Species sheet · The Edible River
Tench
Green velvet and a red eye at the bottom of the pond.
- Au bleu, dropped live into vinegared court-bouillon
- Meunière-style, as fillets
- Stewed with pike and eel in a matelote
- In French
- Tanche
- Scientific name
- Tinca tinca
- In the water
- A bottom fish of calm, silty European waters: ponds, backwaters and slow soft-bottomed rivers, where it tolerates water low in oxygen.
- Season & buying
- Caught from late spring to autumn; for the table it is best taken from fresh water and kept a few days in clean water.
- Common length
- ~30 cm
- How to identify it
- Thick olive to bronze body coated in heavy slime
Tiny scales with a velvet feel
Orange-red eye, small barbel at each corner of the mouth
On the plate
White, tender, mild flesh with a hint of pond earthiness.
Avoid: Leaving the slimy skin: scald it briefly to lift the mucus before scaling, or the muddy taste takes over.
It was once called the doctor fish: people believed injured fish came to rub against its slime to heal.
In Umay recipes
One Umay recipe calls for it.
