several days after harvest The most prized flatfish is Dover or English sole, the principal member of a family found mainly in European waters (lesser U.S flatfish are often misleadingly called sole) It has a fine-textured, succulent flesh said to be best two or three days after harvest, a trait that makes it an ideal fish for air-shipping to distant markets The other eminent flatfish, the turbot, is a more active hunter It can be double the size of the sole, with a firmer flesh that is said to be sweetest in a freshly killed fish Thanks to their ability to absorb some oxygen through the skin, small turbot are farmed in Europe and shipped live in cold, moist containers to restaurants worldwide The halibut is the largest of the flatfish and a voracious hunter The Atlantic and Pacific halibuts (both species of Hippoglossus) can reach 10 ft/3 m and 650 lb/300 kg, and their firm, lean flesh is said to retain good quality for a week or more The distantly related “Greenland halibut” is softer and fattier, and the small “California halibut” is actually a flounder From the Waters to the Kitchen The quality of the fish we cook is largely determined by how it is harvested and handled by fishermen, wholesalers, and retail markets The Harvest As we’ve seen, fish and shellfish are a more delicate and sensitive material than meat They’re the animal equivalent of ripe fruit, and ideally they would be handled with corresponding care The reality is otherwise In a slaughterhouse it’s possible to kill each animal in a controlled way, minimize the physical stress and fear that adversely affect ...for a week or more The distantly related “Greenland halibut” is softer and fattier, and the small “California halibut” is actually a flounder From the Waters to the Kitchen The quality of the fish we cook is largely... determined by how it is harvested and handled by fishermen, wholesalers, and retail markets The Harvest As we’ve seen, fish and shellfish are a more delicate and sensitive material than meat They’re the animal equivalent of ripe fruit,... They’re the animal equivalent of ripe fruit, and ideally they would be handled with corresponding care The reality is otherwise In a slaughterhouse it’s possible to kill each animal in a controlled way, minimize the physical stress and fear that adversely affect