I’ve been watching Top Chef, and there have been a couple of guest judges who have said that they don’t like dairy with seafood. I’ve heard from other people in the food business that they don’t think that seafood and dairy go together.
I have a couple of killer cream sauces- one with jalepeos and habeneros, one with parmesan and garlic- that I use with various seafoods, and I think that Gruyere is great with a lot of different fish. And, of course, there's smoked salmon and cream cheese!
Anyone else here who thinks that seafood and dairy don't mix?
I’ve heard that from a lot of people myself who just kind of take it as a a Law of Food, but on the other hand I know plenty of people who like seafood with cream sauce or cheese (my food geek sister makes shrimp crusted with Parmesan). I don’t like shellfish, but I’ve had regular fish with sauce and cheese and liked it.
I can see where the combo wouldn’t work if it was a real strong cheese that would overwhelm the flavor of the seafood, or textures that wouldn’t work together but I don’t get why the judges would just dismiss it out of hand.
although that’s one of the many many many things that have annoyed me about this round of Top Chef, how the guest judge blew off Mikey’s crab and brie quesadilla (which most people I’ve asked said they’d eat and probablly like) yet Cliff’s fish & mac cheese combo for the TGI Friday’s episode was raved about.
I don’t hate all dairy with it cream sauces are good, but cheese and seafood is a really nasty combination. The one and only time I decided to try a tuna melt I actually had to run to the bathroom to barf after the first bite. They just interact really nastily in my mouth.
My mother was convinced that drinking milk while eating fish would make you ill. As an example of just how dense I was as a child, I never thought to ask her at the time why the school lunchroom was allowed to serve milk when we had fish sticks…
On the rare occasions I fry fish, I usually do it “Southern style”: dipped in whole buttermilk, dredged in pecans and bread crumbs, and fast-fried in very hot oil. The buttermilk lingers under the crispy coating, and is very, very yummy with the fish.
Applebee’s makes a parmesan-crusted tilapia that I like (it’s part of a mixed seafood plate), and I’ve had assorted cream-based sauces on fish that didn’t bother me at all.
I’m not arguing the relative merits (I prefer Manhattan Clam Chowder to New England), but just pointing out at least one classic seafood disk has milk in it. AFAIK, shrimp scampi – a favorite of mine – does not.
Another classic is lox and cream cheese on a bagel. And coquilles St. Jacques for the higher end.
FoodTV.com had 24 pages of recipes when you search for “fish” and “cheese,” so someone is doing it.
Throw in a can of mushroom soup, too. It looks exactly like something someone else already ate, but despite its horrifying appearance, it’s pretty damned tasty.
(I use frozen peas - just toss 'em in the colander before draining the macaroni.)
I’d also been noticing a lot on top chef and the food network (that “throwdown” show where the pizza guy said fish and cheese don’t mix) that, well, fish and cheese don’t mix.
This is news to me.
Many restaurants around here serve fish or shrimp with various cheeses or sauces in tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, and on its own. One of my favorite dishes in town consists of a catfish filet, wrapped in toritillas, deep fried, and covered in a spicy queso.
I think this is a bit of a confabulated myth related as truism… a subtlety lost in translation and exploited by foodies and critics.
In Italian cuisine, as defined by gastronomy and general regionalism, the clash of certain cheeses- specifically parmigiano reggiano, and peccorino romano, mixed with the taste of the sea is frowned upon by the coastal gustatory. I think it is a purists arguement, but they have a point. The acidity and sharpness of these aged cheeses might interfere with the purity and “breath” of Frutti Di Mare. The gentleness of the sea is overpowered by what some might consider acridity. Of course, this is only with theese cheese. I don’t believe this disqualifies all dairy and seafood combos.
