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Uma biografia breve da enguia: Do Mar dos Sargaços à Feira de São Mateus em Viseu, passando pela ria de Aveiro
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Abstract(s)
As enguias – consideramos a enguia europeia: Anguilla anguilla – são peixes que, em certos aspetos, permanecem ainda hoje misteriosos. O seu nascimento ocorre no longínquo Mar dos Sargaços, sendo arrastadas, pela Corrente do Golfo, através do Atlântico, durante cerca de três anos, até ao litoral europeu. Aqui, migram para os rios e estuários, adaptando-se, muito rapidamente, à vida em água doce. As enguias sofrem metamorfoses, crescem e continuam o seu percurso através de rios, ribeiros e riachos até encontrarem um lar com suficiente comida, onde permanecerão até chegarem a uma idade entre 12 e 24 anos. Depois regressam ao seu lugar de origem para se reproduzirem.
Em Portugal é muito antiga a pesca de enguias na ria de Aveiro, assim como o seu aproveitamento para consumo humano. Desde o início dos anos 1940 foi estabelecida na Murtosa a fábrica de conservas COMUR, que privilegiava a conservação de enguias em escabeche. As enguias de escabeche consumidas desde o século XIX na Feira de São Mateus, em Viseu, chegavam da Murtosa em barricas de madeira. Hoje, essas barricas deram lugar a outras de folha de flandres e as enguias da fábrica de conservas, em vez de virem da Ria de Aveiro, são adquiridas noutros países que as cultivam em cativeiro. Sendo uma espécie ameaçada de extinção, são, na Ria, cada vez mais raras. A enguia ainda é, porém, um peixe popular nesta região, inspirando uma série de receitas como, a caldeirada de enguias, a canja de enguias, as enguias à pescador e as enguias de escabeche, que estão documentadas em receituários antigos e modernos. Foi a receita das enguias de escabeche que celebrizou as enguias da Murtosa, sendo as mulheres que fritavam o peixe, as chamadas “fritadeiras” da Murtosa, credoras dessa fama. O peixe, depois de frito, era conservado em molho de escabeche, feito com vinagre, sendo acondicionado e vendido na Feira de São Mateus, em Viseu, e noutras feiras do Centro do país, onde era bastante apreciado. A tradição mantém-se nos dias de hoje.
The eels — we consider the European eel: Anguilla Anguilla — are fishes that, in ertain aspects, remain mysterious. Its birth occurs in the distant Sargasso Sea, being dragged by the Gulf Stream, across the Atlantic, for about three years, to the European coast. Here, they migrate to rivers and estuaries, adapting almost immediately to a life in fresh water. The eels undergo metamorphosis, grow, and continue their journey through rivers, streams and estuaries, until they find a home with enough food, where they will stay until they reach an age between 12 and 24 years. Then they return to their place of origin to reproduce. In Portugal, eel fishing in the Ria de Aveiro is an ancient custom, as well as its use for human consumption. In the begin-ning of the 1940s, the COMUR canning factory was established in Murtosa, which favored the marinated eels. These eels consumed since the 19th century at Feira de São Mateus, in Viseu, arrived from Murtosa in wooden barrels. Today, the eels of the canning factory, instead of coming from the Ria de Aveiro, are imported from other countries that cultivate them in captivity. As an endangered species, they are increasingly rare in the Ria. The eel is,however, still a popular fish in this region, inspiring a series of recipes, such as those of Eel stew, Eel soup, Fisherman eels and Fried eels with marinated sauce, documented in old and recent recipe books.The later recipe was the one that made Murtosa’s eels famous, and the women who fried the fish, the socalled fritadeiras [«fryers»], were creditors of that fame. The fish, after being fried, was preserved in marinated sauce, packaged and sold at «Feira de São Mateus» and other fairs in the center of the country, where it was highly appreciated. The tradition continues today.
The eels — we consider the European eel: Anguilla Anguilla — are fishes that, in ertain aspects, remain mysterious. Its birth occurs in the distant Sargasso Sea, being dragged by the Gulf Stream, across the Atlantic, for about three years, to the European coast. Here, they migrate to rivers and estuaries, adapting almost immediately to a life in fresh water. The eels undergo metamorphosis, grow, and continue their journey through rivers, streams and estuaries, until they find a home with enough food, where they will stay until they reach an age between 12 and 24 years. Then they return to their place of origin to reproduce. In Portugal, eel fishing in the Ria de Aveiro is an ancient custom, as well as its use for human consumption. In the begin-ning of the 1940s, the COMUR canning factory was established in Murtosa, which favored the marinated eels. These eels consumed since the 19th century at Feira de São Mateus, in Viseu, arrived from Murtosa in wooden barrels. Today, the eels of the canning factory, instead of coming from the Ria de Aveiro, are imported from other countries that cultivate them in captivity. As an endangered species, they are increasingly rare in the Ria. The eel is,however, still a popular fish in this region, inspiring a series of recipes, such as those of Eel stew, Eel soup, Fisherman eels and Fried eels with marinated sauce, documented in old and recent recipe books.The later recipe was the one that made Murtosa’s eels famous, and the women who fried the fish, the socalled fritadeiras [«fryers»], were creditors of that fame. The fish, after being fried, was preserved in marinated sauce, packaged and sold at «Feira de São Mateus» and other fairs in the center of the country, where it was highly appreciated. The tradition continues today.
Description
Keywords
Enguias Escabeche Feira de São Mateus Fritadeiras da Murtosa Ria de Aveiro Viseu Eels Marinade São Mateus Fair Murtosa's fryers
Pedagogical Context
Citation
Carvalhas, Ana; Sobral, José - Uma biografia breve da enguia: Do Mar dos Sargaços à Feira de São Mateus em Viseu, passando pela ria de Aveiro. "e-LCV" [Em linha]. ISSN 2184-4097. Nº 9 (julho-dez. de 2022), p. 126-141
Publisher
Centro de Estudos Globais da Universidade Aberta (CEG/UAb) | Instituto Europeu de Ciências da Cultura Padre Manuel Antunes (IECCPMA) | Associação Internacional de Estudos Ibero-Eslavos (CompaRes)