Seafood Classification

Fish and shellfish

Cuts of fish

Steaks

      ·         Thick slices of fish on or off the bone.

      ·         Steaks of round fish (salmon, cod) may be called darnes.

      ·         Steaks of flat fish on the bone (turbot, halibut) may be called troncons.

Fillets

      ·         Cuts of fish free from bone: a round fish yields two fillets, a flat fish four fillets.

Supremesrill

      ·         Prime cuts of fish without bone and skin (pies cut from fillets of salmon, turbot)

Goujons

      ·         Fillet fish cut into strips approximately 8*0.5 cm.

Paupiettes

      ·         Fillets of fish (e.g. sole, plaice, whiting) spread with a stuffing and rolled.

Plaited

      ·         Also known as en tresse - for example, sole fillets cut into three even pieces lengthwise to within 1 cm of the top, and neatly plaited.

Ciseler

      ·         Ciseler means to make slight incisions in the surface of a thick fillet of fish, or on the bone, to allow even cooking.The depth of the incisions depends on the size of the fish at the thickest and thinnest points: a balance should be achieved in appearance and cooking time.

Fish

Fish have formed a large proportion of our food because of their abundance and relative ease of harvesting. Fish are valuable, not only because they are a good source of protein, but because they are suitable for all types of menus and can be cooked and presented in a wide variety of ways.

Basically fish are divided into three types. 

            

      1) Oily fish – (round in shape) - e.g. salmon, mackerel, herring, iel, sprats

      2) White fish – (round or flat) – e.g. brill, sole, turbot, witch, megrim, cod, carp, coley, shark, swordfish

      3) Shellfish – crawfish, crayfish, lobster, prawns

Quality and purchasing points

Whole fish

*clear, bright eyes, not sunken

*bright red gills

*scales should not be missing and they should be firmly attached to the skin

*moist skin (fresh fish feels slightly slippery)

*shiny skin with bright natural colouring

*tail should be stiff and the flesh should feel firm

*should have a fresh sea smell and no trace of ammonia

Fillets

*neat, trim fillets with firm flesh

*fillets should be firm and closely packed together, not ragged or gaping

*white fish should have a white translucent colour with no discoloration

Smoked fish

*glossy appearance

*flesh should feel firm and not sticky

*pleasant, smoky smell

Frozen fish

*frozen hard with no signs of thawing

*the packaging should not be damaged

*no evidence of freezer burn (e.g. dull, white, dry patches)