What are they actually doing to a fish when they 'gefilte' it?

Question

What are they actually doing to a fish when they 'gefilte' it?

Answer 1

are poached fish patties or balls made from a mixture of ground deboned fish, mostly carp

Answer 2

I understand the term " fillet " it means to debone. How ever, I have never heard the word "gifilte". Sorry.

Answer 3

isn't "gefilte" the german for "filled"???

i don't know...

Answer 4

In traditional recipes for gefilte fish, the fish is first deboned, often while still at the market. Next, the fish is ground together with eggs, onions and flour, matzoh meal or challah, and then stuffed into the skin of the deboned fish, giving it the name gefilte (filled or stuffed, compare the German gefüllte). The whole stuffed fish is then poached with carrots and onions. When prepared this way, it is usually served in slices. This form of preparation eliminated the need for picking fish bones at the table and stretched the fish further, so that even poor families could enjoy fish on the Sabbath.

In the present, gefilte fish are more commonly found in patty form. The ground fish mixture is shaped into balls or oval patties and poached in a fish stock made from the head and bones of the fish. The poached balls are usually chilled and served with or without the jelled broth, accompanied by a horseradish-vinegar sauce known as chrain (either the red variety, flavored with beets, or plain white chrain, which has a sharper taste).