[rec.food.cooking] Funny Fish Names

mmm@cup.portal.com (Mark Robert Thorson) (08/01/89)

What are the aliases being used to sell fish these days?  Fish like hake and
shad are being sold under other names, like "butterfish".  Could someone
please post a cross-reference list of these aliases.

rap3c@dale.acc.Virginia.EDU (Ralph A. Picking) (08/01/89)

The first one that comes to mind is another euphamism for hake - steakfish.

Ralph

kurtzman@pollux.usc.edu (Stephen Kurtzman) (08/02/89)

In article <20906@cup.portal.com> mmm@cup.portal.com (Mark Robert Thorson) writes:
>What are the aliases being used to sell fish these days?

I recall hearing (somewhere) that Mahi Mahi is a euphamism for Dolphin.
I have no idea if this is true. Would some kind netperson please either confirm
or deny this? I don't like the idea of eating Flipper. :)
-----
kurtzman@pollux.usc.edu          "Make no mistake when mystiquing a make"
                                                       -- Maggie Roche

markr@mipon3.intel.com (Mark Roberts) (08/02/89)

In article <20906@cup.portal.com> mmm@cup.portal.com (Mark Robert Thorson) writes:
>What are the aliases being used to sell fish these days?  Fish like hake and
>shad are being sold under other names, like "butterfish".  Could someone
>please post a cross-reference list of these aliases.


On the west  coast they sell white meat fish as "red snapper".  When we pull
it out of the ocean it is called "widow black rock fish" or "sea bass" or 
"more of that g__ d___ junk fish" (depending on who you are, I guess).  It's
very good when deep fried or cooked in foil in an open fire ... but it surely
is not "red snapper" as advertised.

grins and good fishing 
Mark

iscad02@discg1.UUCP (lisa makosewski) (08/02/89)

McDonald's Filet-o-Fish sandwich is made from "North American Whitefish", 
a k a Cod.

-- 
Lisa C. Makosewski   
Defense Industrial Supply Center
(215) 697-3639  {bpa,osu-cis!dsacg1}!discg1!iscad02
                 "The game's afoot, Watson!"        

pell@boulder.Colorado.EDU (Anthony Pelletier) (08/03/89)

>In article <20906@cup.portal.com> mmm@cup.portal.com (Mark Robert Thorson) writes:
>>What are the aliases being used to sell fish these days?  Fish like hake and
>>shad are being sold under other names, like "butterfish".  Could someone
>>please post a cross-reference list of these aliases.
>
>
Another alias that I have seen for a couple of years here in Colorado is
"Boston Bluefish," which, if I know my fish (and I do) is really pollack.
What amuses me almost as much is that people buy and eat real Bluefish here
in Colorado (probably has other names.  On the East coast this is a 
silver-bellied, very carniverous school fish (with sharp teeth!) often found
preying on other school fish like Bunker and Bass).
Anyone who grew up on the East coast knows that, while this is a fine
fish if eaten right away, Bluefish rapidly becomes one of the nastiest-tasting
fish in the sea if left more than a day.  It does not travel or store well.
The big ones (I've caught them up to 13lbs and have seen bigger) are
especially nasty.  They have a thin layer of awful-tasting dark meat/fat
on the outside right under the skin--very oily and stores all kinds of
terrible things--that spreads its terrible taste to the rest of the
fish as it ages.  Some have told me that if you skin them fresh and
remove this stuff, the fillets taste OK after storage; but I remain
unconvinced.

-tony

eriks@cadnetix.COM (Eriks A. Ziemelis) (08/04/89)

In article <2011@discg1.UUCP> iscad02@discg1.UUCP (lisa makosewski) writes:
>McDonald's Filet-o-Fish sandwich is made from "North American Whitefish", 
>a k a Cod.

Phew! From the taste of those Filet-o-Fish, I was starting to wonder
if they weren't made from "Coney Island Whitefish".

    Eriks A. Ziemelis      Internet:   eriks@cadnetix.com
    Daisy/Cadnetix Inc.        UUCP:   ..!{uunet,boulder}!cadnetix!eriks
    5775 Flatiron Pkwy.   Baby Bell:   (303) 444-8075 X336
    Boulder, CO 80301     

trevor@mips.COM (Trevor Fagerskog) (08/07/89)

In article <20906@cup.portal.com> mmm@cup.portal.com (Mark Robert Thorson) writes:
>What are the aliases being used to sell fish these days?  Fish like hake and
>shad are being sold under other names, like "butterfish".  Could someone
>please post a cross-reference list of these aliases.


I haven't heard hake (aka marucci sp?) or shad being called butterfish.
The name butterfish was used for black cod (a deep water fish caught off
the Pacific Coast in traps). Black cod is also called sable. 

Other names:

Scrod - really a small cod (east coast). All the big ones have been caught.

Ocean Perch - Idiot fish. Very spiny, bright orange color, big eyes, deep water.

Rock Cod - beware, there are very many speices of rock cod. Look out for misuse
           of the word "snapper". Ling cod is a speices of rock cod that is a
           safer bet, albeit more expensive. Rock cod (deep water) caught of the
           Pacific coast of California is usually boccacio (sp?) tend to be very
           wormy and is often called "red snapper". Since it is difficult to
           what kind of fish you're buying after it has been filleted, Find a 
           reputable monger who specializes in west coast rock cod (fish) 
           identification. Any monger worth his salt will be able to tell you
           the difference between boccacio and red snapper.

Sole - There are many types of sole caught off the west coast. English, Sand,
       Rex, Dover, Sand Dabs, Petrale, Starry Flounder and California Halibut.
       It is pretty hard to go wrong on these given they are fresh.


That's just a few, I'm sure there are many more.

Trev

-- 
Trevor Fagerskog, MIPS Computer Systems, DISCLAIMER:(I speak for only me, etc.)
UUCP: {ames,decwrl,prls,pyramid} decwrl!mips!trevor trevor@mips.com
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jokim@jarthur.Claremont.EDU (John H. Kim) (08/15/89)

>In article <20906@cup.portal.com> mmm@cup.portal.com (Mark Robert Thorson) writes:
>What are the aliases being used to sell fish these days?  Fish like hake and
>shad are being sold under other names, like "butterfish".  Could someone
>please post a cross-reference list of these aliases.

Here's the info on that Government publication I mentioned.  It's published
by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for the purposes of clearing up
exactly what it is you're eating at restaurants.

It's available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Printing Office,
Washington, D.C. 20402.  It is 50 pages long and can be purchased for
$2.75 (U.S.) and should be asked for by its document number:
017-012-00341-9.

I'd be interested in some of these names too.  If someone's willing to
shell out $2.75 for this booklet, please post some good examples.
-- 
John H. Kim                 | (This space to be filled when I
jokim@jarthur.Claremont.EDU | think of something very clever 
uunet!muddcs!jarthur!jokim  | to use as a disclaimer)