SC - pollack..

[Nanna Rögnvaldardóttir]

Allison wrote:
>
>Store had a sale on frozen pollock.  Bought a bag to try.  Anybody know
>what pollock is, how it's used, whether it was used in period, etc.?
>Looks like very thin fillets of white fish.  So flat, it may be related
>to flounder.  Don't know if it's salt or fresh water, but given the
>amount they had, it's probably salt water fish.


Is it pollock (saithe, Pollachius pollachius), or pollack (Pollachius
virens), as your header says? They are two different species of fish, both
of the cod family, both quite common in the Northern Atlantic. Your
description seems to fit pollack better, as pollock usually has greyish
flesh. Adult pollock is large and coarse-textured and probably best when
salted and smoked, young pollock can be quite good and may be boiled, fried,
baked or grilled. It is also the preferred fish for Norwegian fish soup
(Bergensk fiskesuppe). Pollack is more like cod and haddock and can be
treated in similar ways.

Nanna