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Thursday, August 10. 2006
I don't usually do gadget reviews (I prefer to cook the old fashioned way), but this one caught my attention. The All-in-one Grill Fork has a built in thermometer that tells you how hot a food (in my case, fish) is inside and can even alert you to when it's cooked!
It's not just a hi-tech fork either. It's got a corkscrew and a flashlight built in, and a bottle opener built-in for good measure! You just stick the fork in, and in a matter of seconds, the led readout tells you the temperature.
You'll have no more under- or over-cooked fish with the All-in-one Grill fork. It's the perfect gadget for those days when you just have too much on your hands to carefully monitor your cooking.
Monday, August 7. 2006
Fish are tricky to store, and tricky to choose. If you didn't know any better, you just might wind up with a bad fish and an upset stomach. To prevent this, you ought to know how to choose and store your fish properly.
First, smell is a strong indicator of a fish's freshness. It should smell like the sea, or at least very fresh. Another way to tell if fish is fresh is to look at its eyes, and poke its flesh. The clearer the eyes and the firmer the flesh, the fresher the fish. Now, after choosing your fish, it's time to store it.
Storing fish can be very difficult as they spoil easily. If you bought your fish frozen, keep it frozen until you're ready to cook it. Otherwise, if you bought your fish fresh, it should be cooked as soon as possible or frozen immediately if you plan to cook it later, but not for more than two days.
Saturday, August 5. 2006
The Crayfish is a crustacean that closely resembles the lobster, and they are, in fact, very closely related. The main difference between crayfish (also known as crawfish, crawdads, mudbugs and spoondogs, among many others) and lobsters is their size. Most crayfish average only three inches in length.
Crayfish are eaten in many parts of the world, and Louisiana is considered by many (primarily Louisiana Residents) as the crayfish capital of the world. Crayfish are primarily boiled, like lobsters, and feature prominently in Cajun and Creole dishes.
But that isn't to say that crayfish are a primarily American food. Other nations and cultures have their own versions of crayfish dishes, but the American ones are by far the most recognized.
Monday, July 31. 2006
Sea food is great on its own, but for some gourmet cooks, this is not enough. They go the extra mile to put that extra zing in their dish and for them; this extra bother is worth it just to make their seafood dish extra-special.
This extra step is to poach the fish in a special broth called court-bouillon. Court-bouillon is a special broth that is composed of vegetable, such as carrots, leeks, celery, onions, garlic, peppercorns and parsley boiled with salt and vinegar, with water and white wine thrown in for good measure for some 30 minutes.
This broth is now ready for use, and fish and seafood are usually boiled in it for some 10 minutes then are used in their respective recipes. While not really seafood, court-bouillon makes any seafood dish a more flavorful experience.
Saturday, July 22. 2006
Trout and Salmon look and some may say taste the same, and that shouldn't surprise you: They both come from the same fish subfamily, the Salmonidae. Trout are freshwater fish, though most are now farmed rather than caught out in the wild.
Trout are mostly prepared by pan frying, grilling, smoking and broiling, although other methods of cooking trout are used as well. Trout are considered bony fish with a mild taste and a firm texture. Salmon recipes tend to work well with trout, and the two are fairly exchangeable as ingredients in their respective recipes.
Thursday, July 20. 2006
The Conch is a mollusk, much like a snail, in the respect that they have the same body structure of having a soft, meaty body and being covered by a hard shell. Conches are generally larger than snails, and are often found in the sea. Their shells can have a smooth or spiny surface, and these shells are often used as instruments or signal horns.
Conch meat is eaten and cooked in a variety of ways, ranging from raw, to being a component in a salad, in fritters, chowders, gumbos and in sandwiches. It is a common food in island culture.
Monday, July 17. 2006
The scallop is a bivalve mollusk, much like oysters, having two shells attached by powerful muscles, allowing them to be opened and closed rapidly. Unlike oysters, scallops tend to be very active swimmers, using the jet-propulsion action of their shells for locomotion and defense.
Scallops have two kinds of meat. The first is the white, meaty scallop meat, and the orange and soft coral, which is made of the roe or egg cluster of the scallop. Scallops are usually deep-fried in a batter or sautéed in butter. They are usually paired with white wine as a dish.
Scallops were traditionally caught by dredging the sea floor, but this led to the destruction of the ecosystem and the mixing of rubbish with the catch. Now a premium is now placed on scallops caught by scuba diving than by dredging.
Sunday, July 16. 2006
The anchovy, especially the European anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) is a very common food fish. It is a small, plankton-feeding fish found in saltwater and its kind is distributed worldwide.
Renowned (or notorious) because of its strong flavor, anchovies are used mostly as a flavorful addition to many foods, most notably as a topping for pizza and as a component of Caesar Salad and Spaghetti ala Puttanesca.
The distinctive taste of the anchovy comes from the curing process the fish undergoes. Today, anchovies are in danger of being over fished even with their large numbers. Such is the demand for this tasty fish worldwide.
Tuesday, July 11. 2006
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The milkfish, a very common food fish in Southeast Asia, is truly one of a kind. This is due to the fact that it is the sole surviving memeber of a speices of fish that was originally a family of 7.
Usually growing about a meter in length, Milkfish have a generally symmetrical shape (like a torpedo) and a prominently forked tailfin. They are usually found in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, although it is not unheard of for them to be found elsewhere. They feed on algae and invertebrates, and are often caught as fingerlings and brought to ponds to be farmed
Sunday, July 2. 2006
Eating seafood, particularly shellfish, is a messy affair. You have to smash, crack and suck out all of the meat, and add to that the sharp points and claws of many crustaceans, makes eating seafood quite the adventure.
That is until you get a hold of some seafood dining tools. It comes with a shell cracker, a tool that looks and operates just like a nutcracker, but is specialized for shellfish, and four picks that can scoop and spear all the meat, even in the legs. No more messy smashing or undignified sucking here!
A seafood dining tool set makes for an excellent gift for the seafood enthusiast in your life...why not buy a pair for yourself and him?
Thursday, June 29. 2006
One look at the lamprey and most people will reel back in disgust and repulsion. It is, to be honest, one of the ugliest fish even I have seen. (And I've seen a lot)
It's a jawless, slimy monstrosity, a vicious parasite that can spawn uncontrollably and decimate entire ecosystems. A relic of the ancient past, it is an ancestor of many modern fish and has remained unchanged since the days of the dinosaurs.
But it makes for some good eating. For many hundreds of years, lampreys have been deemed delicacies in Europe, and often fetch high prices as food fish. But American diners have been reluctant to even try and have a bite, not wanting to have such a horror near them, much less eat them. As they are becoming serious pests in the lakes and rivers of the United States, perhaps the appetite of the American consumer will prove to be the lamprey's bane.
Monday, June 26. 2006
This is one debate that has raged on for quite some time: Whether to eat farmed or wild fish.
Those who champion farmed fish argue that farmed fish do not deplete the numbers of the wild fish, thus serving to help in conservation efforts. And the argument about the cost of farmed fish being cheaper and more available is a convincing one, too.
But advocates of wild fish consumption argue that farmed fish are more of a health risk than wild fish, due to the fact that farmed fish are usually bred in unnatural conditions and thus more prone to disease. Also, wild fish contain more of the heart-friendly Omega-3 fatty acids than farmed fish do.
If you want my opinion, it’s better to eat both wild, and to a lesser extent, farmed fish. The wild ones for the health benefits and the farmed ones for the cost.
Sunday, June 25. 2006
When people think seafood, what will usually spring to mind are visions of fish, shellfish and mollusks cooked in a variety of ways, and served in almost as many methods. But have you ever considered that seafood might not be all animals?
Seaweeds are rarely, if ever considered to be seafood. But seeing as they come from the sea, they should be considered seafood as well. Seaweeds are often harvested and used in food, especially in Japanese cuisine. Algae is mainly used as a supplement, it being high in protein and minerals.
The only thing going against sea weeds and vegetables is that they usually don't taste good, or taste like anything at all. But given the penchant of mankind to change things for his own use, I'm sure we'll find a way how to have these become flavorful food in their own right.
Monday, June 19. 2006
The Tilapia fish is a native of Africa, but its hardy nature and breeding characteristics make it a valuable aquaculture fish, where it is primarily bred for food. They are also kept as aquarium fish, but due to their aggressive natures and rapid growth rate, those who keep his fish as pets often release them into the local waters, making them an ecological disaster as they quickly upset the ecosystem's delicate balance.
As food, they are considered bland, but a good source of protein. They are often used as alternatives for saltwater fish in areas where they are scarce. Tilapia has become a common dish in many cultures, and is now considered an important source of food.
Sunday, June 18. 2006
No doubt you've seen one of these on the beach. And, if you're the unlucky type, managed to step on one. This is the Sea Urchin, and it is a marine delicacy.
A Sea Urchin gets its name not from a tradesman, but from another meaning of the word urchin, hedgehog. So Sea Urchin would mean sea hedgehog, a name fitting for this seemingly inanimate creature. It is often seen as a mass of spines attached to a ball, with its mouth and feet at the bottom. They feed on algae and seaweed, and they are a favorite food of sea otters.
Humans also consume part of this prickly sea denizen, specifically the roe or egg clusters of the Sea Urchin. A traditional and favorite food in Japan, China and Korea, the roe is often eaten in sushi or like caviar.
Friday, June 16. 2006
The Japanese always want their food fresh, no doubt about that. You can see this especially in the food that is perhaps iconic of their culture: Sushi!
Made from vinegared rice, toasted seaweed and fresh, raw fish, sushi has captured the imaginations of culinary adventurers the world over. Tuna is the favored fish for sushi, but other fish, meat and even eggs have been used for it.
Another Japanese dish that fascinates diners is sashimi. This is just plain raw fish, either tuna or salmon, eaten with a soy sauce and a horseradish paste (very spicy) called wasabi. This sauce mix is also used for sushi as well.
Monday, June 12. 2006
Most of us would balk at the idea of knowingly eating a poisonous food. Even ingesting a bit of expired food turns most stomachs.
But in Japan, there is a food there that can kill you, but not because it's expensive, like most Japanese food are, but because it's made from the highly toxic Puffer fish, whose toxin can paralyze and cause death within mere minutes. This poison is so strong that the poison from a single fish can kill thirty people.
But the daredevil appeal of consuming such a deadly delicacy attracts many rich and affluent Japanese, and even the occasional foolhardy tourist. As a result, deaths resulting from the consumption of Puffer fish, or Fugu as it is called in Japan are not uncommon.
Sunday, June 11. 2006
Hold that tuna, please.
Research has shown that methylmercury, a toxic metal, is higher in predatory fish (like tuna) due to bioaccumulation. This toxic metal makes its way up the food chain and thus is higher in predatory animals that feed on those that already have this metal within them. These smaller fish ingest methylmercury from exposure to industrial waste dumped in lakes and rivers.
The levels of methylmercury in tuna are considered high and may pose a significant health risk if eaten in large amounts over time. The FDA recommends that no more than two cans of tuna be consumed per week to prevent mercury poisoning.
Saturday, June 10. 2006
Tell anyone to eat salted fish eggs and they'll immediately gag at the thought. But tell them to dine on caviar and they'll fight tooth and nail to be the first in line. In fact, fish eggs and caviar have the same things in common; in fact they are the same things!
Caviar is a fancy name for the processed roe (egg clusters) of various fish and some invertebrates, and is usually considered a delicacy in many parts of the world. Caviar cannot be served with silverware, because silver can change the taste of the caviar; instead, wood, gold or ivory utensils are used.
The high demand for Beluga sturgeon caviar has made that fish a part of the endangered species list. Today, most caviar is made from more commonly available fish, such as whitefish or salmon.
Sunday, June 4. 2006
Squids are mollusks, but instead of having a hard shell, they are fleshy, fast-moving carnivorous invertebrates. And they also make for good eating. They are a very large family, having more than 200 species in all, including the lagest invertebrate in the world, the giant squid.
Although seen as monstrous and alien in appearance, to them we are the aliens, them having preceeded man by millions of years. The ancient Greeks called them calamari, a name that squids are still often referred to today.
In seafood, squids are often available only partially. More often the mantle (the part that the tentacles are attached to) is seen; the tentacles, although edible, are rarely sold. There are many ways to cook squid, the most famous often involves cutting the mantle into rings and frying them, dipped in a batter or not. Italy has a number of squid dishes, cooked in the distinctive Italian style. And one way has the squid stuffed with meat, vegetables and spices, and is often grilled.
Live squids may be the stuff of nightmares, but when cooked well, they become what dreams are made of.
Saturday, June 3. 2006
The dreaded red tide is often mislabeled. The actual color of red tide may be red, green, brown or even purple in color. This naturally occurring event is caused by the higher than normal concentrations of algae, and the reason why red tide is so dangerous is that some of these algae produce neurotoxins which kill fish. Red tide also causes the oxygen in the water to go down simply because of the overabundance of these algae.
Cooking does not get rid of the toxin, and if there is a red tide warning in effect in your area, take their advice and don't eat any mollusks until the warning is lifted. The toxin causes respiratory irritation in humans who ingest contaminated mollusks. See a doctor immediately if you experience respiratory irritation when you eat a clam or oyster.
Thursday, June 1. 2006
It is unfortunate, but there are a number of people who are allergic to the bounty of the sea. Some are allergic to fish, and others are allergic to shellfish. In fact, seafood allergy is the third leading food allergy known to man, with eggs and milk being the first and second, respectively.
It is not known what causes these allergies. Symptoms can be as mild as minor itching after consumption, or as severe as anaphylactic shock from even the slightest contact with fish oil.
Allergies, though unfortunate, are a part of some people's lives. I feel sorry for those who will never get a chance to even sample the varied cuisine of the depths.
Saturday, May 27. 2006
Crabs get no respect. One day they're being used to describe grouchy old people, the next day those grouchy old persons are trying to catch and eat them.
Crabs are arthropods, a family of invertebrates closely associated with spiders and lobsters. They have, as one of their distinguishing features, a pair of claws or pincers which are used to grab prey or for defense. Their bodies are short and usually covered with a hard shell.
Crabs are caught primarily for food, and due to their tendency to produce millions of spawn when mating season comes along, they may in the future become an important food source.
Quick fact: Although a King Crab does exist, it is not a true crab. It is actually a sort of lobster.
Friday, May 26. 2006
Here's one more reason why you should eat seafood: Goiters.
Goiters are a symptom of a lack of iodine, which is abundant in seafood. Goiters are the result of an enlarged thyroid gland, and the reason a thyroid enlarges is because it lacks iodine to make a hormone needed by the body. To compensate for this, the thyroid produces a replacement, but this in turn makes the thyroid swell. This, in turn, makes the neck disproportionately distend as the thyroid gland swells. This swelling is called a goiter. A goiter can be cured by a regular intake of iodine.
Okay, people. If that doesn't make you want to eat fish, I don't know what will. But if you want to have a size 20" neck, then it's your choice.
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Fish Seafood Comments
Wed, 25.10.2006 16:06
When I was in highschool, I used to join quiz bees sponsored by our school. Every year the school conducts science, [...]
Wed, 25.10.2006 15:59
I don't eat any octopus dish because it's yucky.
Wed, 25.10.2006 15:59
I love Chilled Lemon Octopus. It's tasty and delicious.
Sun, 22.10.2006 14:25
I saw Mr. Dorsley and his son, Anthony, in the farmer's market downtown last Sunday. I saw them in the fish section [...]
Sun, 22.10.2006 12:03
Lobsters are very expensive.
Sun, 22.10.2006 12:03
I want to cook my wife a Baked Stuffed Lobster but I don't know how.
Sun, 22.10.2006 09:45
Everybody loves chocolates. It's the happy hormone that makes us feel good. I remember when I'm sad or depressed, I [...]
Sat, 21.10.2006 13:33
One late afternoon when my dietician friend and I met, she told me a lot about the cancer patients in her hospital. She [...]
Sat, 21.10.2006 12:21
I like to dance in our living room since it helps me to sweat like a pig and lose some flabs in my big tummy. Before I [...]
Sat, 14.10.2006 14:52
Cooking a smoky fish recipe is one thing, but grilling it without ruining the skin is another. In fact, the trouble with [...]
Fri, 13.10.2006 08:26
Thanks to the rich and cold sea water of Norway, the country is currently noted as the largest fish exporter in the [...]
Thu, 12.10.2006 17:20
Among the major developers of security solutions is Panda Software which aims to serve online consumers by giving [...]
Wed, 11.10.2006 17:22
If you have noticed that you've gained a lot of weight because of those good hearty fish meals, maybe it's time for you [...]
Wed, 11.10.2006 17:09
My visit to an old relative who lives in some South American jungle (this is true) has given me a better perspective [...]
Sun, 08.10.2006 16:00
Most countries have all these towns and cities that make up most of their culture and history. In Scandinavia, Sweden [...]