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fish talk

grandedame avatar
Recipe by
sallye bates
@grandedame
Austin, TX

I love seafood for its flavor, nutrition, and almost endless variety of preparation. But for many home cooks it can be a daunting challenge, both how to choose the best fish for your tastes and how to cook it. The best answer is to cook it simply. Don't overseason or oversauce it, or you'll lose its wonderful unique flavors. If at all possible, buy it fresh the day you plan to cook it. Talk to your fishmonger; learn how to buy the best fish for your needs and tastes. This is a short description of the different labels of fish that is available in your market.

yield serving(s)
method No-Cook or Other

Ingredients For fish talk

  • A GUIDE TO BUYING SEAFOOD

How To Make fish talk

  • 1
    FARMED: Fish and shellfish that are raised commercially in tanks, nets, or other enclosures. Most common types are salmon, tilapia, catfish, shrimp, mussels and trout. 1/3 of our seafood comes from farming, where the fish are fed pellets made from a combination of vegetables and fish. Not all farms are the same, and seafood from a farmed source is not necessarily bad.
  • 2
    ORGANIC -- A confusing term when applied to seafood, but basically it means the farmed fish are certified to have eaten only antibiotic-free organic food. This label applies only to the fish's diet, and does not include it's living conditions nor whether the fish farm is pollutant-free.
  • 3
    WILD -- Caught by a boat in the open sea using some combinations of dredging, harpooning, hook and line, traps and netting. It can be a challenge to know how a wild fish was caught.
  • 4
    SUSTAINABLE -- Refers to the principle and practice of fishing, buying, and eating only fish and shellfish that are from sources that don't exploit or deplete a population or ecosystem. This term can apply to both farmed and wild sources.
  • 5
    LABELING -- Since 2004, seafood merchants have been required to label all unprocessed seafood as to whether it is farm raised or wild caught. Merchants are required to keep the tags on everything they sell, and make them available to consumers if requested.
  • 6
    STILL CONFUSED? - Here is a good site for further information http://www.seafoodwatch.org/seafood-recommendations
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