The taste of fish(in USA and the world)

[nuppe]

Fish is fished, sold and eaten all over the world, yet the preferences vary and lot. I get the impression that some cultures/regions/nations actually like the fish taste, while others stick to fish that actually doesn't taste fishy at all.(like pollock) If it is possible to say something general about USA, I have the impression that the Americans avoid the flavour. But I'm not sure if it counts for all of USA and what the reason could be. Any opinions about this?

[Pan]

Are we talking about really fresh fish that has a fishy taste, or fish that isn't fresh-tasting enough? Because my experience is that really fresh fish doesn't taste "fishy," whether in America, Italy, France, Malaysia, or any other place I've been to.

[Adam Balic]

I'm not that the line can be drawn that precisely. Oily fish will smell and taste more "fishy" (there must be a better way of expressing this), then white fish, not matter how fresh. Also fish that have a lot of dark muscle will be more fishy. Compare the flavour in the white v dark portion of cutlet of swordfish for instance.

In general, white fish freezes much better then oily fish, in some cases people's preferances are shaped by what it avalible to them (as well as the other way around).

[jmolinari]

I think he means mackerel, bluefish or something oily like that, vs. haddock, pollack, cod.

MY feeling is that in teh US people prefer delicate tasting fish (bland?)

[Kouign Aman]

When I went out on a day-fishing trip, most of the anglers threw back the mackerel they caught, as too strong flavored. My friend saved it for our janitress at work - south american not sure which country - who loves it. So maybe there is a cultural bias in play - I cant be sure, as this was only one person.

[nuppe]

I realize it's a little vague question. But I'm talking of well treated quality fish. And amazinlgy it seems that my point was taken. To give an example; In Northern Brazil they like salted, dried saithe which has a quite stingy taste that match the heat and the pepper that is also common. In USA I think they would prefer more bland species like pollock, haddock or tilapia. I just wanted to check if my observation is correct and to see if there is any possible explanation.

[rooftop1000]

Just look at a supermarket fish case...salmon, something flounder-like, frozen tuna and cod or halibut. Those would be the everyday fish, you might get the occasional swordfish or bluefish in season but all anyone around here seems to buy is frozen shrimp.

tracey

[Pan]

Salmon is a fatty fish. It doesn't meet the definition of "fishy" in this thread? I ate a lot of mackeral (ikan selayang and ikan kembung) in Malaysia, and it was a lot leaner. I guess I still don't understand.

Edited April 20, 2007 by Pan (log)

[nuppe]

Just look at a supermarket fish case...salmon, something flounder-like, frozen tuna and cod or halibut.  Those would be the everyday fish, you might get the occasional swordfish or bluefish in season but all anyone around here seems to buy is frozen shrimp.

tracey

←

I see your point. And I'm not thjat sure about my own. It's just the impression I have got from a few visiits, from some reading and from talkin with people who sell fish to USA and the rest of the world.

Yet, salmon is a very special fish because of the colour, size and maybe the status among the first Americans. - and even maybe because of the taste, which I find milder than mackerel. On the other hand tuna isn't red. Is tuna generally approved?

[Adam Balic]

Salmon is a fatty fish. It doesn't meet the definition of "fishy" in this thread? I ate a lot of mackeral (ikan selayang and ikan kembung) in Malaysia, and it was a lot leaner. I guess I still don't understand.

←

Salmon has a large amount of storage fat, but differs from typical oily fish in some important ways.

Very basically, fish have two broad types of muscle, light and dark. Different types of fish have different ratios of dark to light, depending on the activity of the fish. Light muscle is good for fast and short duration movements, while dark muscle is good for sustained movement. So cod has very little dark muscle, where as herring and mackeral approaches 50%. In the light muscle, the energy source is mainly is glycogen, whereas the dark muscle may also use lipids, which are broken down by powerful oxidizing enzymes. The breakdown products of these lipids are what can give a characteristic "fishy" flavour, and the problem for storage of much of these fish is that the lipids oxidize even when cold stored. Smoking and saltiing may be one way of reducing oxidation.

Salmon have a lot of fat stored, but not a huge amount of dark muscle, compared to light muscle. In processing salmon, a lot of producers will actually remove the dark muscle to avoid fishyness.

I have only been in areas where one species of salmon exisited, but I wonder if in North America, some of the preferences for certain types of salmon are based on the basic light to dark muscle ratio of individual species?

Edited April 21, 2007 by Adam Balic (log)

[miladyinsanity]

Salmon is a fatty fish. It doesn't meet the definition of "fishy" in this thread? I ate a lot of mackeral (ikan selayang and ikan kembung) in Malaysia, and it was a lot leaner. I guess I still don't understand.

←

On the contrary, it does for some people.

My mother doesn't eat salmon because she thinks it is fishy. She doesn't eat the part of the fish near the stomach either.

But she eats ikan kembung.

And are freshwater fish generally more fatty than fish from the sea? Because I do find that freshwater fish more fishy than fish from the sea.

[nuppe]

Salmon is a fatty fish. It doesn't meet the definition of "fishy" in this thread? I ate a lot of mackeral (ikan selayang and ikan kembung) in Malaysia, and it was a lot leaner. I guess I still don't understand.

←

Very basically, fish have two broad types of muscle, light and dark. Different types of fish have different ratios of dark to light, depending on the activity of the fish. Light muscle is good for fast and short duration movements, while dark muscle is good for sustained movement. So cod has very little dark muscle, where as herring and mackeral approaches 50%. In the light muscle, the energy source is mainly is glycogen, whereas the dark muscle may also use lipids, which are broken down by powerful oxidizing enzymes. The breakdown products of these lipids are what can give a characteristic "fishy" flavour, and the problem for storage of much of these fish is that the lipids oxidize even when cold stored. Smoking and saltiing may be one way of reducing oxidation.

←

What a splendid lecture! Still I want to stress that dark or greyish fish also have qualities to appreciate(at least if you're used to them) And isn't it so that tuna belong to the same group?

[Adam Balic]

Tuna, mackerel and bonito all belong to the Scombridae family. Big tuna (and billfish) have a large amount of dark muscle, but unlike smaller fish it is located internally, along the spine. This tends no to be considered good eating in general and is often discarded. In tuna (except for albacore) the pink to red colour of the "white" muscle is due to the presence of large amounts of myoglobin (when treated with carbon monoxide, the flesh can look as bright as candy).

I actually like "fishy" fish. Especially freshly caught mackerel.

[LB Howes]

Salmon is a fatty fish. It doesn't meet the definition of "fishy" in this thread? I ate a lot of mackeral (ikan selayang and ikan kembung) in Malaysia, and it was a lot leaner. I guess I still don't understand.

←

. . . I have only been in areas where one species of salmon exisited, but I wonder if in North America, some of the preferences for certain types of salmon are based on the basic light to dark muscle ratio of individual species?

←

The muscle type is the same in the species of wild Pacific Salmon. What makes each species taste a bit different, leading to preferences for milder flavored or for stronger flavored salmon is the amount of fat, which varies from species to species. In descending order of levels of fat and intensity of flavor are:

Sockeye/red

Chinook/king

Coho/silver

Chum/keta/dog

Pink/humpy

Sockeye are my favorite species of salmon, as I adore rich, full flavored fish. I believe I'm in the minority as it seems that most Americans prefer milder flavored fish, even though more flavorful species of fish are now available.