Comacchio. The Eel A very known and widespread fish in the Delta, eel fishing has centuries-old traditions. Although the eel is a common and very appreciated species in the local and national cuisine, its biological cycle still kindles magic and wonder. It is a catadromous species: it spawns in the sea and then goes back to the freshwater. It is a great traveler. The only known site where the eel reproduces is the Sargasso Sea, where eels die after spawning. Every autumn males and females, ready for reproduction, reach the sea where they begin the migration towards the Sargasso Sea, situated between the Bermuda Islands and the Antilles. The small opalescent larvae born from the eggs begin a backward journey lasting 3- 4 years. During their growth stages, eels change their sinuous shape of leptocephali into an adult-like and colorless shape: in this stage, they are called “glasseels”. Their extraordinary journey into the abysses, from Sargasso Sea to the European Continent, takes place thanks to the Gulf Stream. In freshwater the last metamorphosis of the fish takes place, and eels develop pigmentation. Eels have a long life (from 3 to 14 years) and, when the reproduction time comes, they end their days with a backward journey. Males are characterized by a smaller size (until 50 cm), while females can be over a meter long and weigh up to 6 kg. The Marinated Eel The traditional process leading to the production of marinated eels consists of four main stages: cutting, spitting, cooking, and packing. “Cutting” consists of beheading the eel, dividing it into pieces, and cutting it into in order to favor spinning. The second stage consists of piercing whole eels or the so-called “morelli” (segments) with a long iron spit. Cooking is the most important moment of the whole process: the art of controlling fire and spit influences the whole processing. Packing includes weighing and pickling the cooked eel with vinegar and salt. In this way, the eel maintains its organoleptic features unaltered for several months.
|
