Monday, October 04, 2010

Kinds of Cod

Since mid-Summer Smiley and I have switched our weekly barbecued fish to fresh Albacore Tuna, which is very responsible eating.  But for many months we were eating Black Rockfish, which our favorite fish market mislabels as "Cod" or sometimes "Pacific Snapper".  I became curious about the various fish named "Cod", and here is what I found out.

Pacific Cod, also called True Cod or Grayfish, is very responsible eating if caught in Alaska.  That is nearly always available fresh at the fish market.

Black Rockfish, sometimes called Cod in contrast to "True Cod", and sometimes falsely called Pacific Snapper, is nearly always available fresh and is very responsible eating.

The Sablefish, sometimes called Black Cod, is a delicacy and sold fresh only sometimes.  It is very responsible eating.

The badly misnamed Lingcod, which is of the same order as the Sablefish but not actual Cod, is often always available fresh.  It is responsible eating.

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