| Species |
Color, Taste, Texture |
Description |
| | |
| Catfish, American (Ictalurus punctatus) |
The firm, white meat of catfish is sturdier than most other white fish. Catfish has a delicate flavor and a small flake.
|
American Catfish, is widely farmed in the US. Catfish have a long, round body. They don't have scales. Their tails have a deep "V" cut. Their fins are soft with the exception of their dorsal and pectoral fins, which are sharp. Catfish have distinctive barbells around their mouth. Catfish farming is a major aquaculture success story. Production, which is centered in Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas, increased rapidly in the 1970's and boomed during the 1980's. The industry's advantages include reliability and consistency of supply. This strategy is effective since it ensures product for menus on a year round basis. |
| Char, Arctic (Salvelinus alpinus) |
The eating qualities of Arctic char are excellent. Taste is similar to that of trout or salmon, but many will attest that the taste is far superior. Char generally have finer flake than salmon and trout, but their flakes are still considered to be firm and will retain firmness when cooked. The redder the flesh, the more prized the char, but flesh can also range pink to whitish. It has sweet and tender pink flesh with a flavor and texture that’s a cross between trout and salmon. Most often, char is prepared roasted or smoked. Salmon or striped bass are good comparisons (and substitutes). |
A polar fish closely related to trout and salmon, Arctic char is almost exclusively farmed. As its name indicates, Char are distributed in the Arctic North and found in the seas and rivers in North America, Siberia, Northern Europe, Greenland and Iceland. Also spelled "Charr". |
| COD, Atlantic (Gadus morhua) |
The meat of all is mild-flavored, white, lean and firm. Even though it has been overfished and many restrictions have been placed on catching it, cod is still available year-round. Cod is prepared in many ways, including baking, poaching, braising, broiling, frying, stuffing, smoking, salting and drying. Salt Cod (bacalao in Spanish) is an important staple because it can be stored for long periods. Before it is used, it is soaked to rehydrate it and to remove some of the saltiness. Some consider cod cheeks and tongues a delicacy. Young cod is known as scrod.
|
Cod is the name of an enormously popular and important fish, as well as a family of 60 species of fish that range from 1-1/2 to 100 pounds and come from the North Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Cod, haddock, hake, Pollock and whiting are all members of the cod family. COD is an important commercial fish and has been a mainstay of the seafood industry. It is a large, deepwater, round white fish, providing thick, meaty fillets which are low in fat and have good shell life. |
| Pacific Cod (Gadus macrocephalus) |
Both Atlantic and Pacific cod posses a transluxcent white meat which becomes opaque when cooked. Pacific cod has a slightly higher moisture content, which makes it less firm. The meat is white, lean and flaky with a mild taste. |
Cod is an important commercial fish and has been a mainstay of the seafood industry. It is a large, deepwater, round whitefish, providing thick, meaty fillets which are low in fat and have a good shelf life. Cod is fished in the North Atlantic and in the North Pacific. Although Pacific Cod has a slighlty higher percentage of water than the Atlantic Cod, and is perhaps a little softer, the differences between Atlantic and Pacific cod for the end user are so light as to be non existent. |
| Halibut, Pacific (Hippoglossus stenolepsis) |
Like all flounders, halibut is low-fat, white, firm and mild with a big flake. Occasionally, halibut cheeks, a delicacy served in fine restaurants, are available in specialty markets. |
One of the larger flatfish, and in fact a species of flounder, halibut is abundant in the northern Pacific and Atlantic. Pacific halibut are the largest flatfish as well as one of the largest fish species in the sea. Their Latin name is Hippoglossus, or “hippos of the sea” (80 percent come from Alaska). While 1000-pound halibuts are caught, most are only 20 to 100 pounds. Like all flatfish, both eyes are located on the upper side of their flat, diamond shaped body. When young, halibut have an eye on either side of the snout; however, in time, the left eye will actually move to the right side. The upper side of a halibut is dark in color to camouflage itself against the ocean floor, while the under side of the fish is white in order to blend into the sky when viewed from below |
