Eels - Use By Humans

Use By Humans

Freshwater eels (unagi) and marine eels (conger eel, anago) are commonly used in Japanese cuisine; foods such as unadon and unajū are popular, but expensive. Eels are also very popular in Chinese cuisine, and are prepared in many different ways. Hong Kong eel prices have often reached 1000 HKD per kg, and once exceeded 5000 HKD per kg. Eel is also popular in Korean cuisine, and is seen as a source of stamina for men. The European eel and other freshwater eels are eaten in Europe, the United States, and other places. A traditional east London food is jellied eels, although the demand has significantly declined since World War II. The Basque delicacy angulas consists of deep-fried elver (young eels); elvers usually reach prices of up to 1000 euro per kg. New Zealand longfin eel is a traditional Māori food in New Zealand. In Italian cuisine, eels from the Valli di Comacchio, a swampy zone along the Adriatic coast, are especially prized, along with freshwater eels of Bolsena Lake and pond eels from Cabras, Sardinia. In northern Germany, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Poland, Denmark and Sweden, smoked eel is considered a delicacy.

Fishermen consumed elvers as a cheap dish, but environmental changes have reduced eel populations. They are now considered a delicacy and are priced at up to £700 per kg in the United Kingdom.

Eels, particularly the moray eel, are popular among marine aquarists.

Eel blood is toxic to humans and other mammals, but both cooking and the digestive process destroy the toxic protein. The toxin derived from eel blood serum was used by Charles Richet in his Nobel Prize-winning research which discovered anaphylaxis (by injecting it into dogs and observing the effect).

Eelskin leather is highly prized. It is very smooth and exceptionally strong. However, it does not come from eels. It comes from the Pacific hagfish, a jawless fish which is also known as the slime eel.