| Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 858 kJ (205 kcal) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
13.89 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
18.60 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other constituents | Quantity | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Water | 63.55 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| †Percentages estimated usingUS recommendations for adults,[1] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from theNational Academies.[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mackerel is an importantfood fish that is consumed worldwide.[3] As anoily fish, it is a rich source ofomega-3 fatty acids.[4] The flesh of mackerel spoils quickly, especially in the tropics, and can causescombroid food poisoning. Accordingly, it should be eaten on the day of capture, unless properly refrigerated orcured.[5]
Mackerel preservation is not simple. Before the 19th-century development ofcanning and the widespread availability ofrefrigeration,salting andsmoking were the principal preservation methods available.[6] Historically in England, this fish was not preserved, but was consumed only in its fresh form. However, spoilage was common, leading the authors ofThe Cambridge Economic History of Europe to remark: "There are more references to stinking mackerel in English literature than to any other fish!"[7] In France, mackerel was traditionally pickled with large amounts of salt, which allowed it to be sold widely across the country.[7]
In Japan, mackerel is calledsaba, and is commonly cured with salt and vinegar to make a type ofsushi known assaba-zushi. Historically,saba-zushi originated inKyoto as a solution for transporting mackerel to the inland city, which otherwise would not have made the journey from the coast still fresh.[8] The road linkingObama bay and Kyoto is now also called "mackerel road" (saba-kaido).[citation needed]
For many years, mackerel was regarded as unclean in the UK and elsewhere due to folklore which suggested that the fish fed on the corpses of dead sailors.[9] A 1976 survey of housewives in Britain undertaken by theWhite Fish Authority indicated a reluctance to departing from buying the traditional staples ofcod,haddock orsalmon. Less than 10% of the survey's 1,931 respondents had ever bought mackerel and only 3% did so regularly. As a result of this trend many UKfishmongers during the 1970s did not display or even stock mackerel.[9]
There is a large variation in themercury levels found in mackerel. These levels differ markedly for different species, and even for the same species in different locations; however, the strongest positive correlation seems to be connected to the species' size (the larger species being higher on the food chain).[10] According to theUnited States Food and Drug Administration,king mackerel is one of four fishes, along withswordfish,shark, andtilefish, that children and pregnant women should avoid due to high levels ofmethylmercury found in these fish and the consequent risk ofmercury poisoning.[11][12]
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