View source for Fish head

{{Short description|Culinary ingredient}}
{{about|the head of a fish in popular culture and its use as a seafood}}
[[File:FishKeyDay.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|The skeleton of the head of a perch]]
[[File:Pike head anathomy.jpg|thumb|right|Parts of a [[Northern pike|pike]]'s head. 1: liver, 2: gill arch, 3: palate with sharp teeth, 4: in the middle a heart, 5: fragment of spinal cord, 6: brain, 7: spherical lens, 8: scale]]

'''Fish heads''', either separated or still attached to the rest of the fish, are sometimes used in culinary dishes, or boiled for [[Fish stock (food)|fish stock]].

==Anatomy==
{{See also|Fish head (anatomy)}}

The head of a fish includes the snout, from the eye to the forward most point of the [[Upper fish jaw|upper jaw]], the [[Operculum (Fish)|operculum]] or [[gill]] cover (absent in sharks and [[Agnatha|jawless fish]]), and the [[cheek]], which extends from eye to preopercle. The operculum and preopercle may or may not have spines. In sharks and some primitive [[bony fish]], a [[Spiracle (vertebrates)|spiracle]], a small extra gill opening, is found behind each eye.<ref name=Romer>Romer, Alfred Sherwood; Parsons, Thomas S. (1977). The Vertebrate Body. Philadelphia, PA: Holt-Saunders International. pp. 161–177. {{ISBN|0-03-910284-X}}.</ref>

The [[skull]] in fishes is formed from a series of only loosely connected bones. Jawless fish and sharks possess only a cartilaginous [[endocranium]], with both the upper and lower jaws being separate elements. [[Bony fish]]es have an additional [[dermal bone]], forming a more or less coherent [[skull roof]] in [[lungfish]] and [[Holostei|holost fish]]. The [[lower jaw]] defines a [[chin]].<ref name=Romer />

==Cultural aspects==
[[File:Fishhead.jpg|thumb|180px|left|{{center|Fish heads at a market}}]]

In some Jewish communities, it is traditional to eat a fish head for [[Rosh Hashanah|Rosh Hashana]] (literally "head of the year").<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-07-09|title=Rosh Hashanah and Fish|url=https://www.smokeybay.com/rosh-hashanah-and-fish/|access-date=2020-07-11|website=Smokey Bay Seafood Group|language=en-CA|archive-date=2020-07-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200711174812/https://www.smokeybay.com/rosh-hashanah-and-fish/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=How Is Rosh Hashanah Celebrated? - An Overview of Rosh Hashanah's Traditions and Customs|url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4830/jewish/How-Is-Rosh-Hashanah-Celebrated.htm|access-date=2020-07-11|website=www.chabad.org|language=en}}</ref>

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]]''. 

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 (song)|"Fish Heads"]] by The rock duo [[Barnes & Barnes]]. 

There are many references to talking fish heads in various dream sequences featuring [[Tony Soprano]] in the HBO series ''[[The Sopranos]]''.<ref>{{cite web
| title       = HBO: The Sopranos, Season 2, Episode 26 "Funhouse."
| url       = http://www.hbo.com/sopranos/episode/season2/episode26.shtml
| access-date       = 2009-04-25
| archive-date       = 2009-02-19
| archive-url       = https://web.archive.org/web/20090219001419/http://www.hbo.com/sopranos/episode/season2/episode26.shtml
| url-status       = dead
}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web
| title       = Dead tuna heads for deadbeat tuna managers
| url       = http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/dead-tuna-heads-171108
| access-date       = 2009-04-25
| archive-date       = 2009-05-22
| archive-url       = https://web.archive.org/web/20090522170841/http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/dead-tuna-heads-171108
| url-status       = dead
}}</ref>
{{clear}}

==Culinary use==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! width="120px" | Name
! Image
! width="80px" | Origin
! Description
|-
| [[Caldillo de congrio]]
| [[File:Caldillo de congrio.jpg|120px]]
| align=center | Chile
| Made from congrio Colorado (red [[conger]]), an eel species common in the [[Chilean Sea]], by boiling together fish heads, onion, garlic, [[coriander]], carrots and [[Black pepper|pepper]]. Once these are boiled, only the stock is used. Onion and garlic are fried together with chopped tomatoes. The vegetables are mixed then with the stock, liquid cream, boiled [[potato]]es and [[marinate]]d and boiled conger.<ref>[http://www.martita.cl/index.php?menu=receta&id=2598 Caldillo de congrio recipe] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002230715/http://www.martita.cl/index.php?menu=receta&id=2598 |date=2011-10-02 }} {{in lang|es}}</ref>
|-
| [[Chhencheda]]
| style="height:60px;"| 
| align=center | India
| Made with crushed fish heads along with vegetables. The main ingredients are fish (generally [[Rohu]] or [[Tilapia]]) head and vegetables like eggplant, potatoes, tomatoes, [[zucchini]] (called Janhi in Oriya), onions, etc.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.odiakitchen.com/macha-chencheda-with-poi-saga/|title=Machha Chhencheda (with poi saga) - Odia Machha [ Fish Curries ]|website=www.odiakitchen.com|access-date=2012-05-14|archive-date=2021-04-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421185127/http://www.odiakitchen.com/macha-chencheda-with-poi-saga/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
| [[Crappit heid]]
| style="height:60px;"| 
| align=center | Scotland
| ''(English: stuffed head).'' Can be traced to the fishing communities of the North, Hebrides and North-Eastern Scotland in the eighteenth century. In a time when money was scarce, the more expensive [[Fillet (cut)|fillets]] of fish, such as [[cod]] or [[haddock]] would be sold to market but the [[offal]] and less attractive parts were retained by the fisherfolk for the pot.
|-
| [[Stargazy pie]]
| [[File:Baked stargazy pie.jpg|120px]]
| align=center | [[Cornwall]]
|  Made of baked [[pilchard]]s, along with eggs and potatoes, covered with a [[pastry]] crust. Although there are a few variations with different fish being used, the unique feature of stargazy pie is fish heads (and sometimes tails) protruding through the crust, so that they appear to be gazing skyward. This allows the oils released during cooking to flow back into the pie.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cornishlight.co.uk/fish-recipe.htm|title=Fish Recipe Stargazy Pie|website=www.cornishlight.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://londonfood.typepad.com/stuff/2007/02/some_industriou.html|title=Things are looking up|website=Food and Drink in London}}</ref>
|-
| [[Fish head casserole]]
| style="height:60px;"| 
| align=center | China
| Prepared with a fish head (about 1&nbsp;kg), bean curd, cayenne pepper, sesame oil, vegetable oil, garlic sprouts, shallot, ginger, soy, salt, cooking wine, white sugar and monosodium glutamate. The fish head is washed,  marinated in soy sauce, and fried with cooking wine added. The head is then stewed and served garnished with garlic sprouts and sesame oil. The broth in this dish has a milky white colour.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.xinmin.cn/rollnews/2011/09/29/12245747.html |title = 新首页_新民网_为民分忧 与民同乐}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan=3 | [[Fish head curry]]
| style="height:60px;"| 
| align=center | Malaysia
| This dish had its origins in Singapore, when a chef wanted his South Indian-style food to cater to a wider clientele, notably Chinese customers who considered fish head a specialty. The head of a [[red snapper (fish)|red snapper]] is semi-stewed in a [[Kerala]]-style [[curry]] with assorted vegetables such as [[okra]] and [[eggplant]] (brinjals), usually served with rice or bread.
|-
| [[File:fisheadcurry.JPG|120px]]
| align=center | Indian
| In India and Bengal where the staple is rice and fish, one very popular fish head curry is made with ''moog'' or ''ung'' beans but other vegetables can also be used. The gravy is very thick and very spicy. [[Rohu]] is most popular fish used for this dish. 
|-
| [[File:fish head curry peranakan z.JPG|120px]]
| align=center | [[Peranakan]]
| Peranakans are a group of ethnic Chinese. Today Peranakan restaurants serve variations of this dish. 
|-
| [[Muri ghantoo]]
| style="height:60px;"| 
| align=center | Bengali
| Made from rice and fish heads, usually the heads of [[rohu]]. It is not fully cooked, giving the dish a grainy texture. Used on festive occasions.
|-
| Tepa
| 
| align=center | [[Yup'ik]]
| Tepas, also called ''stinkheads'', are [[Fermented fish|fermented]] [[Freshwater whitefish|whitefish]] heads.  A customary way of preparing them is to place fish heads and guts in a wooden barrel, cover it with burlap, and bury it in the ground for about a week.  For a short while in modern times, plastic bags and buckets replaced the barrel. However this increased the risk of [[botulism]], and the [[Yup'ik]] have reverted to fermenting fish heads directly in the ground.<ref>p. 69, [http://www.subsistence.adfg.state.ak.us/TechPap/tp195.pdf ''Subsistence salmon fishing in Nushagak Bay, Southwest Alaska''], Jody Seitz, technical paper no. 195, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Subsistence, Juneau, Alaska, December 1990. Page 68.</ref><ref>p. 5, [http://www.epi.hss.state.ak.us/pubs/botulism/Botulism.pdf ''Botulism in Alaska, a guide for physicians and healthcare providers''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206075217/http://www.epi.hss.state.ak.us/pubs/botulism/Botulism.pdf |date=2012-02-06 }}, 2005 update, State of Alaska, Department of Health & Social Services, Division of Public Health, Section of Epidemiology.</ref>
|-
|Fish Head Soup with Rice Noodles
|
|align=center | Malaysia
|A Malaysian breakfast made from simmering fish head and fish bones, usually with [[Grass carp|grasscarp]]. Traditionally, this fish stock was made by [[boiling]] and [[simmering]] deep-fried fish bones to achieve a milky white fish stock.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wong|first=Ethan|date=2016-12-30|title=Fish Head Soup - Malaysia Fish Head Noodle Soup Recipe|url=https://www.3thanwong.com/fish-head-soup-recipe/|access-date=2020-07-24|website=3thanWong|language=en-US}}</ref> However, as times goes by, the local vendors adjusted the preparation method and used [[evaporated milk]] instead for convenience purposes to achieve the milky white fish stock. Hence, the locals has now grow accustomed to the milk-infused fish broth flavor. 
|}

<gallery class=center widths="200" heights="160" caption="Fish heads as food">
File:Fish Head.jpg|Fish head ([[Tilefish|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 cuisine|Assamese]] ''khar'' dish with [[rohu]] fish heads
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|Food}}
* [[Bighead carp]], prized for the meat on its head
* [[List of seafood dishes]]

== Notes ==
{{reflist|32em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.meer.org/ebook/general-fish-heads.htm Generalized fish heads]; {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418152111/http://www.meer.org/ebook/general-fish-heads.htm |date=2021-04-18 }} University of California.

{{Seafood}}
{{Lists of prepared foods}}

[[Category:Edible fish|Head]]
[[Category:Fish products|Head]]
[[Category:Witchcraft in Italy]]