a small bone to see whether the
connective tissue has dissolved enough to
release it, or pushing a small skewer or
toothpick into the flesh to see whether it
encounters resistance from coagulated
muscle fibers.Why Careful Cooking Sometimes Makes
Fish Mushy Slow and gentle heating has an
important place in meat cooking, and some
fish — Atlantic salmon, for example — can
develop an almost custard-like texture if
heated gently to 120ºF /50ºC. In fish cooking,
however, slow cooking can sometimes
produce an unpleasant, mushy texture. This is
caused by protein-digesting enzymes in the
muscle cells of active fish and shellfish that
help convert muscle mass into energy (p.
189). Some of these enzymes become
increasingly active as the temperature rises
during cooking, until they’re inactivated at
130–140ºF/55–60ºC. Mush-prone fish (see