The smelt is a small, slender, silver schooling fish of the family Osmeridae — chiefly the rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) of North America and the closely related European smelt (Osmerus eperlanus). Rarely longer than a finger, it is famous for being fried and eaten whole, head, bones and all, and for the curious smell of fresh smelt, which carries a distinct note of cut cucumber.