Why tilapia tastes like dirt

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Thanksgiving Holidays Main Dish. Cookbook of the Month Cookbooks. November, edition Updated 16 hours ago comments. They taste like mud. Contrary to what some people seem to think, fish do not taste muddy because of the muddy lake bottom in which they are caught.

The flavour is caused by a chemical compound called geosmin. The two primary producers of geosmin in freshwater lakes are the blue-green algae you see on the surface of some lakes and actinomyces bacteria which causes decomposition of organic material on the lake bottom. Algae and actinomyces bacteria release geosmin into the water it is actually released when the living algae and bacteria die , which trout breathe in through their gills and then transfer, through the bloodstream, into their skin, flesh and muscle tissue.

Ironically, both algae and decomposition increase in warmer water, while it takes longer for a fish to eliminate the geosmin compounds from their system in cooler water due to metabolism rates. Although fish can still taste muddy in the fall, it is much more of a problem during the hot summer months when the algae is in full bloom. Clean and behead. Apply lemon, pepper and dill copiously.

Bake for 1 hour at degrees. Throw away the fish and eat the board. Last year I started eating it and find it somewhat tasty with a firm nice texture. I never noticed much flavor in tilapia at all. Most tilapia come from fish farms which may have something to do with any muddy flavor noticed. Have you actually tasted mud? I did as a kid, and it tastes nothing like tilapia. Mud has more flavor.

Ten years ago, it was probably frozen for six months, thawed poorly and fixed as a low-end menu item. The one you have today is likely fresh or at least only partially frozen and prepared as a front-line item.

I further suspect, though, that if you were to be served a half-portion of truly tasty fish and a half-portion of tilapia, the latter would seem more mushy and tasteless than you now perceive. Never noticed a mud flavor in it. Very mild, neutral flavor.