Pan Fish
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The word panfish, also spelled pan-fish or pan fish, is an
American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lang ...
term describing any
edible An edible item is any item that is safe for humans to eat. "Edible" is differentiated from " eatable" because it does not indicate how an item tastes, only whether it is fit to be eaten. Nonpoisonous items found in nature – such as some mushroo ...
freshwater fish Freshwater fish are fish species that spend some or all of their lives in bodies of fresh water such as rivers, lakes, ponds and inland wetlands, where the salinity is less than 1.05%. These environments differ from marine habitats in many wa ...
that usually do not outgrow the size of an average
frying pan A frying pan, frypan, or skillet is a flat-bottomed pan used for frying, searing, and browning foods. It typically ranges from in diameter with relatively low sides that flare outwards, a long handle, and no lid. Larger pans may have a small ...
. It is also commonly used by
recreational Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or plea ...
anglers to refer to any small
game fish Game fish, sport fish or quarry refer to popular fish species pursued by recreational fishing, recreational fishers (typically angling, anglers), and can be freshwater fish, freshwater or saltwater fish. Game fish can be fish as food, eaten aft ...
that can fit wholly into a pan for
cooking Cooking, also known as cookery or professionally as the culinary arts, is the art, science and craft of using heat to make food more palatable, digestible, nutritious, or Food safety, safe. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from ...
but are still large enough to be legal. According to the ''
Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...
'', the term was first recorded in 1796 in ''
American Cookery ''American Cookery'', by Amelia Simmons, is the first known cookbook written by an American, published in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1796. Until then, the cookbooks printed and used in the Thirteen Colonies were British. Its full title is: Hi ...
'', the first known
cookbook A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (food), course (appetize ...
written by an American author.


Usage

The term ''panfish'' or ''pan-fish'' has been used to refer to a wide range of edible freshwater and saltwater fish species that are small enough to cook whole in one frying pan. The fish species that match this definition and usage vary according to geography. One early-20th-century source identifies all the following as panfish:
yellow perch The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Samuel Latham Mitchill fr ...
,
candlefish The eulachon ( (''Thaleichthys pacificus''), also spelled oolichan , ooligan , hooligan ), or the candlefish, is a small anadromous species of smelt that spawns in some of the major river systems along the Pacific coast of North America from no ...
, balaos, sand launces,
rock bass The rock bass (''Ambloplites rupestris''), also known as the rock perch, goggle-eye, red eye, and black perch, is a freshwater fish native to east-central North America. This red-eyed fish is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family (bi ...
, bullheads,
minnows Minnow is the common name for a number of species of small freshwater fish, belonging to several genera of the family Cyprinidae and in particular the subfamily Leuciscinae. They are also known in Ireland as pinkeens. While the common name can ...
, Rocky Mountain whitefish, sand rollers,
crappie Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers. Etymology The genus name ''Pomoxi ...
, yellow bass,
white bass The white bass, silver bass, or sand bass (''Morone chrysops'') is a freshwater fish of the temperate bass family Moronidae. commonly around 12–15 inches long. The species' main color is silver-white to pale green. Its back is dark, with whit ...
, croaker and most of the common small sunfishes such as
bluegill The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or, in Texas, "copper nose", is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and wetlands ea ...
and
redear sunfish The redear sunfish (''Lepomis microlophus''), also known as the shellcracker, Georgia bream, cherry gill, chinquapin, improved bream, and sun perch, is a freshwater fish in the family Centrarchidae and is native to the southeastern United States ...
. Here is one example:
As a pan-fish we do not know of any better among American
freshwater fish Freshwater fish are fish species that spend some or all of their lives in bodies of fresh water such as rivers, lakes, ponds and inland wetlands, where the salinity is less than 1.05%. These environments differ from marine habitats in many wa ...
es. We have experimented with the yellow perch and several other species, including both species of
black bass Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''Psy ...
, the bluegill, wall-eyed pike, and rock-bass, eating each for several days in succession, and found the yellow perch the sweetest and most delicious of them all. One does not tire of it so soon as of the other kinds. Several other persons who tried the same experiment reached the same conclusion. In most parts of its range it is highly esteemed, and in many places it is of very considerable commercial importance. In the
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...
, the
Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...
, and the small lakes in the upper
Mississippi Valley The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
large quantities are taken, which always find a ready sale.
The following is a typical example of the term as it was commonly used in cooking taken from ''The White House Cookbook'' compiled by Hugo Ziemann, chief kitchen steward in the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
in 1901:
TO FRY FISH – Most of the smaller fish (generally termed ''pan-fish'') are usually fried. Clean well, cut off the head, and, if quite large, cut out the backbone, and slice the body crosswise into five or six pieces; season with salt and pepper. Dip in Indian meal or wheat flour, or in beaten egg, and roll in bread or fine cracker crumbs. Trout and perch should not be dipped in meal; put into a thick bottomed iron frying pan, the flesh side down, with hot lard or drippings; fry slowly, turning when lightly browned. PAN-FISH. Place them in a thick bottomed frying pan with heads all one way. Fill the spaces with smaller fish. When they are fried quite brown and ready to turn, put a dinner plate over them, drain off the fat; then invert the pan, and they will be left unbroken on the plate. Put the lard back into the pan, and when hot slip back the fish. When the other side is brown, drain, turn on a plate as before, and slip them on a warm platter, to be sent to the table. Leaving the heads on and the fish a crispy-brown, in perfect shape, improves the appearance if not the flavor. Garnish with slices of lemon.
In most angling literature, members of the freshwater family ''
Centrarchidae Centrarchidae, better known as sunfishes or centrarchids, is a family of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the order Centrarchiformes, native only to North America. There are eight universally included genera within the centrarchid famil ...
'' (also called sunfishes) are the target species most likely to be called panfish. They include: * ''
Lepomis ''Lepomis'' or true sunfish is a genus of North American freshwater fish from the family (biology), family Centrarchidae in the order (biology), order Centrarchiformes. The generic name (biology), generic name ''Lepomis'' derives from the Greek l ...
'', including **
Bluegill The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or, in Texas, "copper nose", is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and wetlands ea ...
(''Lepomis macrochirus'') **
Green sunfish The green sunfish (''Lepomis cyanellus'') is a species of aggressive freshwater fish in the sunfish family ( Centrarchidae) of order Centrarchiformes. The green sunfish does not always grow large enough to be an appealing target for anglers, ...
(''Lepomis cyanellus'') **
Redear sunfish The redear sunfish (''Lepomis microlophus''), also known as the shellcracker, Georgia bream, cherry gill, chinquapin, improved bream, and sun perch, is a freshwater fish in the family Centrarchidae and is native to the southeastern United States ...
(''Lepomis microlophus'') ** Redbreast sunfish (''Lepomis auritus'') ** Spotted sunfish (''Lepomis punctatus'') **
Pumpkinseed The pumpkinseed (''Lepomis gibbosus''), also referred to as sun perch, pond perch, common sunfish, punkie, sunfish, sunny, and kivver, is a small to medium–sized freshwater fish of the genus ''Lepomis'' (true sunfishes), from the sunfish fami ...
(''Lepomis gibbosus'') **
Warmouth The warmouth (''Lepomis gulosus'') is a freshwater fish of the sunfish family (biology), family (Centrarchidae) that is found throughout the eastern United States. Other local names include molly, redeye, goggle-eye, red-eyed bream, and strawber ...
(''Chaenobryttus gulosus'') * ''
Crappie Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers. Etymology The genus name ''Pomoxi ...
'', including **
White crappie The white crappie (''Pomoxis annularis'') is a freshwater fish found in North America, one of the two species of crappies. Alternate common names for the species include goldring, silver perch, white perch and sac-a-lait. is named for the fish ...
(''Pomoxis annularis'') **
Black crappie The black crappie (''Pomoxis nigromaculatus'') is a freshwater fish in the sunfish family ( Centrarchidae). It is endemic to North America, one of the two types of crappies. It is very similar to the white crappie (''P. annularis'') in size, s ...
(''Pomoxis nigromaculatus'') * '' Centrarchus'' ** Flier (''Centrarchus macropterus'') The term panfish may also be used for members of ''
Percidae The Percidae are a family of ray-finned fish, part of the order Perciformes, which are found in fresh and brackish waters of the Northern Hemisphere. The majority are Nearctic, but there are also Palearctic species. The family contains nearly 250 ...
'' families, such as: * ''
Perch Perch is a common name for freshwater fish from the genus ''Perca'', which belongs to the family Percidae of the large order Perciformes. The name comes from , meaning the type species of this genus, the European perch (''P. fluviatilis'') ...
'', including **
European perch The European perch (''Perca fluviatilis''), also known as the common perch, redfin perch, big-scaled redfin, English perch, Euro perch, Eurasian perch, Eurasian river perch, Hatch, poor man's rockfish or in Anglophone parts of Europe, simply the ...
(''Perca fluviatilis'') **
Yellow perch The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Samuel Latham Mitchill fr ...
(''Perca flavescens'') **
Balkhash perch The Balkhash perch (''Perca schrenkii'') is a species of perch endemic to the Lake Balkhash and Lake Alakol watershed system, which lies mainly in Kazakhstan. It is similar to the other two species of perch, and grows to a comparable size, but ha ...
(''Perca schrenkii'') * ''
Gymnocephalus ''Gymnocephalus'' is a genus of ray-finned fishes from the family Percidae, which includes the perches, pike-perches and darters. They are from the Western Palearctic area, although one species, '' Gymnocephalus cernua'' has been accidentall ...
'' **
Ruffe The ruffe (''Gymnocephalus cernua''), also known as the Eurasian ruffe or pope, is a freshwater fish found in temperate regions of Europe and northern Asia. It has been introduced into the Great Lakes of North America as an invasive species ...
(''Gymnocephalus cernua'') The term panfish may also be used for members of other families, such as: * ''
Creek chub ''Semotilus'' is the genus of creek chubs, ray-finned fish in the family Leuciscidae. The term "creek chub" is sometimes used for individual species, particularly the common creek chub, ''S. atromaculatus''. The creek chub species of minnows can ...
'' (''Semotilus sp.'') * '' Cutlips minnow'' (''Exoglossum maxillingua'') * ''
European bullhead The European bullhead (''Cottus gobio'') is a freshwater fish that is widely distributed in Europe, mainly in rivers. It is a member of the family Cottidae, a type of sculpin. It is also known as the miller's thumb, freshwater sculpin, common bu ...
'' (''Cottus gobio'') * '' Dark sleeper'' (''Odontobutis obscura'') * ''Three-lips'' ('' Opsariichthys uncirostris'')


See also

*
Game fish Game fish, sport fish or quarry refer to popular fish species pursued by recreational fishing, recreational fishers (typically angling, anglers), and can be freshwater fish, freshwater or saltwater fish. Game fish can be fish as food, eaten aft ...
*
Rough fish Rough fish (or the slang trash fish or dirt fish) is a term used by some United States state agencies and anglers to describe fish that are less desirable to sport anglers within a defined region. The term usually refers to larger game fish speci ...


References


Citations


General and cited references

* * * * * * * {{Fisheries and fishing Edible fish Recreational fishing Game fish de:Speisefisch#Zubereitung der Fische