 | |
| Type | Fermented fish |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Egypt |
| Main ingredients | Gray mullet, salt |
Fesikh (Egyptian Arabic: فسيخ, romanized: fesīḵ, pronounced [fɪˈsiːx]) is a traditional Egyptian dish. It is consumed primarily, though not exclusively, during the Sham el-Nessim festival, a spring celebration that traces its origins to ancient Egyptian times and is observed as a national holiday in Egypt. Fesikh consists of salted, pickled, fermented and dried gray mullet of the genus Mugil, a saltwater fish that lives in both the Mediterranean and the Red Seas.[1] In western Egypt, whitefish is used as an alternative.[citation needed]
The consumption of fesikh has roots traceable to antiquity. In his Histories, the Greek historian Herodotus provides a detailed account of Egyptian dietary habits.[2][3] Among other practices, he records that the Egyptians "eat fish either raw and sun-dried, or preserved with brine".[2][3] The methods described by Herodotus parallel those used in contemporary fesikh, indicating a long-standing culinary tradition maintained from antiquity to the present.[3]
Hazard
Each year, reports of a few cases of food poisoning involving incorrectly prepared fesikh appear in Egyptian periodicals, especially during the Sham el-Nessim festival, when the Egyptians consume this traditional pickled fish.[4][5]
In April 2012, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency issued recalls for whole fesikh mullet, cut up fesikh mullet in oil, and whole fesikh shad that were sold from a store in Toronto. There were three reported illnesses associated with the consumption of the products, which may have been contaminated with Clostridium botulinum bacteria.[6]
These reports never deterred the Egyptians from eating this celebratory dish, however, since they pertain only to improperly prepared fesikh and to expired or contaminated fesikh; the Egyptian ministry of health constantly urges the Egyptians to buy their fesikh from known and trusted vendors and to check expiration dates, or to prepare it properly if they do so at home,[4] and stores selling the fish are constantly investigated.
See also
- Egyptian cuisine
- List of Middle Eastern dishes
- List of African dishes
- Surströmming
- Hákarl
- Hongeo-hoe
References
- ^ "Feseekh and Melouha". Baheyeldin Dynasty.
- ^ a b Herodotus (1920). "Herodotus, The Histories, 2.77". Translated by A. D. Godley. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Retrieved 2025-05-15.
- ^ a b c Tallet, P. (2015). "Food in Ancient Egypt". A Companion to Food in the Ancient World. pp. 319–325.
- ^ a b "Egyptians celebrate Sham El-Nessim in parks with pickled fish - Politics - Egypt - Ahram Online". english.ahram.org.eg. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
- ^ "Fish in a barrel / Feseekh, an Egyptian delicacy that is sometimes deadly". No. 27 April 2019, p 42, (1/2 page article). The Economist (weekly news magazine) Website requires subscription or simple registration (5 free articles/mo.) to read full articles). Retrieved 11 June 2019.
- ^ "Canadian Food Inspection Agency Health Hazard Alert". Archived from the original on 2012-04-30.
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