To the fish spoilage gang:
The interesting discussion thread of ammonia and TMA/TMAO on the Seafood
listserve reminds me of things I read on the subject when I was in graduate
school (more than a few years ago). It brings back memories of the stink I
created in the Food Science Lab while purposely spoiling fish to see if I
could isolate and identify the odor compounds using a hydrogen flame gas
chromatograph. And how later, as a refrigeration applications engineer, I
had occasion to suggest to some firms that they needed to fix leaks in their
ammonia freezer systems if they wanted to sell high quality frozen fish (or
corn or strawberries).
But there is one thing I was told in graduate school that I never knew if I
should believe - and that is that the English tradition of putting vinegar
on "fish and chips" was started in an attempt to cover up the ammonia smell
and mask the unpleasant belch often associated with eating fried shark. Is
that true about masking odors, or was somebody just "putting me on". After
all, they knew I was raised on a wheat farm.
Ken H. <:)
Kenneth S. Hilderbrand Jr.
Seafood Processing Specialist
Sea Grant Extension Program
Oregon State Univ. Marine Science Center
2030 Sth Marine Science Drive
Newport, Oregon 97365-5296 USA
phone: 541 867-0242
fax: 541 867-0138
email: <ken.hilderbrand@hmsc.orst.edu>
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