Popular fish in American diet?

Salmon, and catfish come to mind. Mostly because I enjoy them both. Freshwater fish like Bass of course, caught for the sport of it, but eaten with pleasure. Trout as well.

Depending on location, CRABS are a huge part of the coastal diet. Blue crabs, softshell crabs. Oysters and clams - again, depending on location, and oil slicks.

But I grew up on the Texas gulf coast, so flounder, crab, shrimp and oysters were always available. Someone in Kansas might have a different feeling about food. New England of course, has lobsters... really it's a big country and fish/seafood is location dependent.

Fluke (also known as flounder)

Tuna

salmon, tuna, flounder, and yes, crabs are HUGE (and delicious!), shrimp, tilapea, sword fish..

ETA: I just really love fish.

Tilapia, walleye and cod, too.

Halibut.

swordfish

We catch our fish, so also we've had king mackeral, red snapper, grouper, croaker, blue fish, rock fish....

> Something what many Americans eat regularly.

All the species named above, soaked in a beer batter and deep fried. And don't forget the A1 sauce and ketsup.

-cb

Oh the ubiquitous "Sea Food Platter" - take anything from the ocean, deep fry it and pour it on a huge plate making up more than 3000 calories... yeah. Most 'family restaraunts' will serve such an abomination. (Spare the catsup pass me the tartar sauce... mmmmmmmm)

Modern transport makes just about any seafood available anywhere - but of course the farther inland, the more expensive. And frozen anything is not quite as good as fresh caught.

Honestly, I've traveled ALL over the US and it's surprising how localized the cuisine can be in regards to fish. Growing up on the Gulf Coast, I almost never ate salmon. Here in NorCal I LOVE it. Almost never got Lobster when I was a kid, but I worked in Massachusetts for several months, and became addicted to it. Red Snapper on the Gulf, especially BLACKENED is a real treat.

The Great Lakes region has their own freshwater cuisine.

For the most part, tuna (especially canned) and salmon are pretty common. Tilapia has gotten popular lately, and cod seems to be resurging (yay! I love cod!). You can also get orange roughy and flounder almost anywhere.

Catfish can be found in most places, but is very popular in the South. There are some regional differences, such as Lake Superior whitefish in the Great Lakes area, lobster and crab are quite popular in the Northeast (and elsewhere, it's just something harder to get) and the Pacific Northwest has other species that are popular there.

Trout is huge in the south; so is catfish. Salmon, swordfish, tuna, mahi mahi are big on the southern coast. Crawfish, oysters, crabs, shrimp are huge in the Mississippi delta area. Northeast--cod, lobsters, crabs, flounder, clams.

A lot of regional variances in what fish Americans eat.

We eat a lot of salmon (both frozen filets and canned), some canned tuna, catfish, tilipia, and some whiting.

Fresh caught, we like bass, trout, crappie, blue gill, and spoonbill.

I grew up eating carp and gar because we lived on a major river; some Americans consider these "trash fish" but they are also big in Europe. Both are actually tasty.

Actually you can take anchovies off the menu, sales are so far down they just announce the closure of the last anchovy plant in America, google it to learn more.

You also need to verify how far inland you are to determine the diet. Like one of the posters above mentioned, it's really hard to get fresh anything when you're not close to the coast. I live in North Texas, and we mostly see salmon, tuna, catfish and tilapia. The more exotic brands we usually don't see unless you go to a specialty market.

My sister and I grew up on coasts (my dad is in the Coast Guard) and ate A LOT of fish our whole lives.

In Texas we ate mostly flounder (that we caught ourselves). We spent every summer in southern Arkansas, where the only fish I saw on any menu was catfish. While living in the keys, our fish-of-choice was Mahi-Mahi (also called dolphin - especially around tourists, to freak them out), but it's a little more expensive and harder to catch (we still did, though). It's my favorite fish. Tilapia is great when you're on a diet and it tastes more-or-less like whatever you cook it in (I like lemon juice, a dab of butter and garlic).

I've only recently started eating salmon, but the Icelandic volcano has slowed down the supply, at least on the East coast.

I can't stand cod and I've discovered that most people who say they "don't like fish" have only ever had either cod or whitefish.

With all that being said, I prefer crab more than any fish

It depends on where one is. In New England the preferred fish would be salmon, haddock, and cod. People in other areas eat what they can get.

boron said:

Yes, I've just said it from the head - they are actually more popular in Europe, I think.

Most fish in US is eaten fresh? What about canned fish? Here in Europe, canned sardines or canned tuna are popular.

Also, in general, are people aware where the fish they eat are from? Are people aware which fish come from Mexico gulf, for example?

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Canned: tuna, salmon, sardines (also fish steaks in similar tins).

I am usually aware of where the fish I eat comes from - whether we catch it or buy it at the supermarket. I don't think you can tell Gulf of Mexico, though, just whether or not it's USA or another country.

These days, fish from the Gulf are in short supply

boron said:

I know for anchovies, shrimps, tuna, mackerel.

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I have NEVER had anchovies. Can't say I've ever had macherel.

But tuna, salmon, trout, perch, bluegill, smelt, cod, haddock are popular. Tilapia, in recent hears, has become very popular.

boron said:

Yes, I've just said it from the head - they are actually more popular in Europe, I think.

Most fish in US is eaten fresh? What about canned fish? Here in Europe, canned sardines or canned tuna are popular.

Also, in general, are people aware where the fish they eat are from? Are people aware which fish come from Mexico gulf, for example?

Click to expand...

I buy most of my fish frozen. And for the most part, I don't know where it comes from. I grew up 1000 miles from any coast and it just wasn't something we thought about. I wasn't even sure always which fish were freshwater and which were salt, except for the obvious ones like ocean perch, tuna or catfish. I tried to get more informed a few years ago when there was an ocean conservation campaign, but I never kept up with it.

EDIT: and anchovies are bleurgh! I've only seen people eat them on a bet and usually drunk.

For the ever-popular Friday-night fish-fry, Haddock and sometimes, cod. Salmon steaks or cutlets, swordfish steaks are great. I didn't see clams or oysters, but they're popular as appetizers. Shrimp in any form. Tilapia is becoming popular. Occasionally, catfish or other bottom feeders. Lobsters when we can afford them. Tuna steaks, and canned tuna for tuna salad sandwiches.