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Article: Eel: Americans are overcoming their squeamishness as the sushi craze reintroduces this slithery fish.(Product Spotlight)
- Article from:
- Seafood Business
- Article date:
- December 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Diversified Publications. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The culinary value of eel is easily overlooked, likely due to an American aversion to the fish's snakelike, slithering appearance.
But that hasn't always been the case. The flesh of this fascinating creature, an important ingredient in European and Japanese cuisine, was a mainstay food in Colonial America.
Native Americans taught settlers to capture eels from muddy river bottoms.
"Eel rapidly became a staple in the colonists' diet," wrote Richard Schweid in his book "Consider the Eel," published in 2002.
The first signs of eel-inspired squeamishness appeared in recipe notes in cookbooks published just after the Civil War. By the time ...