Could the fish on your plate be an impostor? Be careful. If you're fooled, you could be in for some serious intestinal distress!
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00:00Could the fish on your plate be an imposter?
00:03Be careful.
00:04If you're fooled, you could be in for some serious intestinal distress.
00:08There's a saying, if the price is too good to be true, it probably is.
00:12And when it comes to ordering fish, paying heed to these words of wisdom might just save
00:16you and your stomach from a substandard meal.
00:19The truth is that quality fish isn't cheap,
00:29and while your local restaurant might get discounts for buying in bulk, it still needs
00:33to fork out a certain amount of cash to purchase high-grade seafood.
00:36As such, it's normal that fish is usually on the pricier end of the spectrum when it
00:40comes to restaurant menus.
00:42If a restaurant is selling its fish dishes at surprisingly low prices, it may be substituting
00:47quality fish for cheaper alternatives.
00:49A startling one-third of fish purchased in the U.S. is mislabeled.
00:53Elizabeth Weiss writes in USA Today,
00:55A fillet of rare red snapper could really be cheap tilapia.
00:58A pricey wild-caught salmon steak from Alaska could be farmed Atlantic salmon from Chile.
01:04While seafood specials may look great on paper, they are usually a way for restaurants to
01:08move their least popular and cheapest produce.
01:11Top chef finalist Chef Sylvia Barbon said the following about why you might want to
01:15think twice before ordering the seafood special.
01:18Specials are tricky in restaurants.
01:20It could be the most fresh and delicious special, but in some restaurants, specials are the
01:24way to clean up the fridge.
01:26She advises restaurant patrons to check whether the side dishes that come with a seafood special
01:30are repeated elsewhere on the menu.
01:32If they are, you are probably eating fridge leftovers.
01:35For many restaurants, seafood specials are an opportunity to get rid of older fish before
01:40it goes bad.
01:41According to the late Anthony Bourdain, you should be particularly suspicious of seafood
01:45specials on Mondays.
01:46That's because most restaurants stock up on their fresh ingredients on Thursdays before
01:50the weekend rush.
01:51Since fish normally stays fresh for two days per the USDA, it's easy to imagine why this
01:56advice makes a lot of sense.
01:58And while Bourdain clarified that his recommendation pertained to restaurants where the seafood
02:02isn't the, quote, main thrust, you can never be too careful.
02:06High-quality fish should be able to stand up to the taste test with minimal preparation.
02:11As such, when it comes to seafood and meat, a heavy hand with spices or a rich, buttery
02:15sauce can be a huge red flag.
02:17Although it has been thought that spices were used to camouflage the taste of spoiled
02:21meat in the Middle Ages, the fact that spices were simply too expensive at the time shuts
02:26this theory down.
02:27Nevertheless, with today's cheap and abundant spices, there's nothing to stop modern-day
02:32restaurants from using them to conceal the flavor of substandard or old produce.
02:36But it's not just about the taste.
02:38Restaurants can also mask the smell of festering or low-quality fish by bathing them in milk.
02:43The American Society of Nutrition explains that the fishy odor and flavor of aging seafood
02:48is caused by the buildup of trimethylamine.
02:50The concentration of this substance gradually increases after a fish has been caught and
02:55killed.
02:56The fishiness can be easily counteracted with the casein protein found in milk, which binds
03:00to trimethylamine.
03:01And while you may not be able to taste or smell inferior fish, the dining experience
03:06may leave you stuck to the toilet.
03:08Any seafood restaurant worth its salt provides information about the origin of its fish.
03:13If this isn't the case, it's definitely worth asking where the fish was sourced.
03:17At the moment, 50% of fish sold globally is farm-raised.
03:20While farm-raised fish are cheaper than their wild-caught counterparts, they are usually
03:24fed inferior feed and can be loaded with antibiotics.
03:28They are also more likely to carry trace pollutants associated with inferior water conditions.
03:33As a rule of thumb, avoid catfish since it's often farm-raised in Vietnam, which has different
03:37regulatory requirements than the U.S.
03:39One of the issues is that the import isn't usually catfish, but swi-fish instead.
03:44This fish is referred to as catfish in Vietnam, and it typically costs $3 a pound, which is
03:49then labeled by restaurants as more expensive offerings such as American catfish or even
03:53grouper.
03:54Organizations like the Marine Conservation Society are good sources to educate yourself
03:58on the best types of fish to be eating.
04:01If you want a certain type of fish at a specific time, and you want it cheaply, you may be
04:05setting yourself up for disappointment.
04:07For example, if wild salmon is in season from May to September, restaurants that serve
04:12the dish in January should immediately raise a red flag.
04:15Not only are they selling frozen fish, but it's also unlikely that they care about what
04:19they are putting on your plate.
04:20And since they are showing little care when it comes to devising their menu, they may
04:23also not be very picky when it comes to the quality of their catch.
04:27It's also not advisable to eat wild freshwater fish in summer.
04:30This is because as the temperature increases, both ponds and lakes can dry out.
04:35In turn, the shrinking body of water can result in an increase in pollutants that the
04:39fish will inevitably digest.
04:41The water also tends to be more stagnant during the summer season, prompting algae growth
04:45and deterioration in water quality.
04:47This, in turn, can make fish more vulnerable to parasites and disease.
04:52Don't be fooled.
04:53Chilean sea bass is not what it seems to be.
04:56In fact, it's really a kind of fish known as the Patagonian toothfish.
05:00While that might not sound the most appetizing, Patagonian toothfish was once a marvel of
05:04the seafood industry.
05:05According to The Atlantic, it started hitting seafood markets fairly recently thanks to
05:09the advent of modern fishing technology.
05:12It was cheap, pretty good-tasting, and so it became a smashing success in short order.
05:16Alejandro's prepared a delightful menu for us, Chilean sea bass, I believe."
05:22But so-called Chilean sea bass was cleverly marketed and soon moved from being an affordable
05:27fish to sitting at the top of pricey restaurant menus.
05:30Unfortunately, the Patagonian toothfish soon suffered from overfishing.
05:34This particular variety was so affected by the fishing industry that it became a red-listed
05:38fish, meaning it is extremely threatened to the point of extinction.
05:42They say that the eyes are the window to the soul.
05:45"- Look into my eyes.
05:49Your eyelids are getting heavy."
05:52But they are also the key to knowing whether a fish is fresh or foul.
05:56Fish eyes are where you can start when you want to determine whether or not a cut is
05:59fresh.
06:00It's common that all fish have relatively clear eyes that should bulge a little.
06:04There are very few fish that will not have these kinds of eyes, though walleye is one
06:08of the rare exceptions.
06:09While cloudy eyes may be a pretty obvious sign of a less-than-fresh fish, buyers need
06:13to take special consideration when gazing into the eyes of the catch of the day.
06:18Many things can cause cloudy eyes in fish, all of which are concerning.
06:22Cloudy eyes can indicate poor water quality or a poor diet, as well as injury, infection,
06:27or disease.
06:28However you slice it, the price may be lower for that cloudy-eyed discount fish, but you're
06:32probably better off looking for its clear-eyed betters.
06:36Fish can be downright beautiful, thanks in no small part to their iridescent scales.
06:40But there's more than just looks when it comes to considering scales.
06:43One study on fish freshness published in the Malaysian Journal of Computing notes that
06:47the color of fish scales is one of the most important indicators of freshness.
06:52At its best, fish scales should be bright and shiny.
06:55Even once a fish has been descaled, such as in a restaurant, the fish's flesh should
06:58not only be shiny but firm to the touch.
07:01The skin should even be relatively elastic, meaning that it will spring back after you
07:05press it.
07:06As the book and study notes, dull scales and skin can be markers of advanced age and ill
07:10health.
07:11Dull or even white scales can indicate that the fish is dying, but whiteness can be caused
07:16by other concerning external factors like poor water quality or low oxygen levels.
07:20Either way, dull scales and skin are absolute no-goes when it comes to buying and eating
07:25fish.
07:27It's a tad ironic that a fishy smell is a bad sign when it comes to fish, isn't it?
07:31Yet the ideal fish smell should be mild and never, ever carry a whiff of ammonia.
07:37Fresh fish should hardly smell at all.
07:39Sushi restaurants, which naturally specialize in uncooked fish, should likewise have a neutral
07:43fragrance.
07:44The smell of a sushi restaurant is highly indicative of the quality of its food and
07:48the cleanliness of the restaurant.
07:50There should be no sharp smell, although notes of watermelon and cucumber are a good sign.
07:55Sushi is usually served cooled to help prevent the spread of disease.
07:58However, one should be wary of clever tricks employed by less-than-honest restaurants to
08:02help mask the smell of aging fish.
08:04One such trick is cooling fish before serving.
08:07If you're worried, you can always wait a few minutes to let the roll reach room temperature
08:11before administering the sniff test.
08:13If there's an intense or sharp smell, consider sending the dish back and finding a new sushi
08:17spot.
08:19Broadly speaking, raw fish will have a milder smell than cooked fish, with an odor that
08:23progressively intensifies as the fish ages.
08:26On the other hand, we should note that fish smells can vary between different kinds of
08:30animals.
08:31Anchovies, in particular, have a rather distinct smell.
08:33A smelly smell that smells… smelly… anchovies.
08:41A good rule of thumb to follow when buying fish is that it should smell like its point
08:45of origin.
08:46Saltwater fish, for example, should still smell distinctly of the ocean when they're
08:49fresh out of the water.
08:50They're also noticeably smellier as they age, with the chemical trimethylamine, or
08:55TMA, acting as the main culprit.
08:58Saltwater fish have an especially high concentration of TMA to help counteract the saltiness of
09:02the ocean, but it can start to produce an unpleasant odor relatively quickly.
09:06So, do make sure that the saltwater catches are especially fresh.
09:10Freshwater fish can also smell slightly salty.
09:13However, because they have lower levels of TMA, freshwater fish have a slightly longer
09:17shelf life, at least in terms of odor.
09:19However, some report that freshwater fish that feed on algae, like catfish, can have
09:24an off-putting muddy smell.
09:26As long as the fish is freshly caught, it should have a light scent that gives a slight
09:30indication of where it's come from.
09:32Did you know that there's no such thing as white tuna?
09:35That's right, white tuna is a big, fat lie.
09:38While popular at Japanese restaurants, so-called white tuna is often seen by patrons as a slightly
09:43cheaper option to otoro, or fatty tuna, and chutoro, or mid-fatty tuna.
09:49So what exactly are you getting when you order white tuna?
09:52Chef Yoshihiko Kosaka of New York City's restaurant Kosaka said the following of the best possible
09:57outcome of ordering white tuna.
09:59People hope it is albacore, but when you see something that says white tuna and not albacore,
10:04it is not albacore.
10:06White tunas are usually oilfish, butterfish, or escolar.
10:09Many restaurants serve other fish under the misleading label of white tuna to save costs.
10:14Unfortunately, when it comes to the consumer, this practice can have rather undesirable
10:19consequences.
10:20This is because when you order white tuna, you are often served escolar, a fish known
10:24to cause gastrointestinal problems due to its high oil content.
10:28Catherine Hill from The Kitchen had less than flattering things to say about the uncomfortable
10:31consequences of consuming escolar.
10:34To be frankly and bluntly specific, and I'm sorry for this, consumption of escolar causes
10:39explosive, oily, orange diarrhea.
10:41It's coming out of me like lava!
10:44It's little wonder that escolar has been banned in Japan and Italy, and that it must come
10:48with a warning label in Canada, Sweden, and Denmark.