fishmonger

Ever wonder what the differences are between Sole and Flounder? Some customers recently asked me the question so I thought I would take a moment to shed a bit of light on the subject. Here in North America we have no true sole only flounders. When Europeans came to the Americas they called flounders soles because they looked like the fish they knew in the "old world". This has led understandably to much confusion over the years. The only true sole would be Dover Sole, Solea solea . Lemon sole is one of the names given to winter flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus , (also known as black back). Usually at the retail level when multiple flounder sku's are sold; flounder is the name given to the refreshed less expensive product, and sole (or lemon sole) is the name given to the more expensive fresh cut product. Fluke, Paralichthys dentatus also called summer flounder can also be sold as sole fillet. Sometimes there is a distinction ...

A Researcher at Ohio State University has claimed to develop an egg laying male fish. That strikes me as wrong. I am all for advances in aquaculture, but this one I do not think will sit well with the public. From UPI

Two young students using simple dna testing techniques are shining the light again on the growing problem of mislabeled seafood. Everyone in the seafood business should be outraged as consumers and I am at the deception of a few bad purveyors and retailers. Not only is it wrong to mislead the consumers, but this leads to a wider range of problems. These problems range from unfair trade to species depletion from bad catch reporting. Read the article in the NY Times. So I want to personally thank these two intrepid sleuths. Here are a few ways to assure you are getting the fish you pay for (without DNA testing). Know your fishmonger. Buy whole fish, not fillet. If the price is to good to be true, it probably is. A similar article also appears in the Canadian Globe and Mail .