Tuna lattume is a typical Sicilian product, like red tuna bottarga and tuna mosciame, a prized ingredient in traditional cuisine that is now loved and used even by the most famous international starred seafood restaurants.
It is nothing other than tuna sperm (but not only: the milk of amberjack, sea bass, herring, mackerel and cuttlefish is also very delicious) and is obtained from the gonads of the Sicilian red tuna, or from the seminal fluid sac of the fish during the breeding season. In addition to the fillet and the innards, these prized Sicilian tuna In fact, they offer the white sacs which, according to tradition, are peeled or rather stripped of their covering, boiled, cut into slices, coated in flour and fried.
The tuna milk or cool guy It is a typical Sicilian dish that derives from the ancient tradition of tuna fishermen. From humble origins, it was born as recovery plate, one of those pieces that are usually thrown away, but today it is an excellent and very tasty ingredient, highly sought after and of great quality. With a delicate flavour and used in numerous recipes, it is a bit of a "male" of the tuna bottargaToday we'll take you to know him better. Find the best Sicilian tuna for sale online in the dedicated section of our online shop.
https://www.emporiosicilia.it/prodotto/ventresca-di-tonno-rosso-il-pescatore-gustosi-sentieri/
https://www.emporiosicilia.it/prodotto/tonno-rosso-del-mediterraneo-il-pescatore-gustosi-sentieri/
Fresh tuna milk: how it's obtained, how it's produced, and where it comes from
This typical Sicilian product, the male equivalent of bottarga, has a delicate flavor, a soft and firm consistency, a fleshy pink color, and releases an intense aroma. It is clearly distinguished from bottarga, which is orange in color. The lattume is extracted from male tuna, cleaned and cooked in water and salt. Once cooled it is drained and preserved in glass jars with olive oil or sold fresh, directly from the freshly caught and processed tuna.
After catching the bluefin tuna, it can also come covered in salt and aromatic herbs and left to dry. Before eating, it's best to desalt it by soaking it in plenty of cold water for a couple of hours.
This fish product has been officially included in the list of Traditional Italian Agri-food Products (PAT) of the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies. Still little known throughout Italy, it is a true gastronomic delicacy.
Tuna milk is a typical product of Sicily, particularly the areas of Favignana, Trapani, Palermo and Syracuse, famous for bluefin tuna fishing.
How to prepare and use milkweed in the kitchen
It can be a excellent appetizer with a Mediterranean flavorA basic recipe requires that, once desalted, it is boiled and then simply seasoned. with Sicilian lemon juice, but it can also be used to season pasta, such as spaghetti or salads. Traditionally, in the Trapani cuisine it is used under salt.
Recipes with tuna milk
The most characteristic recipes come directly from the areas of Sicily where red tuna is fished, namely Trapani, Palermo and SyracuseIn these cities the milk is eaten with the short pasta, browning it, diced, in a sauté of garlic, oil, and chili pepper, deglazed with white wine. The pasta is then tossed in the pan with parsley and a few cherry tomatoes.
Another traditional Sicilian recipe is the Venetian-style lettuceVenetian, but only in name! In this case, the diced lattume is cooked for a few minutes in a pan with plenty of extra virgin olive oil and sautéed onion, adding salt and black pepper. After cooking, season with a squeeze of lemon juice. Dried or in oil it also becomes excellent in saladsAlso delicious grilled or baked in breadcrumbs.
Fried tuna fritters: traditional Sicilian fritters
This one deserves a separate paragraph. Sicilian recipe, which provides for the floured and fried tuna fillet for a few minutes in plenty of boiling oil.
The result is a crunchy fish fritter with a soft heart and a taste very similar to animal brains. The enveloping taste of the milk is not overwhelmed by the flavour of the fried food, but rather restores the taste of the Mediterranean tuna One bite at a time. A must-try during Christmas and the holidays.
How to store fish milk
On Emporio Sicilia you can find tuna canned in oil or vacuum-packed for sale, the two main methods of preservation. The two containers should not be stored at room temperature, but in the refrigerator at a temperature between 0°C and 4°C, the same one to keep after opening. You can purchase the product among the Sicilian fish preserves of theAncient Minghetti and Tammaro Tonnara and Delfio Fishing Company.
Fish milk: nutritional values, properties, fats and proteins
This product has a quantity of calories and cholesterol It's worth considering, but it's not a fatty food. Here's a short table:
NUTRITIONAL VALUES (Average values per 100g of product)
CALORIES KJ/Kcal: 971/215
FAT: 1.2g, of which saturated fatty acids: 0.4g
PROTEIN: 50.6g
