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Fish heads, either separated or still attached to the rest of the fish, are sometimes used in culinary dishes, or boiled for fish stock.
In some Jewish communities, it is traditional to eat a fish head for Rosh Hashana (literally "head of the year").
In Chinese dining culture, the fish head is usually given to and eaten by the most senior person at the table.
In Sicilian witchcraft, it is customary to leave a fish head on the doorstep of one's enemy to ward off malicious intention. It is also performed by the eldest grandma when a mafia fishing family has been wronged by a business partner. The practice dates back to at least 1308, when Dante referenced it in his epic, the ''
File:Fish Head.jpg, Fish head ( red tilefish) Japan
File:Braised fish head in pot.jpg, Braised fish head in pot
File:Steamed salmon head.jpg, Steamed salmon head
File:Mashed pepper fish head.jpg, Mashed pepper fish head
File:Maasor Muror Khar.jpg, Assamese ''khar'' dish with rohu fish heads
Generalized fish heads
University of California. {{Lists of prepared foods
Fish heads, either separated or still attached to the rest of the fish, are sometimes used in culinary dishes, or boiled for fish stock.
Anatomy
The head of a fish includes the snout, from the eye to the forward most point of the upper jaw, the operculum orgill
A gill () is a respiration organ, respiratory organ that many aquatic ecosystem, aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow r ...
cover (absent in sharks and jawless fish
Agnatha (; ) or jawless fish is a paraphyletic infraphylum of animals in the subphylum Vertebrata of the phylum Chordata, characterized by the lack of jaws. The group consists of both extant taxon, living (Cyclostomi, cyclostomes such as hagfish ...
), and the cheek
The cheeks () constitute the area of the face below the eyes and between the nose and the left or right ear. ''Buccal'' means relating to the cheek. In humans, the region is innervated by the buccal nerve. The area between the inside of th ...
, which extends from eye to preopercle. The operculum and preopercle may or may not have spines. In sharks and some primitive bony fish
Osteichthyes ( ; ), also known as osteichthyans or commonly referred to as the bony fish, is a Biodiversity, diverse clade of vertebrate animals that have endoskeletons primarily composed of bone tissue. They can be contrasted with the Chondricht ...
, a spiracle, a small extra gill opening, is found behind each eye.Romer, Alfred Sherwood; Parsons, Thomas S. (1977). The Vertebrate Body. Philadelphia, PA: Holt-Saunders International. pp. 161–177. .
The skull
The skull, or cranium, is typically a bony enclosure around the brain of a vertebrate. In some fish, and amphibians, the skull is of cartilage. The skull is at the head end of the vertebrate.
In the human, the skull comprises two prominent ...
in fishes is formed from a series of only loosely connected bones. Jawless fish and sharks possess only a cartilaginous endocranium
The endocranium in comparative anatomy is a part of the skull base in vertebrates and it represents the basal, inner part of the cranium. The term is also applied to the outer layer of the dura mater in human anatomy.
Structure
Structurally, t ...
, with both the upper and lower jaws being separate elements. Bony fish
Osteichthyes ( ; ), also known as osteichthyans or commonly referred to as the bony fish, is a Biodiversity, diverse clade of vertebrate animals that have endoskeletons primarily composed of bone tissue. They can be contrasted with the Chondricht ...
es have an additional dermal bone
A dermal bone or investing bone or membrane bone is a bony structure derived from intramembranous ossification forming components of the vertebrate skeleton, including much of the skull, jaws, gill covers, shoulder girdle, fin rays ( lepidotrich ...
, forming a more or less coherent skull roof
The skull roof or the roofing bones of the skull are a set of bones covering the brain, eyes and nostrils in bony fishes, including land-living vertebrates. The bones are derived from dermal bone and are part of the dermatocranium.
In com ...
in lungfish
Lungfish are freshwater vertebrates belonging to the class Dipnoi. Lungfish are best known for retaining ancestral characteristics within the Osteichthyes, including the ability to breathe air, and ancestral structures within Sarcopterygii, inc ...
and holost fish. The lower jaw
In jawed vertebrates, the mandible (from the Latin ''mandibula'', 'for chewing'), lower jaw, or jawbone is a bone that makes up the lowerand typically more mobilecomponent of the mouth (the upper jaw being known as the maxilla).
The jawbone i ...
defines a chin
The chin is the forward pointed part of the anterior mandible (List_of_human_anatomical_regions#Regions, mental region) below the lower lip. A fully developed human skull has a chin of between 0.7 cm and 1.1 cm.
Evolution
The presence of a we ...
.
Cultural aspects
In some Jewish communities, it is traditional to eat a fish head for Rosh Hashana (literally "head of the year").
In Chinese dining culture, the fish head is usually given to and eaten by the most senior person at the table.
In Sicilian witchcraft, it is customary to leave a fish head on the doorstep of one's enemy to ward off malicious intention. It is also performed by the eldest grandma when a mafia fishing family has been wronged by a business partner. The practice dates back to at least 1308, when Dante referenced it in his epic, the ''Divine Comedy
The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poetry, narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of ...
''.
In a more serious feud, escalation of hostilities can be signaled by the appearance of a goat head or horse head.
Fish heads are the subject of the 1978 novelty song "Fish Heads" by The rock duo Barnes & Barnes.
There are many references to talking fish heads in various dream sequences featuring Tony Soprano
Anthony John Soprano, portrayed by James Gandolfini, is a fictional character and the protagonist of the HBO crime drama television series ''The Sopranos''. He is a member of the American Mafia, Italian-American Mafia and, later in the series, ...
in the HBO series ''The Sopranos
''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The series follows Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey American Mafia, Mafia boss who suffers from panic attacks. He reluct ...
''.
Fish heads gained notoriety in 2009 with a Green Peace publicity stunt in which members of the activist group dumped five tons of fish heads on the door step of the French Fisheries Ministry.
Culinary use
See also
* Bighead carp, prized for the meat on its head * List of seafood dishesNotes
External links
Generalized fish heads
University of California. {{Lists of prepared foods
Head
A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...
Head
A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...
Witchcraft in Italy