# Anyone else not eat fish or seafood? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 22, 2010, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-eat-fish-or-seafood/554604 "2010-09-22T01:52:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-eat-fish-or-seafood/554604/61 "2010-09-23T00:42:16Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > I haven’t eaten any kind of meat or poultry (including broth, gelatin, marshmallow etc.) for 16+ years, but I absolutely love most seafood (with a few exceptions) and eat it at least a couple times a week. You include gelatin and marshmallow as a meat product, but don’t recognize fish as meat? ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-eat-fish-or-seafood/554604/62 "2010-09-23T00:45:27Z")
> [@Hades](#): > > > [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > > > I haven’t eaten any kind of meat or poultry (including broth, gelatin, marshmallow etc.) for 16+ years, but I absolutely love most seafood (with a few exceptions) and eat it at least a couple times a week. > > You include gelatin and marshmallow as a meat product, but don’t recognize fish as meat? For my personal definitions, yes. ---
**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-eat-fish-or-seafood/554604/63 "2010-09-23T01:07:08Z")
I eat tuna salad all the time. I’ve had tilapia and it was ok. I liked it enough to eat it once or twice, but not enough to order it when I’m out or something. Other than that, I don’t touch ANY of it. The smell makes me want to retch. Raw, cooking, cooked, reheated, just so gross to me. (which is why I like the two that I do. Tilapia doesn’t smell to me and I don’t mind tuna smell.) ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-eat-fish-or-seafood/554604/64 "2010-09-23T01:56:59Z")
I’m very weird. I grew up on, and still love, smoked fish – lox (belly, not nova), baked salmon, kippers, whitefish. Cooked whitefish? Cooked lox? No thank you. I have had cooked salmon and enjoyed it, though. Canned tuna and salmon? Yup. Cooked tuna? Nope. Fried fish fingers? Sure. Shrimp, yes. Lobster, rarely. Crabs, oysters, clams (unless fried), no. Eels, squid? You’re joking, right? Raw fish? Not on your life, mate. So it seems to be the milder fish that I have a problem with? Smoked fish tends to be pretty strong, salty and sweet, so maybe those flavors outweigh my fish aversion. I wish I did like more fish, though. People sure do love them fishies. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-eat-fish-or-seafood/554604/65 "2010-09-23T10:09:34Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I’m that way about all the fish that is good for you: salmon, mackerel, all the ones filled with Omega acids. Blech! OTOH, a nice whitefish can be delicious. I love cod, halibut, tuna, plaice, and the like. But no fresh water fish. Ever. Trout is disgusting. Tuna isn’t a white fish… is it? 😕 I mean, it’s not in Spanish, but then, in Spanish potatoes aren’t a veggie (they’re plants but not veggies). What do you call the group of “dark” fishes in English? ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-eat-fish-or-seafood/554604/66 "2010-09-23T10:19:34Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Tuna isn’t a white fish… is it? 😕 I mean, it’s not in Spanish, but then, in Spanish potatoes aren’t a veggie (they’re plants but not veggies). Well, all the canned tuna in our pantry is labeled “solid white”, so, I would guess that, like poultry, some cuts are white, some are dark. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-eat-fish-or-seafood/554604/67 "2010-09-23T17:38:59Z")
> [@norinew](#): > > > [@Nava](#): > > > > Tuna isn’t a white fish… is it? 😕 I mean, it’s not in Spanish, but then, in Spanish potatoes aren’t a veggie (they’re plants but not veggies). > > Well, all the canned tuna in our pantry is labeled “solid white”, so, I would guess that, like poultry, some cuts are white, some are dark. Someone will correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t think individual tunas have white and dark meat. The distinction is between species of tuna. Some species, like albacores, have lighter meat than other species, like yellowfins. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-eat-fish-or-seafood/554604/68 "2010-09-23T18:27:04Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > > [@silenus](#): > > > > I’m that way about all the fish that is good for you: salmon, mackerel, all the ones filled with Omega acids. Blech! OTOH, a nice whitefish can be delicious. I love cod, halibut, tuna, plaice, and the like. But no fresh water fish. Ever. Trout is disgusting. > > Tuna isn’t a white fish… is it? 😕 I mean, it’s not in Spanish, but then, in Spanish potatoes aren’t a veggie (they’re plants but not veggies). > > What do you call the group of “dark” fishes in English? I don’t know about the “dark” fishes, but I, too, have never heard tuna referred to as a [“whitefish.”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitefish_%28fisheries_term%29) ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-eat-fish-or-seafood/554604/69 "2010-09-23T19:53:19Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > > [@norinew](#): > > > > Well, all the canned tuna in our pantry is labeled “solid white”, so, I would guess that, like poultry, some cuts are white, some are dark. > > Someone will correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t think individual tunas have white and dark meat. The distinction is between species of tuna. Some species, like albacores, have lighter meat than other species, like yellowfins. As I said, I was guessing! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-eat-fish-or-seafood/554604/70 "2010-09-23T20:02:30Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I don’t know about the “dark” fishes, but I, too, have never heard tuna referred to as a [“whitefish.”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitefish_%28fisheries_term%29) Come to think of it, I would just call those fishes “fatty” fishes. Tuna _is_ one of those Omega-3 fatty acid fishes. If you’ve ever had otoro (a particularly prized part of the tuna belly), you can see just how fatty it gets–there’s striations of fat running through it like a well-marbled steak. Mmmm! ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-eat-fish-or-seafood/554604/71 "2010-09-23T20:04:21Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Tuna isn’t a white fish… is it? 😕 I mean, it’s not in Spanish, The English term “whitefish” does not include tuna. > [@](#): > > but then, in Spanish potatoes aren’t a veggie (they’re plants but not veggies). English food terms aren’t very strict. Potato can be called a vegetable, a root vegetable, a starchy vegetable, and probably many other less common terms. Furthermore, terms used by retailers, culinary experts, scientists, and those in the fishing industry don’t necessarily jibe with each other. > [@](#): > > What do you call the group of “dark” fishes in English? There is no such term, so far as I know. English terms for categories of seafood are not very precise. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-eat-fish-or-seafood/554604/72 "2010-09-23T20:31:40Z")
Mea culpa. The two sentences weren’t meant to be read together, but I edited my original post before posting. I **know** tuna isn’t a whitefish. There was another section in there about Jewish delis. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-eat-fish-or-seafood/554604/73 "2010-09-23T23:35:23Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > > [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > > > Most people would think it’s odd if a restaurant had 50% of their menu as chicken or pork or beef (unless it’s a steak house.) But I guess people just expect to see 50% as fish and seafood. > > But you’re lumping all the seafood together. It’s like saying 50% of the menu is from mammals, but you don’t like mammal meat. This is exactly the point I was thinking of. It would be like someone who hates meat saying, “Chicken, pork, lamb, duck! Half of these entrees are meat!” I can see how it would be _annoying_ if you know you don`t like any of them but the flavors and textures are so different there's no reason it should bewildering. You can't lump all the things you don`t like together and ignore that to people who enjoy them they all taste completely different. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-eat-fish-or-seafood/554604/74 "2010-09-24T01:21:21Z")
Why can’t I lump them all together? Did I break some law? ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-eat-fish-or-seafood/554604/75 "2010-09-24T03:04:59Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Why can’t I lump them all together? Did I break some law? Restaurants like to serve menu items that taste different because having choices appeals to diners. You can’t lump different types of seafood together on the basis of taste because they don’t taste the same. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-eat-fish-or-seafood/554604/76 "2010-09-24T03:22:05Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > > [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > > > I noticed that nice places to eat have a large chunk of their menu as fish or seafood which means my options are normally cut by ~50% to start. > > Do you have some particular objection to it, an allergy, or just don’t like it very much? > > I like most fish, and love salmon. I’ve never really cared much for shellfish, though. I’m the exact opposite. While I like regular fish, I lurves me some shellfish. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-eat-fish-or-seafood/554604/77 "2010-09-24T03:38:14Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > You all should stop worrying that seafood is hogging 50% of your restaurant menues. There’s plenty of good hearty manly red meat and lotsa chicken on the other side of the menu. The oceans are dying, the fisheries have decimated the fish population. Pretty soon any kind of fish or shellfish will be so expensive only the ultra-rich and/or the Japanese will be able to afford it. And then someday there just won’t BE any more fish worth catching or eating. Yeah, except for that fish farming thingie. :rolleyes: Frankly, I am quite surprised at so many testaments to aversion to seafood. A dislike for an oily, strong-flavored fish like salmon I can understand (which is why its best cold-smoked or medium-rare!) but I am getting the sense that people haven’t actually TRIED many of the variations of seafood preparations. For example, an oily fish like tuna or salmon tastes/smells MORE oily and fishy the more it is cooked. Seared tuna tartare when done properly is a gift from the culinary heavens, likewise salmon, scallops, lobster, etc. Its all in how its prepared. People that claim “I don’t eat bugs” in reference to lobster, shrimp and other crustaceans are just being silly. Its the same as a little kid saying “No Dad, I don’t like that!” Dad: “Have you tried it?” Kid: “NO! But I don’t care, I know I won’t like it!” I understand this won’t be the case with everyone, but some of you have had some bad fish/shellfish or had it prepared in a crappy way. I used to be like you. Now I am an utter convert. I just ate seared scallops a moment ago. They were delicious, except I over-salted them. Those of you that cannot appreciate sushi for all its clean, vibrant flavors (not ALL of which are derived from the fish itself, but from condiments)…I will pray the rosary for you, for you know not what you do. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-eat-fish-or-seafood/554604/78 "2010-09-24T03:39:36Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Those of you that cannot appreciate sushi for all its clean, vibrant flavors (not ALL of which are derived from the fish itself, but from condiments)…I will pray the rosary for you, for you know not what you do. Bait is bait. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-eat-fish-or-seafood/554604/79 "2010-09-24T04:19:41Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > I don’t doubt that to some people this is true… but is isn’t for me. I find nothing in common with Lobster tail and a Tuna Fillet… or a clam. Same with cruciferous vegetables… horseradish tastes nothing like Brussel sprouts, which taste nothing like broccoli. Just like my daughter can’t stand cilantro, but I think it is wonderful… different taste buds just work differently apparently. In your last example, at least, there’s a genetic component. To some people cilantro tastes strongly of soap. Who could blame them for avoiding the stuff? Others, like me, get a citrusy note instead; much more palatable. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2010, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-eat-fish-or-seafood/554604/80 "2010-09-24T04:27:48Z")
I am a vegetarian but was never a fan of seafood even when I ate meat. I think the big thing for me is that I discovered it is fairly common for certain kinds of fish to have worms and other parasites in them. The idea of eating a roundworm in a fish filet totally grosses me out even if it is dead and not going to cause health problems. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-eat-fish-or-seafood/554604.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-not-eat-fish-or-seafood/554604.md?page=5)