# Gefilte fish **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 18, 2009, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gefilte-fish/481814 "2009-01-18T02:18:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gefilte-fish/481814/1 "2009-01-18T02:18:51Z")
For years and years I’ve seen gefilte fish in supermarkets, but I’ve never tried one. I mean, what if I buy a jar and don’t like them? Well, today I decided to give them a try. When I got back from the market I opened the jar and fished one out. You know? It wasn’t bad! Like a fishy meatball. Not that they’ll be a regular menu item; but at least now I can say that I’ve had one. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gefilte-fish/481814/2 "2009-01-18T02:23:12Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > For years and years I’ve seen gefilte fish in supermarkets, but I’ve never tried one. I mean, what if I buy a jar and don’t like them? Well, today I decided to give them a try. When I got back from the market I opened the jar and fished one out. You know? It wasn’t bad! Like a fishy meatball. Not that they’ll be a regular menu item; but at least now I can say that I’ve had one. Take the fish from the jar and pour (with the liquid) into a sauce pan. Add 1-2 carrots, sliced, I yellow onion, sliced and some parsley. Simmer gently for half and hour or so. Serve a piece of fish with few carrot and onion slices and some horseradish. Yum. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gefilte-fish/481814/3 "2009-01-18T02:29:12Z")
Now I’m going to have to get some carrots! But the menu is already planned for tomorrow (steel-cut oatmeal with cranberries for breakfast, **Shayna** ’s toasted spinach-and-havarti sandwich for lunch, and a roasted lamb joint with brussels sprouts and mashed potatoes for dinner) so I’ll have to make it during the week or next weekend. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gefilte-fish/481814/4 "2009-01-18T02:32:32Z")
I always eat it with horseradish - the purple kind if at all available. Yummy. But then I grew up with it, so my tastebuds may be warped. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gefilte-fish/481814/5 "2009-01-18T03:04:17Z")
My grandmother used to make them from scratch, which improbably began with a live carp swimming around in our bathtub for about three days, after which the carp would have his system cleaned out (?) and promptly his demise, which would result in his being ground up with other ingrediants and served on our plates, cold. Opening up a jar is easier, not to mention it allows you to take baths. Also the jars make good storage containers for soup. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gefilte-fish/481814/6 "2009-01-18T03:45:23Z")
My dad makes his own – from red snapper, because when he tried to get a carp the fishmonger laughed in his face – and I must say it is delicious. From the jar, it’s holiday food I eat more for nostalgia than the taste (drowned in horseradish, of course). ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gefilte-fish/481814/7 "2009-01-18T03:49:40Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > My grandmother used to make them from scratch, which improbably began with a live carp swimming around in our bathtub for about three days, after which the carp would have his system cleaned out (?) and promptly his demise, which would result in his being ground up with other ingrediants and served on our plates, cold. I think we had the same grandmother. Mine used to actually get the fish drunk with \*schnapps, \*to alleviate its suffering. I still have her wooden chopping bowl and chopper. I may try my hand at some gefilte fish. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gefilte-fish/481814/8 "2009-01-18T03:57:19Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > My dad makes his own – from red snapper, because when he tried to get a carp the fishmonger laughed in his face Why did he laugh? Are carp extinct or something? Are fishpond Koi the only survivors? ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gefilte-fish/481814/9 "2009-01-18T04:00:40Z")
“And for those of you especially keen on regurgitation . . .” ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gefilte-fish/481814/10 "2009-01-18T04:02:13Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Why did he laugh? Are carp extinct or something? Are fishpond Koi the only survivors? It’s just kind of bleh-tasting and you’d have to special order it, and it would end up more expensive than higher quality fish that’s readily available. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gefilte-fish/481814/11 "2009-01-18T04:30:35Z")
It’s the parsnip that gives it that Ashkenazi taste. Works for chicken soup, too. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gefilte-fish/481814/12 "2009-01-18T04:34:37Z")
Gefilte fish is perhaps the only food I see on sale in supermarkets that looks like it’s been pre-regurgitated. Or pooped and then bleached. My grandfather used to eat the stuff. Then again, he also liked a nice big bowl of borscht. Blech. It is true, though that enough horseradish will make almost anything edible, especially if you keep your eyes closed. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gefilte-fish/481814/13 "2009-01-18T04:45:13Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I think we had the same grandmother. Mine used to actually get the fish drunk with \*schnapps, \*to alleviate its suffering. > > I still have her wooden chopping bowl and chopper. I may try my hand at some gefilte fish. Cousin Henry? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gefilte-fish/481814/14 "2009-01-18T04:52:23Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I always eat it with horseradish - the purple kind if at all available. Yummy. But then I grew up with it, so my tastebuds may be warped. Purple kind? I know of the white kind and the red kind, the red being dyed with beets. But red horseradish is an essential component of any meal that includes gefilte fish. Gefilte is not found by my spellchecker, it seems. I call discriminations. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gefilte-fish/481814/15 "2009-01-18T04:52:37Z")
Borscht, my friend, is teh bomb. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gefilte-fish/481814/16 "2009-01-18T05:19:41Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > But red horseradish is an essential component of any meal that includes gefilte fish. Indeed, Sir. I hate the stuff, probably because I am a convert and it smells like cleaning an aquarium. The Passover horseradish is good stuff, though. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gefilte-fish/481814/17 "2009-01-18T05:27:44Z")
I’ve only had gefilte fish once, at a seder. I assume it was homemade, not from a jar, and I thought it was pretty good, like tuna. I had always assumed it would be horrible (largely from my dad’s horror stories of how awful it was; he’s the reason I’d never had it before), so it was a pleasant surprise. Now I’m a vegetarian, so I doubt I’ll ever have it again. S’okay. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gefilte-fish/481814/18 "2009-01-18T06:05:20Z")
I love post-passover sales in the grocery store when I can get a few jars of gefilte fish cheep and eat like a (Jewish) king for a few days. Yum! ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gefilte-fish/481814/19 "2009-01-18T06:09:56Z")
I love it. One of my favorite things to have at my aunt’s when we go there for seders. It must be had with the purple horseradish. ---
**Author:** ![trapezoidal\_jellyfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6f9a4e/32.png) [@trapezoidal\_jellyfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trapezoidal_jellyfish)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gefilte-fish/481814/20 "2009-01-18T07:29:35Z")
if you like the kind from the jar, try the kind that comes in a frozen loaf. you boil it or smush it in a pan and bake it. beats the jar stuff any day! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gefilte-fish/481814.md?page=2)