Bowfin
Amia calva
Not Kosher
Description
The ruddy bowfin is a ray-finned fish native to North America. Common names include mudfish, mud pike, dogfish, grindle, grinnel, swamp trout, and choupique.
Bowfin is eaten smoked, fried, blackened, or in fishcakes and fishballs, and is best when cleaned carefully. Its roe is processed into caviar sold as Cajun caviar or Choupiquet Royale.
The bowfin is a freshwater fish native to the eastern United States and southern Canada, in the Mississippi, Great Lakes, Eastern Seaboard, and Gulf of Mexico drainages. It lives in vegetated sloughs, lowland rivers, lakes, swamps, and backwaters, sheltering under roots and submerged logs.
Also known as
- Mudfish
- Dogfish
- Grindle
- Cypress Trout
- Grinnel
- Choupique
Gallery
Warnings & Kosher Issues
- Not kosher when in doubt. Bowfin is a debated case in practice. Ask a trusted rabbi.
- Bowfin tend to build up mercury at higher levels, which makes them less safe to eat in quantity.
- Kosher status is debated. Wikipedia describes bowfin scales as large, single-layered cycloid scales rather than ganoid, but the fish has thick, bony scales and its kashrut is treated as uncertain in practice. Check with a reliable kosher authority before relying on it.