Proteins · Fi

Fish

Sets at 50–55 °C · dries fast

Per 100 g

97 kcal Energy

18.4 g Protein

0 g Carbs

2.5 g Fat

0 g Fibre

Gluten-free FISH

Let’s cook with it → Invent something with it

What it is for

Heat unfolds them and they link to each other: they bind, they firm, they build crust. They are one half of the Maillard reaction; sugar is the other.

Where it catches you out

Every protein has its own threshold and none of them are reversible. Egg turns at 82 °C, meat at 70, fish at 55 — once past, there is no coming back.

The knack

Skin side down, and do not touch it for the first two minutes: the skin releases itself.

Storage and health

How to keep it, and who it suits.

Keeping it

Cleaned raw fish keeps 1-2 days on ice in the fridge; frozen, oily fish keeps 2-3 months and white fish six.

Gluten-free

Plain fish is naturally gluten-free. Floured, breadcrumbed and surimi products carry gluten.

Allergen: FISH

Glycaemic index

This ingredient carries no meaningful carbohydrate, so it has no glycaemic index. On its own it will not move blood sugar; what you eat alongside it decides that.

What it works with

Pairings, and the reason for each

"They go well together" is not an explanation. Every pairing below has a chemical or structural mechanism under it.

Flour →

A dry starch-and-protein layer reaches Maillard temperatures fast while insulating the delicate muscle beneath, which sets at only 50–60 °C.

Also works with

Lemon

Olive oil

Salt

Bay leaf

Black pepper

Sumac

What it fights with

Lemon

A long acid marinade denatures the short, weak fibres straight through — that is ceviche, not seasoning.

What goes on top

Lemon, sumac onion salad, olive oil, parsley, tarator

Key compounds

EPA / DHA: Highly unsaturated; they oxidise readily into fishy, rancid aldehydes.

Nutritionally

The long-chain omega-3s EPA and DHA are the point of eating fish and the most oxidation-prone fats in the kitchen. Buy fresh, store cold, cook briefly.

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