Product Description

Fish: The Complete Guide to Buying and Cooking is a book that simplifies, once and for all, the process of preparing fish. Organized in an easy-reference, A-Z format, Fish gives you the culinary lowdown on seventy kinds of fish and shellfish commonly found in American supermarkets and fish stores. Each entry describes how the fish is sold (fillets, steaks, whole, salted), other names it goes by, how the fish should look, and buying tips. Fish begins with general guidelines on how to store, prepare, and cook fish, whether sauteing, frying, grilling, or smoking, and you will find easy-to-follow illustrations of such important basics as how to gut and fillet a fish. Fish also includes up-to-the-minute information on the health benefits of fish in our diet. In addition, there are more than five hundred recipes and variations, all of which use low-fat, high-flavor ingredients to accent the intrinsic natures of the individual fish rather than mask them. And the vast majority of the recipes are ready in less than thirty minutes.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #179465 in Books
• Published on: 1999-01-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 544 pages

Amazon.com
From anchovy to wolffish, Mark Bittman, the executive editor of Cook's Illustrated magazine, presents fish and shellfish by name, offering discussions on preparation and presentation along with sumptuous recipes. Bittman proposes everything from traditional fare--Dungeness crab salad and marinated grilled salmon--to more complex dishes like curried mussels and raw sea bass salad. The more than 500 recipes are tried-and-true, and any cook with access to a decent fish market is advised to take full advantage of Bittman's expert and substantial overview. The book won the 1995 Julia Child Cookbook Award in the Single Subject Category.

From Publishers Weekly
Bittman organizes this more than ample book into short sections devoted to individual fish: technical information on how to handle a lobster, for instance, is combined with consumer buying tips, then followed by nine recipes. Usefully, the author, executive editor of Cook's Illustrated , holds his commentary down to a sober minimum--he doesn't often opt for chat or reader entertainment. Instead, unveiling the basics about 70 fish, he provides tried-and-true fare for the table--Dungeness crab salad, marinated grilled salmon--interspersed with more unusual offerings: raw sea bass salad; curried mussels; salmon scallops with garlic confit. Anyone with decent access to a fish market will appreciate (and come to rely on) this substantial overview. Photos not seen by PW . BOMC HomeStyle Book Club alternate; Food and Wine Books selection; first serial to Self magazine.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Here is yet another fish cookbook, but this is a particularly good one. Bittman, executive editor of Cook's Illustrated, has written a very user-friendly guide to what is still an unknown area for many home cooks. He provides more how-to illustrations than most books, along with informative but approachable descriptions on buying and preparing fish. He includes more than 70 types of fish and shellfish, organized alphabetically (no confusing subcategories here for the uninitiated); each section starts with the relevant particulars (common names, common forms, buying tips, etc.), followed by a more detailed description, ranging from several paragraphs to several pages in length. The recipes-more than 500-are simple, varied, and unintimidating. Highly recommended. [BOMC HomeStyle alternate selection; Food & Wine Books selection.]
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

HORRID
As with How to Cook Everything, many of Bittman's recipes could not have been tested before publishing and seem as though they were concocted at his desk.

Perfect for the Fish Chef
This book opened up a world of cooking fish that I had missed throughout my life. Great recipes, great explainations. Exceptional. I have been giving it as a gift to my fishing buddies.

newbiefishlover
a little outdated but still gives great advice and good recipes. all you ever wanted to know about cod but were afraid to ask.