Fish and Shellfish

Fish and Shellfish

• Vertebrates like finfish and sea mammals get oxygen from water through gills.
• Finfish live in fresh and saltwater environments, while sea mammals include dolphins, whales, and seals.
• Invertebrates, mainly shellfish, have external skeletons or shells like crustaceans and mollusks.
• Saltwater fish tend to have a fuller, salty flavor.
• Fish can be categorized by fat content.

Structure of Finfish

• Fish muscle contains less collagen, about 3%, compared to land animals with approximately 15%.
• Fish are tender due to a lower presence of a certain amino acid.
• Fish muscles are shorter unlike mammals and birds.

Selection of Finfish

• Finfish can be purchased fresh, frozen, canned, cured, or fabricated.

Fresh and Frozen Fish Types

• Whole fish is sold entirely intact, immediately after being caught.
• Drawn fish is whole fish with the entrails removed.
• Dressed fish has the head, tail, fins, scales, and entrails removed.
• Steaks are cuts from dressed fish, sliced at a 90-degree angle from top to bottom fin with varying thickness.
• Fillets are lengthwise slices of fish, from front to back, without bones.
• Butterfly fillet is fish almost completely cut in half.
• Fish sticks are uniform portions from fillets or steaks.

Determining Freshness of Fish

• Sniffing for aroma is the safest way to determine freshness.
• Fresh fish has bright, shiny skin and bulging, jet-black eyes with translucent corneas.
• Fresh fish should have a fresh fish aroma, tight scales, firm flesh, a stiff body, and red gills and lack of a slimy texture.

Signs of Decay in Fresh Finfish

• Decayed fish has concave eyes, gray or creamy brown pupils, and an opaque aroma.
• Gills turn paler brown and may be removed, eyes lose their bright look

Eggs

• Eggs are used to give a foam structure to cakes and meringues and to thicken custards and puddings.
• Eggs add color to lemon meringue pie and eggnog, emulsify mayonnaise and hollandaise sauce, and leaven soufflés and popovers.
• Eggs bind ingredients in meatloaf and casseroles, coat foods before breading, glaze pastries and breads, and clarify liquids for soups.

Composition of Eggs

• The yolk, located in the center, is nutrient-dense.
• Albumen (egg white) is almost 3/5 (58%) of the egg's weight.
• Shell membranes, are located between the egg white and shell, including an inner and outer membrane.
• The air cell is located between the two shell membranes at the larger end of the egg.
• The shell protects the egg contents and is made of calcium carbonate.

Function of Eggs in Foods

• Eggs flavor, color, emulsify, thicken, bind, foam, interfere, and clarify.
• Egg yolks contain lecithin, a natural emulsifier, keeping fat and water from separating.
• Heat coagulates egg protein during cooking, acting as an adhesive to bind ingredients.
• Egg whites can be beaten into a foam increasing to six or eight times its original volume.

Various Egg Products

• Common egg dishes include fried eggs, scrambled eggs, omelets, shirred eggs, meringue, soufflés, hard or soft boiled eggs, quiche, frittata, and poached eggs.

Vegetables and Fruits

• Vegetables are edible plant parts accompanying the main course.

Classification of Vegetables

• Vegetables are classified by the plant part from which they originate:
  • Roots: carrots, beets, turnips, and radishes
  • Bulbs: onion, leek, spring onions and garlic
  • Stems: celery, bamboo shoots and asparagus
  • Leaves: spinach and lettuce
  • Seeds: beans, corn, and peas
  • Flowers: broccoli and cauliflower
  • Some fruits are also routinely called vegetables

Plant Pigments

• Plant pigments give vegetables (and fruits) their colors, such as green (leafy vegetables), red and green apples, orange tangerines, or purple.
• Plant pigments fall into carotenoids, chlorophylls, and flavonoids.

Fruits

• Fruits contain seeds and derive from a flower.

Key Distinction: Flavor

• Vegetables come from the Latin "vegere", meaning to invigorate and enliven.
• Fruits come from the Latin "fructus", meaning gratification, pleasure, satisfaction, and enjoyment.

Classification of Fruits

• Simple Fruits develop from one flower like drupes, pomes, and citrus fruits (oranges, grapefruits, etc.).
• Aggregate fruits develop from several ovaries in one flower like blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries.
• Multiple fruits develop from a cluster of several flowers like pineapples and figs.