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Fish mislabelling


ComputerGuy

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We all know how difficult it can be to get the truth about "real" sea bass vs. catfish around here, but when both the States and now Canada provide corroborated reports about mislabelling in those countries, something really fishy is happening. If I can't trust a store or restaurant in my home town, how can I trust any place here where standards are much more lax? 52% mislabelled in restaurants, 22% at stores.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/seafood-mislabelling-fraud-1.4796762

fish-mislabelling.jpg

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Good article I last Sat's Wall St Journal about rampant fraud in the seafood industry as is sold to restaurants. And this was in the US. Jump to your own conclusions about Mexico!

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There is something to be said about buying the whole fish and filleting it yourself and making soup stock with everything else and then feeding the cats with the pulp ...…. until the industry gets really good at disguise.

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15 minutes ago, Ferret said:

There is something to be said about buying the whole fish and filleting it yourself and making soup stock with everything else and then feeding the cats with the pulp ...…. until the industry gets really good at disguise.

...and there's something to be said for just uttering a deep sigh as you acknowledge you're being had and just saying "it's some kind of fish" and going along with it.  Besides, I don't have a cat.😄

I do have fond memories of living in coastal CA and buying fish at the dock. Sigh again.

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I think one of the points here is actually that retailers, and maybe even wholesalers, are selling you mislabelled fish, so filleting it yourself wouldn't really matter.

Q: why is the word filet spelled with on "L", but the verb is spelled with two? And why when everybody pronounces the noun "fillit of fish" do they not say "fillit mignon"?

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Don't get me going on the vagaries of the English language. Glad I'm not learning it as a second language.

If you've got a picture of the fish in a published book then buying the whole one is important so you know what it's supposed to look like. Although, I think that may be hard with "farm" salmon as opposed to "free" salmon. Dunno. But I do know what a Red Snapper (Huachinango) should look like.

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Yeah, I think most of us know some basic types. Fortunately.  And as to your point about filleting, the two main fish shops here have a lot of fillets on display, and in those cases, I have a much harder time recognizing what's what. Luckily, even though I may have bought a mislabeled fish from time to time, I haven't had any bad experiences as a result.

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1 hour ago, gringal said:

The first time I encountered a menu listing "mahi mahi", I had a good chuckle.  Followed by
"red snapper"...oh...right !!!😄

Gringal, 'mahi mahi' is another name for dorado, one of the most common fish in Mexico's seas.  And 'red snapper' is huachinango, also common.

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I never buy fillets i buy the fish and have the fishmonger process in front of me and i tip him. I do not care what the have processed already, i like to see the fish and chose it myself.. Yesterday i bought fresh tuna and he cut it up  right there. When they have large flounders i buy them, have him process it and i freeze what i do not use This way i Know what i get. Right now there is fresh tuna available and it is delicious. 

The salmon  is chilean hence farm raised, it is pale in color. 

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Yes mahi mahi is dorado and you can see the whole fish. It is. Mahi mahi and rex snapper is huachinango and it is the real thing  too. You can forget any of those and give me any fish from the cold waters of the northern atlantic.. 

 

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21 minutes ago, More Liana said:

I'm sorry, it's hard to 'get' those on here.  🙁

To be clear:  when  you see a menu around here offering "mahi mahi" or "red snapper", it is not likely that you will be, in fact, served either of those fishes under any of their alternate names.  Chances are very good that you'll get something else altogether (something cheaper). In other words, many restaurants don't give their customers credit for knowing better.

 I'll give David at Tabarka credit for truth in advertising, since he doesn't list his fish on a regular menu but will tell you what's available when you're ready to order, and you'll get the real deal named.  I had a delicious swordfish lunch there last week, which was really swordfish.  There are a few other restaurants with the same policy. Bless 'em.😎

 

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23 hours ago, ComputerGuy said:

I like dorado. Bought it two weeks ago, filleted. At least I think it was dorado...

Dorado at the Mercado del Mar in Zapopan.  The flat-head ones are male, the round-head ones are female.

Dorado Mercado del Mar.jpg

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