Edible fish is the name given to all edible river, lake and sea fish. In this context, they can come from the wild, semi-wild husbandry or fish farming. There are freshwater and saltwater fish, but seafood, shellfish and crustaceans are not edible fish.
Here’s what you should know about edible fish
All edible river, lake and sea fish are referred to as edible fish. They can thereby come from the wild, semi-wild husbandry or fish farming. Fish is an integral part of the human diet. It is often found in the traditional cuisine of ethnic groups that lived near the sea or large lakes, as they had natural access to fish. In these cuisines, there is a greater variety of fish on the plate than in the cuisines of continental peoples. Although edible fish is not completely unknown here either, people tended to use fish species that could also be caught in the local rivers. In the case of edible fish, a basic distinction is made between freshwater and saltwater fish, depending on the habitat of the fish – although some of these species can be found in any body of water, such as the eel. Other food fish, such as salmon, return to freshwater to spawn, but are otherwise found in the sea and thus in saltwater. Leaving aside today’s environmental considerations, edible fish is important for human nutrition because of its salt and iodine content. It is considered a low-fat protein source that also contains relatively high levels of the healthy omega-3 fatty acids. These fatty acids are found in small amounts in other foods, which is why they are such a focus of a healthy diet. Edible fish is traded in various forms, these range from live fish to frozen varieties to smoked, pickled and preserved edible fish. Most fish dishes are made with edible fish that has been boiled, fried, or otherwise prepared with heat, but forms of raw fish processing are also found, especially in Japanese cuisine.
Importance for health
In the original sense, edible fish was considered a healthy source of omega-3 fatty acids, iodine, protein, and various other minerals depending on the type of fish. Except for protein, these ingredients are difficult to obtain from other sources, as evidenced by the fact that near-water cultures are virtually unaware of diseases resulting from iodine deficiency, for example. These nutrients were particularly optimally concentrated in food fish from the wild, which therefore received exactly the right nutrition and, unlike farmed fish, did not suffer from diseases or obesity. Nowadays, however, edible fish from the wild tends to be contaminated with pollutants – the exact load depends on the type of edible fish and the area from which it comes. While it still contains the healthy components of edible fish, it may have cadmium or mercury. Farmed fish do not have these contaminants, but may be infested with some type of lice or not get enough exercise, making their fat content higher than normal.
Ingredients and nutritional values
In particular, edible fish from salt water contains a lot of iodine due to the natural iodine content of sea salt. Almost all edible fish have a high omega-3 content, which can prevent cardiovascular disease and is considered a healthy fat, as it is rather difficult to obtain from other nutrient sources. Some types of edible fish have other, species-specific components and distributions of ingredients, such as tuna. which is particularly high in omega-3 fatty acids compared to other fish. Caution should be exercised with wild fish, which can have high levels of contaminants such as mercury. Most wild edible fish species absorb pollutants in the sea in large quantities – recommendations on which fish to enjoy and in what quantities are issued by official bodies on an up-to-date basis.
Intolerances and allergies
Fish allergy is basically known and in most cases is due to an allergic reaction to a protein in the muscle meat of the fish, parvalbumin. Only 5% of fish allergy sufferers react to other components of edible fish. This protein remains equally present in both raw and cooked fish, so that in the case of an allergy to edible fish, a reaction occurs to both variants.It is also similar in its chemical structure in almost all fish species, so that fish allergy sufferers can hardly eat any edible fish. However, the redder the meat, the greater the chance that the fish will be tolerated after all, since parvalbumin is a component of white muscle meat – tuna is tolerated by some allergy sufferers because of this. Symptoms of a fish allergy are similar to any other allergy and range from nausea and vomiting to wheals, rashes, and shortness of breath.
Shopping and kitchen tips
Similar to meat, edible fish is a product that must be absolutely fresh, especially when offered fresh or frozen. Cooks can recognize fresh edible fish by the fact that the eyes are clear, it does not smell unpleasant and the flesh yields slightly to pressure, but still seems rather firm. It is even more difficult to recognize already filleted edible fish as fresh, here only smell and pressure tests remain. Fresh fish, fish stored in ice or frozen fish are considered particularly safe options when fresh fish is desired. For some types of fish and fish dishes, preserved variants are also possible, such as smoked salmon, stremel salmon or pickled fish such as matje herring or anchovies. Dried fish is also popular, especially in Japanese cuisine. In the case of fish fillets, which are considered to be the highest-quality piece of edible fish, the boneless variety should be purchased, as it can be difficult for amateurs to completely remove all of the fish’s bones. Professional chefs usually do this with a flick of the wrist, which seems very simple, but is a matter of years of practice. The fish bones are very thin on most edible fish and carry the risk of being accidentally swallowed if they are not all removed.
Preparation tips
Edible fish is eaten as fillets, breaded or unbreaded, as a side dish in soups, grilled, fried or baked, and raw. While almost any edible fish can be boiled, cooked or grilled, only very high-quality pieces of fish are suitable for consumption in raw form, for example in sushi or as sashimi. The raw processing of fish is particularly well known in (modern) Japanese cuisine, where fish is largely eaten unseasoned. In local cuisine, fish is often served with creamy, mustardy sauces with herbs such as dill. Edible fish should be introduced to heat carefully: on the skin side, fish can be fried without hesitation, but too much direct heat will cause it to disintegrate. As an alternative to dishes typically prepared with meat, these can be varied with edible fish. Relatively well-known, for example, are carpaccios made with fish such as tuna, whose firmness makes it easy to cut into paper-thin slices.
