We've got to get back to eating food like this for the benefit of the planet

[mjbarnes12]

I think you have to think about what you say here, most carp are reared for sport and may not be sustainable for fish farmers!! Also how many carp would you catch in a general sessions coarse fishing (not specimen hunting), a great deal more than a session on the fly, also people catch carp for sport and not for eating!!

[lutra]

Amazing how things change. Mr Beeton recommends cleaning and soaking carp in salt water, then rinsing in vinegar and water before cooking.

 

I always put my salt and vinegar on after Ive cooked my fish.

[ridgeacre]

"If taken straight to the kitchen from the ponds they can taste muddy, Jimmie says, so they need to be swilled with spring water for a day or two".

 

 

 

How do you get a spring to come up in your garden

[BoozleBear]

Theres an asian supermarket near me thats got a freezer full of wierd and wonderful fish including carp, some of them are big ones too.

 

If there are any over 20lb I'd be half tempted to buy one, de-frost it, and nip to my nearest still water, where a mate can take a picture of me holding it with a big smile on my face!!!!

[ColinW]

How do you get a spring to come up in your garden

 

In Poland they apparently stick the carp in the bath for a couple of days. This pleases the kids no end, not only do they have a new pet to play with but they don't have to have a bath!

 

It's no different to leaving cockles or clams in a bucket of seawater for a day so they can clean themselves out before you cook them.

[Jeff S]

Hugh whatshisname on 'Return to River Cottage' did something along those lines with a mirror carp and then cooked it for his landlord and guests.... They seemed to like it..

 

But then what happens to the carp that has been caught so many times it has a name? Makes good content for Angling Times right?

[phil dean]

The "King Carp" strain in most UK waters were bred for the table by monks.

 

I think that In river cottage Hugh caught a large grass carp and left it in running water (via a contraption linked to the mill race I think) for a couple of days. They were originally imported to keep down pond weed I believe?

 

In prague, where carp are the xmas equivalent of turkey for us, the carop are reared in large lakes. When large enough the plug is pulled and the carp are coralled into one spot as the water goes out, they're then netter and transferred to cleaning ponds where they are croded together in fast moving clear water which is pumped into them.

 

Once cleaned for a couple of weeks, they are sold in the city centre.

[Vagabond]

There has just been a piece on TV where they cooked a carp of about 5 lb with ginger and onions and said it tasted as good as sea bass! (The same lot as featured in the article at the head of this thread)

 

Organically fed on mealworms - hmmm.

 

Would someone like to do a calculation on how many mealworms are needed to fatten a carp to 5 lb, and how much meal the mealworms munch, and how many sacks of meal ........

 

This must come as painful news to those that think mankind has "moved on" from eating coarse fish. Back to basics chaps - simple meals like a manglewurzle and a lump of carp.

 

Eat carp and save the planet !!! Now I've heard everything

[Vagabond]

someone mentioned put and take carp fisheries a little while ago and i could really see this happening (and why not?).

 

Yep, that was me - Its a good idea in principle, but the overhype with which this particular scheme is presented is just too funny for words.

[dapper64]

If there are any over 20lb I'd be half tempted to buy one, de-frost it, and nip to my nearest still water, where a mate can take a picture of me holding it with a big smile on my face!!!!

thats a great idea, theres none 20 lb but they are certainly bigger than any I have ever caught.