Searches Answered

Crab, Krap, gaforre, سلطعون, narahatlıq, karramarro, крабамі, краб, cranc, 蟹, rak, krab, krabbe, krabi, alimasag, rapu, crabe, caranguejo, καβούρι, סרטן, tarisznyarák, krabbi, portán, granchio, カニ, 게, krabis, krabas, рак, ketam, Granċ, خرچنگ, краба, rakovica, cangrejo, krabba, ปู, yengeç, کیکڑا, cua, קראַב

So part of being the slightly neurotic blogger that I am is keeping an eye on what searches brought people here.  Sometimes they are very specific searches.  In those cases I stop and think, “Did I answer that?”  For some I am convinced that I not only answered the question, but did so thoroughly.  For others I never even thought of the question.

Then there are another bunch that I have no idea why they ended up here.  Some of these terms come up frequently.  If I search my blog for the term, it doesn’t come up.  Yet week after week certain terms will have a couple searches each.  It is almost like the algorithmic gods of the internets have decided that I was the place to come for that information.  In fear of angering these gods, I will give the searchers what they want.

Read the full post at Foodie Knowledge

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Dr Strange Salmon

An AquAdvantage Salmon and traditional salmon of the same age.

or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Genetically Modified Salmon

Earlier this week I posted a link to a story regarding the AquAdvantage genetically modified salmon.  In the days since, I have become fascinated by this concept.  I have consumed dozens of articles on the topic and several related topics.  I have also read the companies literature on the topic and reviewed the data they sent to the FDA.  I have come to a very specific conclusion on this issue.  Everyone needs to take a deep breathe and look at the big picture.

The AquAdvantage Salmon is for all intensive purposes an Atlantic Salmon.  As you might recall from a previous post on salmon, all commercial Atlantic Salmon is farm raised since it was fished to near extinction in the Atlantic.  The AquAdvatage Salmon has two major differences.  They introduced the growth hormone of the much larger Coho Salmon and a cool water tolerance gene found in the eelpout.  These modifications allow the salmon to grow to market size in half the time.

Read the full post at Foodie Knowledge

Monday Morning Recap

I work doubles on Mondays, which generally leaves me little time to write.  This has lead me to try several different concepts for Monday posts.  Most were not well received.  This Monday, as promised, I am going to do something different.  Today we will try a brief recap of my favorite server blog posts from the last week.

Read the full post at Restaurant Laughs

Seafood During Pregnancy

If you sell seafood at your restaurant, you will inevitably come in contact with pregnant women concerned whether or not it is safe.  During pregnancy the only thing you get more than designer baby clothes that the child won’t be able to appreciate is advice on what not to eat.  Seafood is confusing to expectant mothers because it’s health benefits are touted as frequently as it is warned against.  The key for servers is being able understand what the warnings are about and what seafood to caution against.  Being able to concisely explain to expectant mothers what is and is not safe is relatively easy once you understand the reason for the warnings.

Seafood contains a great number of benefits for both mother and child.  Seafood contains DHA a type of Omega-3 acid that actually helps with a child’s brain development.  Seafood can also be high in calcium, iron, and vitamin D.  It has also been linked to delaying premature births.  For mothers, seafood is low in fat, but high in protein.  The Omega-3s in seafood have even been shown to reduce post partum depression.

Read the full post at Foodie Knowledge

Foodie Friday: Health and Environmental Issues of Salmon

The planet Earth produces more food than ever before.  Tremendous advances in food sciences have lead a higher percentage of our planets population to be fed than in any time in the modern era.  No person is more responsible for this than one of my personal heroes, Norman Borlaug.  It is estimated that the advancements he created saved over a BILLION lives.  Yet to this day he and his techniques are widely criticized.

I mention Dr Borlaug for two reasons.  First, I feel he is someone everyone should know about.  Second, in a time of unprecedented food abundance we are supposed to feel guilty about eating more of it than ever before.  All food does come with an environmental cost.  Even people who may not be willing to avoid meat entirely are more concerned with the environmental impact of what they do eat.  I have never considered myself a food alarmist, but I do have three items I avoid: bar olives, gulf oysters, and farm raised salmon.

Read the full post at Foodie Knowledge

Foodie Fridays: Salmon Species

Salmon is one of the least understood items on most restaurant menus.  Servers are often unaware of what type of salmon is served out of their kitchen.  Even more commonly servers are unaware of the unique selling points of the species they offer.  This is problematic because premium salmon can warrant a premium price.  It is the responsibility of a great server to be able to explain the benefits of the salmon they serve to be able to justify the premium price in the minds of their guests.

Last week’s post on wild caught versus farm-raised salmon provides a good background for understanding this post.  Rather than trying to list every type of salmon, I will focus on the species most commonly caught and served in North America.  Want to know about a different species or name?  Leave a comment below.

Here are the four most common types of salmon you may encounter:

Read the full post at Foodie Knowledge

Foodie Friday: Salmon Basics

I spent most of my life disliking the flavor of salmon.  Growing up most of the salmon I ate came from a can and was served in “patty” form.  As I worked in casual dining restaurants I would occasionally try the salmon dishes only to be turned off by the lingering flavors it would leave with me.  It was not until working at an upscale seafood restaurant that I learned what good salmon tasted like.  This is the equivalent of someone disliking beef based upon the experience with $2 steaks.

Very few proteins vary as much in flavor as salmon.  The difference in taste between imported farm-raised salmon and wild caught Alaskan King salmon is as wide as the difference between Boone’s Farm and Moet Chandon.  Knowing what type of salmon to order in a restaurant is the key to a guest’s enjoyment of a salmon dish.  Knowing the differences between them and which to recommend is the job of a great server.  Basic salmon knowledge is vital to every server dealing with seafood on his or her menu.

Read the full post at Foodie Knowledge