Fish … which fish do you eat?

[KeenCook]

Awww BM, that's probably why

[Suffs]

Awww BM, that's probably why

I was just going to say that

The first thing I ever cooked for The Artist was a kipper (for breakfast ) … look what that lead to ….

[aero280]

Fish is not my favourite food. By the time you have found and disposed of all the bones, it’s cold. And it’s flabby.

It’s a family joke that I find bones in fish fillets. They tried to convert me by buying fish fingers, but I managed to find a bone in one of those. It stuck in my gum next to a front tooth. And then you see the TV chefs going over fillets with tweezers, they are unlikely to find every single last bone.

The only fish I will choose in a restaurant is whitebait.

I saw that pollack is off the menu as it’s protected. They are trying to promote dogfish. I always knew that as rock salmon from a fish & chip shop. It was usually tough.

[Norfolkman]

In my Norwich days I used to make a point of going to the market on Saturday and buying a bloater for tea. No idea if the stall is still there.

I haven't heard or seen the word "Bloater" for a lot of years.

I suspect some young fishmongers would be puzzled by that fish.

[Suffs]

I’ve seen bloaters in the Sheringham-Cromer area and I’m pretty sure Pinneys of Norfolk do them.

[Suffs]

Yes here you are
https://www.pinneysoforford.co.uk/product/bloater/

https://www.slowfood.org.uk/ark-produce ... -bloaters/

https://www.caseafoods.co.uk/products/bloater

There are still at least very good two fresh fish stalls on Norwich market. Not sure if the little one that sold saucers of whelks and cockles etc and freshly shucked oysters is still there … I think lockdowns might’ve done for that. I used to go there frequently when I was at the art school for a fishy lunch … an oyster or two, a saucer of whelks and a bag of hot chips … a fabulous lunch … if I didn’t opt for something from the tripe stall. That was before the time when oysters decided to take a dislike to me

[scullion]

i'm beginning to think that there might be a gene that makes fish nauseating to some people.
i hated fish when i was little it always smelled of ammonia. when i was older people always said that i'd never had the fish fresh enough which was definitely not the case.
many of my father's side of the family were trawler men and one of his cousins, with a father, husband and four sons working on trawlers couldn't stand fish and gave away all the fish they bought back for her.
i have recently had a conversation with someone else who also can smell ammonia and so can't eat fish.
there is a local pub that sells quite a bit of local catch that i can't go in as the ammonia smell is overwhelming for me although my partner can't smell it.

[Earthmaiden]

I don't think anyone smokes bloaters in Yarmouth any more, once the home of the bloater. I think there's a smokehouse which does them in Lowestoft. They all seem to smoke Danish herrings which makes it even more sad.

Are Pinneys the people who have a stall near the Moot Hall in Aldeburgh on Sundays, Suffs? They were doing a roaring trade when I visited earlier in the year and I could happily have bought everything on offer .

Is dogfish what we always called Huss? I think it gets called rockfish too. I've never had it battered but it was a favourite of mine from childhood. My grandmother used to fry it just dipped in seasoned flour until it was lightly browned and add lots of lemon juice. Yum. It was never tough.

It does sound as though you are particularly sensitive to the smell, scully. Of course, it is no good having the fish as fresh as can be if utensils, display boxes, buildings etc have the smell ingrained which often used to be the case.

[Badger's Mate]

I think dogfish, which like skate is actually more than one species, is called various things in different places. In the London area it was always rock eel, or just rock - they named the prequel to Only Fools and Horses ‘Rock & Chips’.

Elsewhere it’s known as rock salmon, Huss, flake, rigg and presumably goes by many other names.

I’ll check if it has come back into favour with the Marine Stewardship Council, they went off it a while back. I haven’t had it since but love it.

[Suffs]

Don’t know about the stall in Aldeburgh EM, though I’d think it likely. I do know they have the fabulous fish restaurant in Orford https://www.pinneysoforford.co.uk/our-restaurant/ an old haunt of mine when I lived in the area, and before me it was a frequent haunt of Princess Margaret and acolytes in her heyday!

Fresh fish simply cooked (and not much else) served on Formica café tables by brusqe local women. Can’t be beaten.

[PatsyMFagan]

I too love Huss/Rock salmon or whatever it may be called.
Whenever I visit my friend with MS and we decide to have F&C for lunch, I always choose huss. .and this is from a little F&C shop in Holmer Green, run by a Chinese family..
I also love bloater when I can find it, but this hasn't been for a long time. Lidl used to sell them a while ago.
I always have fish in the freezer for a quick meal and akways look out for rtc fish when I'm shopping. In fact most of my meals these days are either fish or chicken

[scullion]

Of course, it is no good having the fish as fresh as can be if utensils, display boxes, buildings etc have the smell ingrained which often used to be the case.

if that's so then they are still like that to my nose (and to the friend i was talking to a couple of weeks ago).
fresh mackerel straight from the sea is beautiful - the smell is definitely not.

[Stokey Sue]

I tend to avoid elasmobranchs (dogfish, including Huss and rock; skate, shark) I’ve never been madly keen on any I’ve had, the sustainability is complex, but mostly unpleasant memories of zoology studies

I won’t buy fish in Hackney markets , all frozen and half thawed, heaven know where it comes from, and there’s a real risk of high histamine levels, and scumbrotoxin which occurs in some stale oily fish.

[Badger's Mate]

I tried to avoid the E word, but reading Scully’s experience, the cartilaginous fish can have high concentrations of ammonia in their flesh and be quite stinky. Skate is prone to it, the rotten shark meat hakarl is notoriously ammoniacal. If memory serves (from O level biology), bony fish have got kidneys and process nitrogenous digestion products similarly to ourselves, whereas elasmobranchs haven’t and so it diffuses from their muscles into the surrounding environment. Never had a bit of rock eel like that though.

Mrs B doesn’t like eyes or bones. She also has the knack of finding bones in fillets.

These days fish production and harvesting, like every other aspect of our diet, is global, so any species might be sourced from umpteen fisheries in various states of control or collapse. It’s very difficult to keep up with what’s sustainable and what isn’t.

[miss mouse]

These days fish production and harvesting, like every other aspect of our diet, is global, so any species might be sourced from umpteen fisheries in various states of control or collapse. It’s very difficult to keep up with what’s sustainable and what isn’t.

The Sainsbury spring onions last week came from Mexico.

Many years ago BA halved the baggage allowance 'to be more eco. sustainable and use less fuel' Hmm, I wonder what all those pallets of freight being loaded were.

Back to fish, isn't the bulk of it factory fishing boats? F&C used to be a cheap meal of course. I can do without fish very happily, apart from crab and lobster which are lovely as is whitebait.

[Badger's Mate]

It has long had me tutting that in August and September, when Merrie England is sinking under the weight of runner beans, we still air-freight green beans from Africa. That’s supply chains for you.

[Seatallan]

i'm beginning to think that there might be a gene that makes fish nauseating to some people.

You might be right Scully. My sister was exactly like that. She couldn't stomach any sort of fish. Even shellfish nauseated her. She found it really irritating as she was a bit of a foodie like me but no matter how she tried she just couldn't do fish.

Going back to the topic, I still reminisce about a wedding we attended some years back in Southern France where pike was served. It's the only time I've ever eaten pike and it was wonderful!

[Suffs]

I had pike quenelles in a little ‘bar with rooms’ in central france when driving down to Provence. As you say Seatallen, delicious.

[Stokey Sue]

It has long had me tutting that in August and September, when Merrie England is sinking under the weight of runner beans, we still air-freight green beans from Africa. That’s supply chains for you.

Was somewhat chuffed to find that my last pack of Morrisons Savers French beans came from Kent, and very nice too

I’ve eaten pike (brochet) twice I think, not specially keen. We tend to ignore freshwater fish other than trout and salmon in this country in modern times (apparently in earlier eras we ate freshwater fish which was easier and safer to catch and to keep in ponds; then we discovered cod…) In Myanmar we ate wonderful freshwater fish, most of it resembled bream but with bigger brighter scales. Also freshwater shrimp/prawns, including the big black one

[Suffs]

I understand the confusion of folk hailing from Eastern Europe who pay good money to fish in well-stocked trout and carp lakes, and have to put their catch back.

I get it with wild freshwater fish (which may be scarce) … and really with the stuff that’s been allowed into our rivers of late I’m not sure that I’d want to eat river fish even if they’ve survived the pollution. But artificially stocked fishing lakes … surely the owners are having their cake and eating it?