# Carp: Esteemed in Europe, Loather in USA-Why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 26, 2009, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carp-esteemed-in-europe-loather-in-usa-why/490864 "2009-03-26T13:27:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carp-esteemed-in-europe-loather-in-usa-why/490864/1 "2009-03-26T13:27:16Z")
My BOL is from the Czech Republic. He says tha back home, carp is an esteemed food fish. It is a traditional Christmas dinner item, and people eat the fish regularly. Here in the USA, I don’t know anyone who eats carp. In fact, the Charles Rver (Boston) is full of them , and the local fishermen refer to them as “sewer trout”. They atch them and release them only. Why is this? Is it because carp can live in muddy, polluted waters? ---
**Author:** ![GSV\_Consolation\_of\_Dreams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f1d935/32.png) [@GSV\_Consolation\_of\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GSV_Consolation_of_Dreams)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carp-esteemed-in-europe-loather-in-usa-why/490864/2 "2009-03-26T13:31:34Z")
I’ve tasted carp cooked for czech christmas and to be honest, it tastes like the bottom of a pond smells, but fried and breadcrumbed. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carp-esteemed-in-europe-loather-in-usa-why/490864/3 "2009-03-26T14:19:38Z")
I remember a summer during which a relative of mine took me carp fishing. We caught a pair, kept the big one and released the other, and we ate it the next day (grilled, IIRC). It did taste like chewy mud. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carp-esteemed-in-europe-loather-in-usa-why/490864/4 "2009-03-26T14:23:33Z")
You learn to like what you can put on the table. With a relatively greater abundance of tastier fish, US eaters never had to learn to like carp. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carp-esteemed-in-europe-loather-in-usa-why/490864/5 "2009-03-26T14:32:16Z")
I think there are actually some Carp species that are eaten here. Just for name recognition reasons they are called catfish because of the trash-fish reputation of carp. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carp-esteemed-in-europe-loather-in-usa-why/490864/6 "2009-03-26T14:44:56Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > I think there are actually some Carp species that are eaten here. Just for name recognition reasons they are called catfish because of the trash-fish reputation of carp. I’m pretty sure that catfish and carp are members of two separate families. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carp-esteemed-in-europe-loather-in-usa-why/490864/7 "2009-03-26T14:49:19Z")
On the taste, [this article](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/3353540/Carp---sustainable-food-you-can-keep-in-the-pond.html) is interesting, particularly for the comment that _‘He has also taken steps to improve the taste of the fish, often described as “muddy”, by transferring the fish to natural spring water a few weeks before harvest.’_ As for the idea that people simply don’t want to eat something which roots around in mud for food, it doesn’t stop pigs or ducks from ending up on the table. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carp-esteemed-in-europe-loather-in-usa-why/490864/8 "2009-03-26T14:56:54Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > On the taste, [this article](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/3353540/Carp---sustainable-food-you-can-keep-in-the-pond.html) is interesting, particularly for the comment that _‘He has also taken steps to improve the taste of the fish, often described as “muddy”, by transferring the fish to natural spring water a few weeks before harvest.’_ As for the idea that people simply don’t want to eat something which roots around in mud for food, it doesn’t stop pigs or ducks from ending up on the table. I’m not sure about carp, but catfish can be trained to eat off the top of the water in a farm pond. This eliminates the muddy taste almost completely. The comparison to land animals is rather inappropriate, since the animals in question don’t really eat mud. Their meat doesn’t taste of it at all (when compared to a bottom-feeding fish). ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carp-esteemed-in-europe-loather-in-usa-why/490864/9 "2009-03-26T15:18:53Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > The comparison to land animals is rather inappropriate, since the animals in question don’t really eat mud. Their meat doesn’t taste of it at all (when compared to a bottom-feeding fish). Carp actually eat the mud? I was under the impression they fed on food _in_ the mud, just like various animals. Anyway, my comparison with animals wasn’t anything to do with taste. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carp-esteemed-in-europe-loather-in-usa-why/490864/10 "2009-03-26T15:26:00Z")
My wife is from Ukraine. She and her family also esteem carp as a food item. To me they were never more than something to shoot when archery fishing and rototill into the garden. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carp-esteemed-in-europe-loather-in-usa-why/490864/11 "2009-03-26T15:33:03Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Carp actually eat the mud? I was under the impression they fed on food _in_ the mud, just like various animals. Anyway, my comparison with animals wasn’t anything to do with taste. I can’t really speak with authority, but I believe it ingests some mud as it’s hoovering along the bottom. That, and food taken off the bottom probably has a lot of the same flavor. Most pig and duck eaten in the US are like farmed catfish, in that they have a controlled diet. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carp-esteemed-in-europe-loather-in-usa-why/490864/12 "2009-03-26T17:05:14Z")
I’ve had the opportunity to taste Carp on several occasions, but turned it down because I had pet Goldfish. It was justa little too close to home. I know that most Loaches are considered food fish in their home countries, but I wouldn’t eat them either. It’s like saying it’s OK to eat Jackal or Coyote. Most of us couldn’t do it. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carp-esteemed-in-europe-loather-in-usa-why/490864/13 "2009-03-26T17:05:53Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > I’m pretty sure that catfish and carp are members of two separate families. I saw a TV show once where they were making a meal of XXXXXXX catfish. But the chef/host admitted it was only called “catfish” for appeal reasons, and was actually a carp species. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carp-esteemed-in-europe-loather-in-usa-why/490864/14 "2009-03-26T17:18:21Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > I saw a TV show once where they were making a meal of XXXXXXX catfish. But the chef/host admitted it was only called “catfish” for appeal reasons, and was actually a carp species. Then that was a “common name” problem. Carp and catfish are completely different fish. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carp-esteemed-in-europe-loather-in-usa-why/490864/15 "2009-03-26T17:21:37Z")
Who ever said they were the same? . I simply said that some carp are eaten here, which was relevant point to the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carp-esteemed-in-europe-loather-in-usa-why/490864/16 "2009-03-26T17:27:28Z")
My bad. I misread your post. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carp-esteemed-in-europe-loather-in-usa-why/490864/17 "2009-03-26T17:47:01Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > I saw a TV show once where they were making a meal of XXXXXXX catfish. But the chef/host admitted it was only called “catfish” for appeal reasons, and was actually a carp species. Oh, so it was a fish that we wouldn’t commonly call a catfish? ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carp-esteemed-in-europe-loather-in-usa-why/490864/18 "2009-03-26T17:58:52Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Oh, so it was a fish that we wouldn’t commonly call a catfish? I am trying to find it now but I can’t remeber the name. It wasn’t a fish I had ever heard of before at all, let alone as either a catfish or a carp. But scientifically it was a carp, menued as a catfish. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carp-esteemed-in-europe-loather-in-usa-why/490864/19 "2009-03-26T18:04:10Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > I am trying to find it now but I can’t remeber the name. It wasn’t a fish I had ever heard of before at all, let alone as either a catfish or a carp. But scientifically it was a carp, menued as a catfish. I see. I was misunderstanding up until the light bulb in my head finally came on. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carp-esteemed-in-europe-loather-in-usa-why/490864/20 "2009-03-26T18:18:23Z")
I’ve eaten carp and catfish from the same bodies of water. The Carp taste like mud and the catfish taste less like mud. Why is that? They’re both bottom feeders, right? They both root in mud for their food. so why would the carp’s flesh taste like mud and the catfish’s less so? Don’t get me wrong, I like the taste of catfish and it usually tastes fresh, whethere wild-caught or farmed. Although the wild caught fish will usually have a gamier flavor than the farmed. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carp-esteemed-in-europe-loather-in-usa-why/490864.md?page=2)