Fish, love it or hate it?
I have a love/hate relationship with fish. With the health benefits of fish, I am eating more of it than ever. Unfortunately, the two types of fish I really do not like are about all the restaurants are serving these days: salmon and really rare tuna! It is the texture I do not like. I am also not crazy about battered, deep-fried fish, either.
Fish I like (list too long to state, here are some favorites): walleye, perch, halibut, barramundi, tilapia, cod, swordfish, bluefish, trout, any shellfish
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34 Comments:
Love it I could eat fish every day if I had the means....well basically seafood in general
Markbb at 11:51AM on 06/22/08
I hate fish, always have and probably just have some stigma built up against it now...ironically, I'm majoring in nutrition and have obviously heard the many perks about fishes health benefits.Still though, I just can't seem to get over my childhood aversion!
luswim06 at 12:00PM on 06/22/08
With me, it's complicated:-). I don't eat cooked fish (with only one exception - Chilean sea bass cooked with soy sauce, mirin and sesame oil. This is the only kind of cooked fish I'd eat, and not too often, either) or tinned fish (no tuna salad for me, thank you).
That said, I love raw fish (I prefer it lightly dipped in soy sauce. I could easily eat sushi and sashimi every day) and cured fish. And I certainly enjoy most shellfish.
brooke29 at 12:17PM on 06/22/08
I'm a shellfish lover. I eat any and all shellfish to abandon. It's only in the last two years or so that I've come to like fin fish past the point of toleration.
chiff0nade at 2:06PM on 06/22/08
I'm in the belief that people who don't like fish just haven't had it prepared right. (this goes for a lot of other kinds of food, too).
I'll eat just about any kind of fish...but most Western restaurants rarely do it well. Its either batter fried to be nearly unrecognizable, or broiled/grilled/steamed so that's its overcooked and flavorless.
But really fresh fish either grilled with a little salt or steamed with complimentary seasonings...I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't like fish.
fuuchan at 2:13PM on 06/22/08
I hate fish... the only thing from the sea that gets near my mouth is lobster, Tristan cold water tails specifically... took a while for me to get up the nerve to try it, took almost an entire bottle of wine if I remember correctly.
Southern_bella at 2:35PM on 06/22/08
The only fish I can't stand to eat is catfish and tilapia - ick, they have a mud flavor (like I would know what mud tastes like).
Carosone at 2:48PM on 06/22/08
Although I'm a big time fish lover, I have to agree with you about salmon and fresh tuna. I eat salmon because it's good for me, but the taste doesn't thrill me. Blood red tuna has not passed my lips. I know I overcook it, but raw fish scares me. I'm a little wary of oysters, too. Not sure if I've ever had catfish. Otherwise, I love shellfish and every other fish I've ever had. I always have tilapia on hand because it's delicious and reasonably priced. Right now, I am craving steamed clams. Hope to have them on the 4th.
PerkyMac at 3:19PM on 06/22/08
I was always a shellfish lover but steered clear of fish...that was until I met my husband who turned me onto salmon, fresh tuna, monkfish, halibut and most of the other meaty white fish. The only way I seem to enjoy them is crusty seared on the outside it's a texture thing). Don't think I'd enjoy poached or steamed. Looking foreward to experimenting with other types very soon.
bessfour at 4:02PM on 06/22/08
I hate fish. I'm not sure if there's anything I hate more. I hate the smell, the taste, the texture, and the entire idea of it. I've tried it on numerous occasions and each time I think I'm going to be sick, so I've given up (my 95-year old grandfather still just thinks I'm being picky though, and always feigns surprise when I refuse fish at dinner).
I do eat shrimp, but really only when they're fried or covered in sauce - I don't like them plain or when they get fishy. Other than that I'm not a big seafood fan, I really wish I was though, because it's so damn good for you!
OH but I do eat canned tuna. If it has tons of mayo and other things in it so you can't tell it's fish (sort of the same as shrimp)
embolini9 at 6:45PM on 06/22/08
There is only one way I will eat fish: if I catch it, clean it, and cook it. Anything that isn't fresh from the water the same day is, to my taste buds, disgusting.
And the idea of eating raw fish makes my stomach churn. I've seen too many perch and pike from polluted waters with white worms crawling through their flesh. The only exception to this "fresh from fresh water" rule is catfish smoked by someone who really knows how to smoke a fish.
fewteeth at 7:29PM on 06/22/08
I LOVE fish - sushi-grade Ahi is my current obsession. I also love smoked oysters, scallops, shrimp, lobster and tilapia. Salmon makes me sick though - allergy, but I love the taste!
jo_jo_ba at 7:45PM on 06/22/08
i never met a fish i didn't want to eat. smoked is the best, and i love sushi too. Can't wait till my Mom comes to visit later this summer, we're going to gorge ourselves on Sushi!
redhead at 8:47PM on 06/22/08
after not eating fish for about seven years (vegetarian), my then-fiancee got me back into eating it and OMG i swore i would eat every fish in the sea. also tried shellfish for the first time (grew up kosher) and...mmmm....it makes me so happy. except also guilty because i know the pathetic state our oceans are in and how over-fished most of our seafood stocks are so i feel bad....but....so damn tasty! i usually limit myself to about once a week (sometimes it turns out more, sometimes less) and try to go for the more ecologically-friendly fish...and try to only eat it if it's going to be tasty enough to be worth the guilt :)
billyburgwife at 9:06PM on 06/22/08
I like most fish just fine, and love some of them (including some shellfish), but I hate, loathe and despise cod, haddock and the abomination known as scrod. These were readily available and inexpensive when and where I grew up and other than canned tuna the only ones we were served, and they were always broiled with paprika on top (my mom has since expanded her repertoire, but that was the way it was then); they disgust me now.
But halibut me! Tuna me! Shrimp me!
wellred at 9:17PM on 06/22/08
I like baked and fried fish of many types. I avoid anything raw.
Salmon is not something I eat often these days, but my Mom would sometimes bake Salmon Croquettes when I was I kid. Those were good.
Croquettes
Croquettes
Croquettes
Word has lost all meaning... not even a real word.
FastFoodCritic at 10:15PM on 06/22/08
I don't care for fish battered and fried, ocean or lake fish. I think it has to do with not really liking fried food. While I do enjoy ebi tempura, that's as far as it goes with my seafood as far as altering it. I enjoy all my seafood steamed, no seasoning. Not too fond of completely raw fish, but seared ahi is amazing when prepped perfectly and rolled in crushed peppercorns.
My favorite fish is salmon. As far back as I can remember, my mother would prepare salmon steaks for breakfast or for dinner (not daily!). They were always moist and flaked off nicely. The skin was delicious.
Imagine my surprise when I ordered a salmon fillet at a restaurant for the first time at 25 years of age. I was about to return it when I saw a light pink, flat and hard square piece of fish. The color looked like salmon. It smelled like salmon. But the shape and texture was not a shape I'd ever seen before. My ex-bf's brother said, no it's salmon. It was tough and dry. I hated it, and miserably ate it. No skin too. To this day, I will never eat salmon fillets, but regularly eat salmon steaks (steamed). :P
Cassaendra at 11:52PM on 06/22/08
Fish is the only meat I eat and I love it-- pretty much any way it comes.
smile at 12:10AM on 06/23/08
is anyone a fan of poke, the Hawaiian fish salad? it's amazing, i'd bet all the sushi and sashimi lovers here would love it.
foodbeast at 1:58AM on 06/23/08
I love fish, I'm not too crazy about salmon, tuna, or mackeral, but otherwise, sign me up. I have never tried sushi, wouldn't rule it out, but as long as I can have my fish fried, baked,or broiled, I'd pass on the raw stuff. Shellfish is groovy, scallops, fried clams, New England clam chowder, shrimp, lobster, also crayfish, it's all too good to pass up.
weljwm at 2:12AM on 06/23/08
I probably should have signed up here at "The Lecturer" or maybe "PartyPooper" but I can't stay silent here as this has been one of my most recent topics of study. Few people are fully aware of how bad the state of our oceans are, where the fish and seafood actually comes from, or the effects this all has on the surrounding environment let alone the amounts of chemicals that could be in their meal including pesticides, antibiotics, and industrial waste. China has some of the foulest waters in the world yet is the biggest supplier in North America.
Ninety percent of the fresh salmon consumed in the United States is farmed.
According to a piece in the New York Times just a couple weeks ago:
Half of each generation of wild salmon and sea trout fail to survive because of disease and parasites spread by farmed salmon, according to a study from Dalhousie University.
Out of 149 salmon farm site in British Columbia 130 are fully owned by Norwegian companies with only 19 having any Canadian concern.
4,200 people gain employment from British Columbian's marine sports fisheries which contribute $158 million to the province's GDP while only 1800 are employed by the salmon farming industry.
And I haven't even touched on the effects of the pollution from the feed and feces.
On the slightly brighter side, fish are often contaminated with mercury and PCBs and those are cumulative so it can make sense to get the healthy benefits from vegetable sources. Flax and Walnuts are two of the best sources for Omega 3 fatty acids (flax oil supplements also don't cause fishy burps). Chia is another fantastic source which is a high complete protein whole grain seed not unlike quinoa. But there's also dark green leafy veggies and hemp seeds. Eggs that are high in O3 come from hens fed flax seed. And, where do fish get their Omega 3? Well, from sea greens of course which you can too and it doesn't have to go through the fish first. Spirulina, kelp, and more also have significant vitamins and minerals as well as all the plant based sources having fiber which fish doesn't.
It's also hard to convey how much of the fish and seafood consumed in North America is actually from China -- much of it getting held back from even a significantly under-staffed, financed and hog-tied FDA so how much is getting through? Amazingly much that comes from the rest of the world is sent to China for processing and then sent back.
From the World Watch Institute:
Stats from Taras Grescoe's new book, Bottomfeeder: How to Eat Ethically in a World of Vanishing Seafood
Half a billion pounds are harvested each day!
According to a report in Science (PDF), 29 percent of the world's commercial fisheries have already collapsed.
For info on home use including grocery store scorecards check out:
Among those on the redlist are:
Atlantic Halibut
Albacore Tuna
Atlantic Cod/Scrod
Atlantic Salmon
Atlantic Sea Scallop
Bigeye Tuna
Bluefin Tuna
Chilean Sea Bass
Greenland Halibut
Grouper
Hoki
Monkfish
Ocean Quahog
Orange Roughy
Pollock
Redfish
Red Snapper
Shark
Skates and Rays
Swordfish
Tropical Shrimp
Yellowfin Tuna
Sieseye at 5:54AM on 06/23/08
Some sites for helping make more sustainable choices when you do consume fish and seafood:
Oceans Alive
Monterey Bay
Environmental Defense
Blue Ocean
Seafood Choices
The Fish List
Audubon
And you can get the info via text on your cellphone if you misplace your wallet card (that can be printed from some of the sites). Simply text 30644, along with the fish you’re wondering about -- say, ahi tuna and The Blue Ocean Institute will respond by ranking your choice as green (great), yellow (good), or red (skip it).
====
For more information check out Marine Fisheries and Aquaculture Series at PBS on the modern state of oceans and what, if anything is working to recover them.
On the land, agricultural practices are also collapsing fisheries, including in the Gulf and Chesapeake Bay by causing Dead Zones from run-off of the various chemicals used to grow commodity crops such as corn and soy (which is also turned into fish food). This year it may be even worse because the floods will cause a reapplication since so much was washed off before even being used.
Sieseye at 6:02AM on 06/23/08
I guess i'm back to eating navel lint
weljwm at 6:11AM on 06/23/08
@weljwm -- Sorry.
However, I understand in Massachusetts it's called Navel "Fluff" instead and with the correct seasonings it can be quite tasty. :]
I have heard that there are some good and responsible shellfish farms (though they are endangered by dead zones and bacteria flushes (red tide). However, I haven't managed to get that far yet in my research so can't make a lot of suggestions.
This is one of the best pieces I've seen on shrimp purchasing.
For your fluff, may I suggest a nice white wine sauce?
Sieseye at 6:42AM on 06/23/08
Even with a wool sweater I can only produce so much navel lint. Responsible farming is the only answer.
weljwm at 7:28AM on 06/23/08
I wouldn't mind poke, if I didn't hate onions so much. :P
I grew up with poke and lomi lomi salmon at all parties. I would pick through tako poke - eat all the octopus and leave everything else behind. My mother never made any type of poke or lomi lomi salmon at home. I would imagine it was probably because she didn't care for the quality of the fish in Hawaii when she arrived (40 years ago) because she was used to eating fish fresh-caught and prepared in Japan.
Cassaendra at 7:49AM on 06/23/08
If you had to categorize me as a fish hater or lover...I'd probably be a hater. I thoroughly dislike "fishy" smells and tastes...namely from tilapia or halibut.
However, I can tolerate fish like salmon and rare tuna (guess we're opposites OP!)
Hillary
Chew on That
Chew on That at 3:32PM on 06/23/08
I hate it.......... I known it is brain food hence my horrid spelling.... I have really tried to eat it but I just can not take that fishy taste .......
rabbitriddle at 3:44PM on 06/23/08
Several years ago, we went to Monterey on vacation and went to the aquarium. I was educated about sustainable seafood and I have been making my fish choices according to the green list ever since.
With that said, prior to my trip to Monterey, I would not eat farm raised fish of any type. Who would want to eat salmon with added coloring? My favorite fish is halibut. I am indeed a fish lover!
izatryt at 4:15PM on 06/23/08
I love fish! The only kinds I don't like are catfish (maybe it's psychological, but it tastes "dirty" to me) and cooked salmon (I love it raw or smoked, but cooked it tastes too, well, fishy). But any other kind, including shellfish and fin fish - bring it on!
For anyone who doesn't like tuna seared on the outside but raw in the middle - pass it over here! :)
CookiePie at 5:14PM on 06/23/08
It's my Achilles heel. I just don't like fish. Or shellfish. Or anything that has spent a considerable percentage of its life underwater.
And yes I have heard that SO many times before: "You just haven't had it prepared correctly." In college I spent a year abroad in Madrid living with two different host families who each made it their mission to make me like seafood. Mission failed. I ate it every time, so I can say with confidence that I have tried countless kinds of fish and shellfish prepared in a number of ways. Still no dice.
Many years later, all I can muster is a spicy tuna roll. Saturated with soy sauce. And I stab out half the tuna with a chopstick anyways. I'm trying still, I swear!
megannesta at 5:42PM on 06/23/08
I love fish and shellfish but no mussels or oysters. Clams are ok but only if they're fried. I'm DYING for some sushi. September is just not getting here fast enough! I know I can eat the kinds with no raw fish, but what's the point?
AuntJone at 7:48PM on 06/23/08
I'm pretty much a fish hater because I never seem to be able to cook it properly. I need to have my fish broiled or fried. Can't stand it raw or baked/steamed.
When I eat out at my favorite seafood/Italian restaurant, it's a different story. I would die a happy camper if my last meal was Virginia Spots broiled with garlic butter and served with a lemon cream sauce. Since it's fish, I tell myself I'm eating healthy, hehe!
Josdean at 10:30PM on 06/23/08
You can find ALL the information about fish and seafood at:
www.EatFish.com
GREAT SITE!!!
seafoodman at 1:02AM on 06/16/09