gets tough. The fragility of cooked fish results
from its relatively small amounts connective-
tissue collagen, and from the low temperature
at which that collagen is dissolved into
gelatin.
The Unpredictability
of Fish Quality
The quality of many fish and shellfish can
vary drastically from season to season. This is
because they live out life cycles that typically
include one phase during which they grow and
mature, accumulating energy reserves and
reaching their peak of culinary quality, and a
subsequent phase during which they expend
those reserves to migrate and create masses of
eggs or sperm for the next generation. And
most fish don’t store their reserves in layers
of fat, as land animals do. Instead they use the
proteins of their muscle mass as their energy
pack. During migrations and spawning, they