Is there a taste and texture similarity in fish of the same color?
For example would you be able to tell if it was a white or red fish
just by eating it?

Also would you be able to tell from the taste if the fish was a
vegetarian or a meat eater?

James wrote on Thu, 8 Jan 2009 13:06:52 -0800 (PST):

> Is there a taste and texture similarity in fish of the same
> color? For example would you be able to tell if it was a white
> or red fish just by eating it?

> Also would you be able to tell from the taste if the fish was
> a vegetarian or a meat eater?

Most larger fish are carnivorous or, at least, omnivorous (and
cannibalistic!), AFAIK. The small fish that have to eat sea weed are not
usually eaten as sushi.

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

> Is there a taste and texture similarity in fish of the same color?
> For example would you be able to tell if it was a white or red fish
> just by eating it?

You mean color of the flesh?

Red color of the flesh means that muscle can store oxygen. Mammals have red flesh because they need constant muscle tension just to stand upright while fish need muscle energy just for moving around. Tuna is a fast swimmer and has more muscle power compared to white flesh fish so the flesh is a bit different too. So it is not just the color but diffrent type of muscle and therefore the taste is different too. Sometimes tuna may taste slighly more acid than other fishes. This is caused by lactic acid which builds up in muscles if the fish has to struggle or is stressed. This is very common in game too.

But the color may come from food too like salmon for example. The orange or red color comes from small crustaceans they eat but although there may be slight difference in taste according to the color the main difference compared to other fish is of course fat, especially in sushi.

> Also would you be able to tell from the taste if the fish was a
> vegetarian or a meat eater?

It is not necessary the just food but also how the fish moves to get the food. I do not know if there is a flavor difference between vegetarian or meat eaters but some strong flavors of food can affect the taste of the flesh. From my childhood I remember too well chickens that were fed with feed containg fish flour. Even now my stomach is making backflips. But I have a good example too. I have once bought 'pata negra', ham of a pig that is fed by acorns. It was very expensive but also the best ham I've ever had - bite the dust Parma! ;-)

Jukka

On Jan 10, 4:34*am, Armadillo > wrote:
> > Is there a taste and texture similarity in fish of the same color?
> > For example would you be able to tell if it was a white or red fish
> > just by eating it?
>
> You mean color of the flesh?
>
> Red color of the flesh means that muscle can store oxygen. Mammals have red flesh because they need constant muscle tension just to stand upright while fish need muscle energy just for moving around. Tuna is a fast swimmer and has more muscle power compared to white flesh fish so the flesh is a bit different too. So it is not just the color but diffrent type of muscle and therefore the taste is different too. Sometimes tuna may taste slighly more acid than other fishes. This is caused by lactic acid which builds up in muscles if the fish has to struggle or is stressed. This is very common in game too.
>
> But the color may come from food too like salmon for example. The orange or red color comes from small crustaceans they eat but although there may be slight difference in taste according to the color the main difference compared to other fish is of course fat, especially in sushi.
>
> > Also would you be able to tell from the taste if the fish was a
> > vegetarian or a meat eater?
>
> It is not necessary the just food but also how the fish moves to get the food. I do not know if there is a flavor difference between vegetarian or meat eaters but some strong flavors of food can affect the taste of the flesh. From my childhood I remember too well chickens that were fed with feed containg fish flour. Even now my stomach is making backflips. But I have a good example too. I have once bought 'pata negra', ham of a pig that is fed by acorns. It was very expensive but also the best ham I've ever had - bite the dust Parma! ;-)
>
> Jukka

In the case of salmon some are very fishy while others not. Is it
just the genes?
Silver or chum salmon stew was OK but others can really stink up the
house. Don't know if I would notice fishiness in raw salmon.

James wrote on Sat, 10 Jan 2009 07:38:41 -0800 (PST):

>in the case of salmon some are very fishy while others not.
>Is itjust the genes?
>Silver or chum salmon stew was OK but others can
>really stink up thehouse. Don't know if I would notice fishiness in
>raw salmon.

Are you really discussing the same thing in the types of salmon? I have
never found any type of really fresh salmon to be more or less "fishy".
However, the freshness of allegedly "fresh" or "freshly frozen" salmon
can be very variable and some is inedible, IMHO.

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

On Jan 10, 1:42*pm, "James Silverton" >
wrote:
> *James *wrote *on Sat, 10 Jan 2009 07:38:41 -0800 (PST):
>
> >in the case of salmon some are very fishy while others not.
> >Is itjust the genes?
> >Silver or chum salmon stew was OK but others can
> >really stink up thehouse. *Don't know if I would notice fishiness in
> >raw salmon.
>
> Are you really discussing the same thing in the types of salmon? I have
> never found any type of really fresh salmon to be more or less "fishy".
> However, the freshness of allegedly "fresh" *or "freshly frozen" salmon
> can be very variable and some is inedible, IMHO.
>
> --
>
> James Silverton
> Potomac, Maryland
>
> Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

It might have been Coho salmon that's fishy. I'm not talking
freshness issue. I'm talking fresh caught salmon. It may be some
fish are more oily thus more fishy.

James wrote on Sat, 10 Jan 2009 14:42:56 -0800 (PST):

> On Jan 10, 1:42 pm, "James Silverton"
> > wrote:
>> James wrote on Sat, 10 Jan 2009 07:38:41 -0800 (PST):
>>
> >> in the case of salmon some are very fishy while others not.
> >> Is itjust the genes?
> >> Silver or chum salmon stew was OK but others can
> >> really stink up thehouse. Don't know if I would notice
> >> fishiness in raw salmon.
>>
>> Are you really discussing the same thing in the types of
>> salmon? I have never found any type of really fresh salmon to
>> be more or less "fishy". However, the freshness of allegedly
>> "fresh" or "freshly frozen" salmon can be very variable and
>> some is inedible, IMHO.
>>
>> --
>It might have been Coho salmon that's fishy. I'm not talking
>freshness issue. I'm talking fresh caught salmon. It may be some
>fish are more oily thus more fishy.

It's hard to say and probably not worth arguing about but oiliness is
not fishiness. Fishiness is due to promary amines which increase as the
fish is kept at higher temperatures.

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

> It's hard to say and probably not worth arguing about but oiliness is
> not fishiness. Fishiness is due to promary amines which increase as the
> fish is kept at higher temperatures.

Yes, in general fishiness means Not Fresh. There may be stinky fish too but salmon is not one of them.

There are fishes that have peculiar but not bad smell like smelt. It is also very soft and feels a bit stange. I would not use smelt for sushi, though, (except roe) but it is very good if fried in butter.

Most fish live in cool or cold water. Proteins in fish flesh is designed (no intelligence here) to work in low temperature and therefore will go bad very quickly in room temeperature. Even fridge is too warm and best way to keep fish fresh is freezing. Very often I freeze fish if I don't use it tha same day. Especially for sushi short freezing is way better than keeping fish in fridge for a day.

Armadillo > wrote:
> > [ . . . ]
> Most fish live in cool or cold water. Proteins in fish flesh is designed
> (no intelligence here) to work in low temperature and therefore will go
> bad very quickly in room temeperature. Even fridge is too warm and best
> way to keep fish fresh is freezing. Very often I freeze fish if I don't
> use it tha same day. Especially for sushi short freezing is way better
> than keeping fish in fridge for a day.

And short freezing makes thin slicing a pleasure! ;-)

--
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