How To Make Fish Taste Less Fishy

We all know that person who will happily eat seafood, but only if it doesn't taste too fishy. To some that might seem like only eating lemons that aren't too sour. If you're going to eat fish, why wouldn't you be prepared for a fishy flavor? But, as it turns out, those picky pescatarians might be onto something.

When a fish smells strongly fishy, that can be a sign that it's beginning to turn, and that it's high time to eat it as soon as possible. But how do you make that whiffy fish taste mild, lovely, and fresh? By soaking it in milk, that's how. In order to understand why, we need to understand what causes the smell in the first place.



According to Katie Lee, culinary curator at , the smell comes from a certain compound in the decomposing fish. "Fresh fish does not smell 'fishy,'" she explains. "Bacteria found naturally on the fish and in the fish begin to multiply exponentially once the fish is dead.

They begin to consume an organic compound, TMAO (trimethylamine N-oxide) which is found naturally on the fish and convert it to TMA (trimethylamine) which leads to the foul smell." Because cold water fish, like cod or halibut, have a high amount of TMAO, they're liable to get that fishy smell much quicker. That said, according to Lee, "saltwater and freshwater fish, all things being equal, spoil at about the [same] rate.

The clock is ticking as soon as the fish comes out of the water." Soaking fish in milk neutralizes fishy smells and tastes So why milk, specifically? Well, you know how milk can cool your mouth after you've eaten spicy food, because the casein in the milk binds with and neutralizes the capsaicin that causes the heat? (That's also why .) It's basically the same principle with fish, but with trimethylamine instead of capsaicin.

Says Katie Lee, "Milk proteins bind with TMA (the compound mainly responsible for fishy smell) and basically neutralize it." While this advice is mostly focused on the smell rather than the taste, well, 80-90% of what we perceive as taste is actually smell. By soaking your fish in milk for up to 20 minutes before rinsing and patting dry, you will not only neutralize that smell, but in the process make your fish taste milder and more pleasant (if you're not a fan of the fishy taste).

But if you ask Lee, you might want to skip the middleman and just cook with mild fish. "I would suggest starting with a fresh, mild-tasting fish, such as cod, to begin with. Then you can save the milk for your cereal.

" If cod is good enough to be and , it's good enough for us. Recommended.