Health benefits of eating eel

Eels may not appeal to you visually as they resemble black snakes, but they are nutritious, healthy and taste great and you don’t have to believe me! I love them and didn’t have to acquire a liking for them. I probably ate quite a few plastic cups of jellied eels before I realized what I was eating. My grandfather adored them and that was enough for me. They are somewhat meaty fishy as far as texture goes, but since they were in a jelly, they were slippery too.

London’s East End is famous for its pie, mash and liqueur, and its jellies or stewed eels. The working classes ate them enthusiastically in the 19th century and the tradition continues today. Tourists and locals alike can be found in patisseries sampling local ‘delicacies’ such as mashed potatoes and a meatloaf topped with pea sauce which may have been made with the water left over from cooking the eels.

Eels are good for you as they contain Omega-6 fatty acids, so they have all the benefits of other fatty fish like mackerel and salmon. They contain the minerals calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, selenium (the mineral that makes me feel good the way I like to think of it), manganese, zinc, and iron. As for minerals, they are a very good source of vitamins A and B12 and also a very good source of protein. They do not contain carbohydrates, but they do have 18 amino acids and vitamins A, C, E (in the form of alpha-tocopherol), k, the B complex vitamins, B1, B2, B3, B6, folic acid, B5, B12 and choline. This means they are heart healthy, protect the central nervous system, aid vision, promote hair growth and help rejuvenate skin and of course there is selenium which is good for the brain and a mood booster. .

This year the price of eels and glass eels (the baby eels) has skyrocketed, partly because the Thames stocks have dwindled and partly because people have realized that eels are healthy and tasty too. In April 2012, American fishermen in Portland, Maine said that a pound of eels could cost more than $2,000. The eel season is short, being from February to May.

I’ll never forget the first time I saw these tiny, transparent, squirming creatures crawling on prawns and fish at Swansea Market. However, I got over it and ate them when we got home. They can still be bought there with fresh cockles and laverbread (cooked seaweed). Jellied eels can be prepared at home, they are boiled in water and spices and the water is allowed to cool and then it is made into jelly as eel is greasy as I mentioned above. You can eat them hot or cold, and if you’re in London’s East End, they’ll be served in a bowl, and you’ll be given them already sliced ​​as traditionally eaten with a fork and spoon, not a knife.

It seems that they are not as cheap as before, but they are just as tasty, so forget your prejudices and try them. They are good for you.