ABSTRACT
Just a few decades ago, the only seafood available to many people was canned tuna. That was the extent of fish experience for those who lived away from a shoreline. Today, however, as a result of advances in transportation, as well as the increasing availability of Asian (especially Japanese) cuisine, people in all areas of the world are learning to appreciate fine, fresh seafood. This chapter makes every effort to categorize fish clearly by their many, sometimes overlapping, distinctions, and to explain how each type of fish may contribute to reader culinary repertoire. In other areas of the world, various forms of seafood have shaped the cultures and economies of the local populations. In Russia, of course, the Caspian Sea provides the home for the giant sturgeon that produces Beluga caviar. Flatfish are weird looking but delicious.
