Food News

The Art of Cooking Whole Fish

Area chefs team up to teach diners how to prepare lesser-known seafood

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Did you know that most fish consumed is eaten in restaurants? Have you ever thought about why that may be? I have a feeling it’s because many folks are intimidated by cooking fresh fish at home. The non-profit Eating with the Ecosystem is aiming to change that one class at a time with their School of Fish at Hope and Main.

“The purpose of the School of Fish workshops is to take the fear out of fish,” explains Eating with the Ecosystem founder Sarah Schumann. “At each event, a local chef instructs guests in using a local fish – always a highly plentiful one – that is underrepresented in the local marketplace, such as scup, whiting or herring. By showing consumers how easy and versatile it can be to cook with whole fish, we hope to eliminate that psychological barrier and enable consumers to go to their local fishmonger and confidently ask for some of these plentiful yet often-ignored local species.”

Eating with the Ecosystem aims to diversify local seafood consumption. By eating a variety of local species the strain on our marine food webs is more balanced and representative of what’s actually out there. Plus, it’s good for the area fishing fleet. “One of the big barriers to eating what’s available is that many of our most plentiful species are only available whole, unprocessed,” says Sarah. “[This] isn’t a bad thing – cooking fish whole is less wasteful – but it can be intimidating to some consumers.  In fact, whether whole or filleted, there’s a myth out there that fish is difficult to cook, which is why most seafood is consumed in restaurants.”

The goal of the School of Fish is to have class participants leave with the confidence of cooking whole fish at home and asking for it at the docks or any fish market. Sarah sees this class as a success when attendees can take any local fish, whole or filleted, and feel confident that they can bake it, grill it or fry it and have it be a delicious form a sustenance for themselves and their family. The next School of Fish class is on March 21 and April 25. Hope and Main demonstration kitchen, 691 Main Street, Warren. 401-245-7400, www.MakeFoodYourBusiness.org

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