James Silverton wrote:

> Hello All!
>
> I know I cannot eat escolar without dire consequences but I wonder if
> the Japanese government still bans its sale? I know people in the US
> who insist on eating it but I ate it *once* in the form of two pieces
> 2x1x0.5 inches and for about an hour I thought it was wonderful :-)
>
> When I was a child during WWII a canned fish from South Africa called
> snoek was sold for a little while. I believe snoek is an other name
> for escolar and I can understand why it was no great success.
>
They might be the same 'family' but don't think the Cape snoek that we
get in South Africa is exactly the same as the escolar you're talking
about; the common names are pretty close tho' e.g. Escolier vs Escolier
noire, etc. so maybe that's why people assume it's the same fish
<shrug>

Snoek:

http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/Spec...ary.php?ID=489

Escolar:

http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/Spec...ry.php?ID=1042

Besides, I've eaten (fresh, not canned) Cape snoek - wrapped in foil and
cooked on the 'braai' (grill) - and it wasn't all *that* oily. In
fact, that's why we use foil - if we don't we've found that it can turn
out quite dry. Quite popular here, and I've never heard of people
having, um, any 'adverse reactions' to eating it. However, it is full
of bones so I understand why it might not be everybody's 'cup of tea'.
Anyway, FWIW, I don't like the canned (often curried) snoek available
here either ;-)
--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy