[ARCHIVED THREAD] - What is your opinion of Tilapia? (Page 3 of 4)
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Quoted: It's over rated to me. It is so mild that just about anything hides the flavor. Walleye, Trout, Perch, Crappie, Bluegill or Bass are far better tasting. as fresh water fish go. this is why I don't like it. It's like it's a fish for people who don't like the taste of fish. like I said, flounder isn't all that much more expensive and has more flavor and a firmer texture. |
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Tilapia inhabit a variety of fresh water habitats including shallow streams, ponds, rivers, lakes, and estuaries. Most tilapia are omnivorous with a preference for aquatic vegetation and detritus.
In biology, detritus is non-living particulate organic material (as opposed to dissolved organic material). It typically includes the bodies or fragments of dead organisms as well as fecal material. |
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Don't know, haven't caught one yet. They are stocked in a local lake (Lake Hogue) by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and I've tried several times to catch some but have failed so far. Gonna try again this spring when they restock, they die off every fall so none are in there right now.
Never had tilapia at a restaurant. |
 It tastes like dogfood. Some of it doesn't have a bad flavor (or any flavor) but a lot of it does. And getting a piece with that dog food flavor happens a lot more than it used to.
Here's how the tilapia system works: First, they use them to clean up the sewage treatment tanks and duck ponds. Once they get big enough, they pull them out of the sewage and toss them in a clean pond for a while to flush the poop flavor out of them. During this last step before they get harvested they're supposedly living in clean water and fed normal fish chow, so it shouldn't be too gross. Except it takes place in China, and there's no telling what sort of expired dog food and nasty water they feed them over there. I actually don't care that it eats poop. I fucking devour fried catfish and those things love to eat disgusting shit off the bottom. Doesn't bother me at all. I don't eat Tilapia simply because it tastes gross. I guess if you're broke ass poor and normally eat bologna, gubmint cheese, and generic Alpo, then tilapia might be acceptable alternative. And paying for fancy tilapia in a fancy restaurant is ridiculous. They might have a carved wooden fisherman at the doorway and imply that someone caught a wild tilapia and brought it to the fish market, but they're getting it from Chinese farms just like everybody else. |
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Quoted:
seems like this fish is on menus be it grilled, fried, baked, poached, seeviche etc... is it gutter fish or what? It's so bland I can't even bring myself to form an opinion about it. I've had it made several different ways by many different people, and always the blandness. Bleah. |
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Turns out it could be very bad for you. We stopped eating it a couple of years ago.
ScienceDaily (July 10, 2008) — Farm-raised tilapia, one of the most highly consumed fish in America, has very low levels of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids and, perhaps worse, very high levels of omega-6 fatty acids, according to new research from Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080708092228.htm |
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Quoted:
We were moored once in Subic Bay and I looked over the side of our ship to see a group of Tilapia bunched-up around a giant TURD, frantically nibbling away. So NO, I do not eat Tilapia.  Unless Subic Bay is freshwater, you didn't see a tilapia. They are considered trash fish and an invasive species here, you are supposed to kill them on sight. You can catch them with castnets in several of the powerplant lakes. I find it funny as hell when I see it on the menu. |
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Quoted:
It's cheap and easy to raise in fish farms. Why eat it? It's cheap and has a mild flavor. It's stupid that restaurants think this ought to be marketed as some kind of upscale fish though. Well, I guess they consider any fish a dish that they sell to be premium. My wife and I like it because the fillets come individually wrapped so they're easily stored and portioned. My favorite way to cook them is to marinade the fish fish in an egg and Cajun spice mixture for an hour, then dredge it in corn meal to which I've added some more Cajun spice. Fry it up with a little oil, then throw the fillets on a tortilla with cole slaw mix and spicy mayo for an awesome fish taco. Man now im hungry .. |
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seems like this fish is on menus be it grilled, fried, baked, poached, seeviche etc... is it gutter fish or what? there's only one fish worth frying, the one with wiskers Halibut ain't got whiskers. Neither do rockfish. What the heck you talking about? I have a freezer full of Red salmon. I go dipnet a load of it once a year and I am done. Never bought tilapia. Used to eat a ton of pollock though. I need to load up on some Rockies and ling cod. Maybe a few 'but this year. Nothing tastes better than a fresh ping-pong paddle sized baby halibut. |
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Quoted:
Very bland. I use it as a filler protein in gumbo or chowder. ETA - once again a thread shows that a good percentage of the posters here will starve to death in the coming apocalypse... Meh, it's ok. Grilled salmon is good. My favorites are raw tuna or smoked trout. Hessian-1 
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Quoted:
Tilapia inhabit a variety of fresh water habitats including shallow streams, ponds, rivers, lakes, and estuaries. Most tilapia are omnivorous with a preference for aquatic vegetation and detritus. In biology, detritus is non-living particulate organic material (as opposed to dissolved organic material). It typically includes the bodies or fragments of dead organisms as well as fecal material. This pretty much covers it. I was grossed out when I read about NASA studying Tilapia a few years back because it can gobble up human excrement, and still be safe to eat. Blech. |
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This just makes me want to fry some up now.
"Our waters here are filthy,” said Ye Chao, an eel and shrimp farmer who has 20 giant ponds in western Fuqing. “There are simply too many aquaculture farms in this area. They’re all discharging water here, fouling up other farms.” Farmers have coped with the toxic waters by mixing illegal veterinary drugs and pesticides into fish feed, which helps keep their stocks alive yet leaves poisonous and carcinogenic residues in seafood, posing health threats to consumers. " |
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I first heard about it from a graduate student who was from Western Africa. He was studying the fish in order to set up aquaculture back in his home country.
He was excited about it as it was feasible to raise it commercially in countries where any business venture would be decidedly "shoestring". Tilapia is an important food fish across the globe. That said, I am dubious about "food" from China. I think my suspicion is rational, unfortunately. Melamine fed fish, anyone? |
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Quoted:
I first heard about it from a graduate student who was from Western Africa. He was studying the fish in order to set up aquaculture back in his home country. He was excited about it as it was feasible to raise it commercially in countries where any business venture would be decidedly "shoestring". Tilapia is an important food fish across the globe. That said, I am dubious about "food" from China. I think my suspicion is rational, unfortunately. Melamine fed fish, anyone? I was thinking night soil. |
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shit eating fish but great for protein. Bad omega-3/6 ratio but the fat content is so small that it doesn't even matter... if it bothers you enough you can always eat something along with it that does have more omega-3s but it isn't really necessary because the fat content of tilapia is so small. |
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This thread seems to be full of the mentality that keeps 2nd graders from drinking from the water fountain too close to the hallway door leading to the restroom.
Its irrational. All fish root and eat shit to some extent. Believe it or not, the shit does not get into the meat! Really! See, there's this whole digestive process where nutrients and proteins are absorbed, where toxins are filtered and excreted, and where cells multiply and grow. Mercury is a real concern for certain fish, but I've read that the levels in Talipia are not bad. Fish is fish, and it makes for good fish tacos. I also like it glazed with soy, ginger, & rice wine over white rice. |
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If they're farmed, they're good to eat. Easy to cook however you like. how about if they are farmed in a cesspool? What do you thinks plants are fertilized with? I eat lots of plants. Ever seen the variety of things a chicken will eat/ I eat lots of chicken. Ever seen how they bait crab pots? I love me some crab..... |
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Nutritionally, it is terrible compared to other fish, even catfish. As someone else mentioned, they are gutter fish. They live and thrive in water too stagnant for catfish and bull frogs. I have seen them in sewage runoff ponds in FL. 
Once I saw that, I never ate it again. They CAN live in various types of water. They are simply robust and that is why they are used for farming. THEY DONT HAVE TO EAT CRAP AND LIVE IN CRAP. That isnt a requirment. They dont have to live in sewer water and then choke and die if they are raised in clean water. Some producers just do that because they are able to. There are several US producers that produce organic highquality tilapia. And they dont have "terrible" nurtitional vaule. Most of the misinformation on tilapia come from one poorly written article a few years ago that got a lot of publiclity. Several univerity professors wrote a response and buried her after that. |
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Quoted:
This thread seems to be full of the mentality that keeps 2nd graders from drinking from the water fountain too close to the hallway door leading to the restroom. Its irrational. All fish root and eat shit to some extent. Believe it or not, the shit does not get into the meat! Really! See, there's this whole digestive process where nutrients and proteins are absorbed, where toxins are filtered and excreted, and where cells multiply and grow. Mercury is a real concern for certain fish, but I've read that the levels in Talipia are not bad. Fish is fish, and it makes for good fish tacos. I also like it glazed with soy, ginger, & rice wine over white rice. Begone with your sorcery. It eats shit therefore there is shit in the meat you stupid bastard. 
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Quoted:
It's a mild white fish. Good, but it needs a chef's touch. http://swittersb.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/tilapia.jpg this.. its good if prepared right |