Carp on supermarket menu for Polish Chrismas

Carp: a tasty Christmas treat?
13 April 2012

Tucking into a succulent turkey is the traditional way of celebrating Christmas in Britain.

But to make sure tens of thousands of Poles living here do not feel homesick when they sit down for their festive dinner, one supermarket chain is selling carp.

Carp is a delicacy in Poland - traditionally served up on December 24.

Such is their appetite for the fish - generally considered inedible by Britons - that Eastern European immigrants have become embroiled in a row with English anglers over the number being caught and killed.

Anglers have also demanded tough new laws to prevent poachers depleting British rivers of carp.

Earlier this month the Environment Agency spent £150,000 on a 150-strong squad of anti-poaching officers, equipped stab vests, batons, handcuffs and powers of arrest, to patrol riverbanks.

Anglers feared the problem would worsen in December as immigrants headed for rivers and lakes to catch their Christmas dinner.

Now Sainsbury's has announced it will cater for up to 600,000 Poles in Britain by selling carp in 35 stores.

They will take a one-off delivery on December 22 - in the nick of time for the festive celebrations. The fresh fish will come from a farm in France, said a spokeswoman.

She said: "We are introducing a number of Polish lines into selected stores, including carp, to meet the increasing demand.

"This demand is not solely from the Polish community - we are as a nation very keen to try out new foods and we expect many of our customers will enjoy this."

Kasia Hitchcock, general manager at Wodka, a Polish restaurant in Kensington, south London, said her fellow countrymen would be overjoyed by Sainsbury's decision.

She said: "I remember in the old days when it was very difficult, if not practically impossible, to find carp in British stores.

"To get a carp in time for Christmas you had to visit a specialist Polish shop, pre-order a fish and then queue for it when a batch arrived.

"I'm sure many Polish people living here will be delighted to find carp being sold in their local supermarket. It will help make a very happy - and traditional - Christmas."

But Stephen Stones, news editor of Angling Times magazine, doubted whether selling carp in supermarkets would stem poaching.

He said: "Carp have been readily available in fish markets across the country for years and it hasn't prevented people snaffling them from rivers.

"People are still going to have to pay for them if they go to Sainsbury's and I can't imagine they will be cheap.

"It might save wealthier Poles a bit of hassle because they won't have to stand on a riverbank and bosh the fish on the head, but I can't see it alleviating the problem in the long run."

The carp has protected status but an angler is allowed to kill two of the freshwater fish a day using a rod and line, and needs a £24 fishing licence.

Foreign anglers, however, see little sense in throwing them back into the water when they can be taken home and thrown in a cooking pot.

Using large nets or fixed-rod lines to catch large numbers is illegal.

Yet groups have been seen illegally stretching nets across canals, walking along the bank and taking fish from entire stretches of water. One police force arrested four immigrants with a spear gun near a lake stocked with protected carp.

The Environment Agency admitted that problems have been reported at most rivers, and prosecutions for serious fishing crimes have tripled in three years.

Many well-known fishing spots now have signs in various languages, including Polish, informing immigrant anglers of the law.

Carp is also a delicacy for the Czechs, traditionally eaten on Christmas day. There are an estimated 25,000 living in the UK.

Supermarket giant Tesco sells 240 tons of carp - equivalent to 30 double-decker buses - in December at its stores in the Czech Republic. Customers usually take the fish home live, writhing in plastic bags.

How to cook a Christmas Eve carp: Carp in Aspic (serves 2) - 1 3-4lb carp; 4 cups vegetable stock; 4 peppercorns; 3 bay leaves; 1 tbsp gelatin; 2 tbsp water; 1 egg white, salt, pepper.

Clean fish and remove head. Cook head and spices in vegetable stock for half-hour. Strain. Place whole fish in pan. Cover with strained stock and simmer until tender. Remove fish and place on serving platter. Add beaten egg white to stock and bring to boil. Strain through napkin twice. Dissolve gelatin in water, add stock. Pour over cooled fish. Garnish with carrot, hard boiled eggs, and lemon slices.

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