How to Cook Fish

Everyone knows that fish is good for you. The fats in fish, especially fatty fish like salmon, tuna, and mackerel, are thought to help prevent heart disease.

But it seems that many people are afraid of cooking fish at home. Americans eat only about 15 pounds of fish per person per year, but we eat twice as much fish in restaurants as at home.

Buying, storing, and cooking fish isn't difficult; it just requires a little knowledge.

We know that beef is red because a cow's hard used muscles need lots of oxygen and therefore have a lot of myoglobin, the molecule that transports oxygen around the body. Fish have a much easier life. They don't need to fight gravity to stay upright, and can move long distances with just a flick of a tail. Therefore there isn't much myoglobin in fish, so it tends to be light coloured and translucent.

When fish cooks, the proteins denature and then coagulate. This process squeezes out water and the molecules shrink, pressing closer together. You can see this process happening as the fish becomes opaque. Light isn't able to pass through the coagulated proteins; fish is cooked when it is opaque.

Because fish have very little connective tissue and fat, they are quite delicate when cooked. A reliable doneness test is to check if the fish 'flakes'. Insert a fork or knife gently into the thickest part of the fish and twist. The flesh should begin to separate along the natural lines.

Marinating fish adds flavour and moisture to the flesh, but any marinating should be very brief. If fish flesh sits in acidic ingredients for more than 30 minutes, the acid will begin to denature the delicate protein, and you'll have a mushy fish when it's cooked. Even richer flesh of salmon and tuna should only be marinated for about an hour.

Marinades include oil and an acidic ingredient like chopped tomatoes, red wine vinegar, or lemon juice, along with seasonings including salt and pepper. Depending on your tastes, seasonings can range from crushed red pepper flakes to fresh thyme leaves and parsley.

There are many common methods used to cook fish: grilling, roasting, steaming, frying and others. There's one important point to make about cooking fish: leave it alone! When you place the fish in the pan or on the grill, let it cook undisturbed for 2-4 minutes before you touch it. The fish will develop a nice crust and will release perfectly when it's ready to turn.

9.Answer the questions.

1.Why is fish light coloured and translucent?

2.What happens to fish when it cooks?

3.How to define when fish is cooked?

4.Why is cooked fish quite delicate?

5.How can fish doneness be checked?

6.Why should the process of marinating be brief?

7.What can be used as marinade for fish?

8.What are the usual methods of fish cooking?

10.Make up word combinations, matching the adjectives with the appropriate nouns.

acidic wine fatty reliable coagulated lemon heart connective

fish juice disease ingredient tissue protein vinegar test

11.Match the verbs with their explanations.

1. to denature 2. to coagulate 3. to squeeze 4. to shrink 5. to insert 6. to twist 7. to marinate

a) to put in b) to soak in marinade c) to cause to change into a soft semisolid mass d) to press (something) so as to extract (a liquid) e) to cause to turn in the opposite direction from another f) to contract g) to change (a protein) by chemical or physical means, such as the action of acid or heat

12.Translate into English.

1.Жири в рибі допомагають запобігти серцевим хворобам.

2.Багато людей побоюються готувати рибу вдома.

3.У рибі небагато міоглобіну.

4.Під час кулінарної обробки білок у рибі коагулює, витісняючи воду, і молекули притискаються щільніше.

5.Приготована риба є непрозорою.

6.Не слід залишати рибу в маринаді на тривалий час.

13.Read the following recommendations. Make a list of different kinds of fish, give their Ukrainian equivalents. Say what fish you (your family) prefer to buy.