It seems to me that I heard that carp were originally imported into the US as a food fish by Eastern Europeans.
“It seems to me that I heard that carp were originally imported into the US as a food fish by Eastern Europeans”
“On an enormous silver platter
a great fish reposed in a bed of parsley: it was complete and perfect from head to tail,
with eyes of carrots and capers,
and gleaming scales of gelatin.
Surely no holiday food is more Jewish than gefilte fish. It has been eaten by the Jews of Central and Eastern Europe since the late Middle Ages. Perhaps because of its guttural-sounding name in English, it will probably never, like lutefisk within the Norwegian community, become a showstopper outside the Jewish community. But for the majority of American Jews it signifies holiday food in their home. And, homemade, it is delicious.
When the Jews migrated to Eastern Europe, fresh fish was hard to come by. Even so, they wanted just a little bit for their Friday evening meal—to welcome the delights of the Sabbath. Since nearly all the Jews were extremely poor, they learned to invent dishes for people of limited means. During the week their diet consisted of potatoes, salt herring, onions, and dark bread. Fresh fish was reserved for the Sabbath. Living near the North Sea, they could use pike, carp, buffel, or other inexpensive freshwater fish. But these fish spoil quickly. A fish stretcher—gefilte fish—was therefore concocted so that the 41 members of the family could have at least a small taste for the Friday meal. The women learned to carefully scrape the flesh away from the skin and bone, to add chopped onions, seasoning, bread or matzah crumbs and egg. The fish was then put back into the skin and poached in much the same way another Eastern European Jewish dish, matzah balls, are. Thus, the appellation “gefilte fish.” The fish patties came later. In America, where all manner of cooking was quickened, it was easier to make patties than to take the stuffing and carefully put it back into the skin.....
http://www.simplyseafood.com/newsletters/1008/gefilte_fish.html