small scraps or cooked leftovers, or fish that are bony or otherwise unsuited to serving in large pieces While meat mixtures are often tenderized and enriched by chunks of fat, and firmed by conversion of the meat’s connective tissue into gelatin, fish contain little connective tissue and no fat that is solid at room temperature Instead, many fish mixtures aim for a distinctive lightness, and have for many centuries, as is clear from Anthimus’s early version of the classic French dish quenelles de brochet (see box below) Mousselines, Quenelles The basic preparation for many refined fish mixtures is t h e mousseline, from the French mousse, or “foam,” a term that describes the airy, delicate consistency aimed for Chilled raw fish is very finely chopped or pureed (with care to avoid overheating in high-speed processors), then whisked with one or more of several binding and enriching ingredients The whisking also incorporates air, which lightens the mixture If the fish is very fresh, then it can be enriched and tenderized with cream and bound simply with salt, which extracts some myosin protein from the muscle fibers to help them stick together With less pristine fish — weeks in the freezer can cause premature protein aggregation and a wet, crumbly puree — egg whites help hold the particles of fish muscle together, as various starchy materials, including bread crumbs, flour-based béchamel and velouté sauces, pastry doughs, and mashed rice or potatoes The mousseline mixture is firmed by refrigeration, then shaped into dumpling-like quenelles, or wrapped inside thin fish fillets (paupiettes), and gently poached; or it’s put in ramekins or a pan and cooked in a water bath to make pâtés and terrines The target temperature at the center is 140–150ºF/60– 65ºC; higher temperatures give a harder, heavier result ...whisking also incorporates air, which lightens the mixture If the fish is very fresh, then it can be enriched and tenderized with cream and bound simply with salt, which extracts some myosin protein from the muscle fibers to help them stick together... to help them stick together With less pristine fish — weeks in the freezer can cause premature protein aggregation and a wet, crumbly puree — egg whites help hold the particles of fish muscle together, as... inside thin fish fillets (paupiettes), and gently poached; or it’s put in ramekins or a pan and cooked in a water bath to make pâtés and terrines The target temperature at the center is 140–150ºF/60–