kinds of seafood. I'm going to point out some things that will help you make intelligent choices

even if you are not an ichthyologist. The tables at the end of this chapter give you all the

reasonably common fish and shellfish you are likely to find at the market, with a brief

description useful to the cook. Three tables list fish dividing them into three groups according to

their fat content, and a fourth table lists shellfish. You may want to print these tables and take

them with you on your seafood buying trips.

Classifying seafood for the cook

A biologist's approach of classifying seafood doesn't help you in the kitchen. You need a

practical method of categorizing the scores of fish in a way that will help you make good choices

at the fish counter. The number of systems used in culinary literature are dizzying, many of them

confusing and inconsistent, as unclear as the mud that bottom-dwelling carp-suckers inhabit.

Since our interest is strictly in cooking, our most useful approach is to catalog seafood that

relates to cooking and eating.

First, let's divide everything into two categories—fin fish and shellfish. Even though

when you purchase fish you may not see either part, every cook has a basic sense of which fits

into what category.

How to classify fish

The fin group, commonly known as fish, naturally divide into two major subgroups—

round and flat. You can usually find both kinds at the fish counter, though round fish are far

more common. They have the familiar fish shape, a central backbone from which the thinner

bones of the rib cage radiate outward. Trout is a good example.

Flat fish look like round ones that have been stepped on from above and flattened out.

The backbone remains in the center, with rib cage bones spreading along a flat plane instead of

radiating in a semi-circle. Sole is a good example. If you have the opportunity to see a whole flat

fish, you'll see that the two eyes are on top of the head of a flat fish rather than one on each side.

Though may look odd, this makes sense since these fish swim and feed near the ocean bottom, so

they need to keep track of what is approaching them from above with both eyes. Where the eyes

are is not important to the cook, but the shape of the fish and where to find the bones is.

So far, the cataloging has been simple. The real problems begin with further subdivision.

In today's health-conscious world, the fat content seems a more useful characteristic. Knowing

the amount of fat not only helps you choose the best cooking technique for that specific fish but

also indicates the amount of flavor you can expect and how long it will stay fresh on ice. This

natural division gives us three categories—lean, medium fat and fatty. Here's the amount of fat in

each of these subdivisions:

Lean fish—up to 3% fat (less than 3.4 grams in a 4-ounce serving)

Medium-fat fish—3 to 8% fat (3.4 to 9 grams in a 4-ounce serving)

Fatty fish—greater than 8% fat (more than 9 grams in a 4-ounce serving)

TASTINGS How restaurants classify fish

Restaurateurs have a whole different approach to classify their seafood.

Irrespective of fat content, where they came from or what group they belong, they

simply and practically put them in two gangs—dinner fish or lunch fish. Dinner

Serious Kitchen Play