On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 369

substances called “wax esters,” which are an oil-like combination of a long-chain fatty acid and a long-chain alcohol Humans lack the digestive enzymes necessary to break these molecules into their smaller, absorbable parts The wax esters therefore pass intact and oily from the small intestine into the colon, where a sufficient quantity will cause diarrhea Restaurants are the best place to experience these luscious fish — the flesh is as much as 20% calorie-free “oil” — because they usually limit the serving size to a tolerable amount The paleness of fish flesh results from water’s buoyancy and its resistance to movement Continuous cruising requires longterm stamina and is therefore performed by slow-twitch red fibers, well supplied with the oxygen-storing pigment myoglobin and fat for fuel (p 132) Since cruising in buoyant water is relatively effortless, fish devote between a tenth and a third of their muscle to that task, usually a thin dark layer just under the skin But water’s resistance to movement increases exponentially with the fish’s speed This means that fish must develop very high power very quickly when accelerating And so they devote most of their muscle mass to an emergency powerpack of fast-twitch white cells that are used only for occasional bursts of rapid movement In addition to red and white muscle fibers, fish in the tuna family and some others have intermediate “pink” fibers, which are white fibers modified for more continuous work with oxygen-storing pigments The Flavor of Fish and Shellfish The flavors of ocean and freshwater creatures are very different Because ocean fish breathe and swallow salty water, they had to develop a ... very quickly when accelerating And so they devote most of their muscle mass to an emergency powerpack of fast-twitch white cells that are used only for occasional bursts of rapid movement In addition to red and white muscle fibers,... fish in the tuna family and some others have intermediate “pink” fibers, which are white fibers modified for more continuous work with oxygen-storing pigments The Flavor of Fish and Shellfish The flavors of ocean and freshwater creatures...tenth and a third of their muscle to that task, usually a thin dark layer just under the skin But water’s resistance to movement increases exponentially with the fish’s speed This