Los Angeles Kosher Restaurants

Alaska pollock or walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) is a North Pacific species of the cod family Gadidae. While related to the common Atlantic pollock species of the same family, the Alaska pollock is not a member of the same Pollachius genus.

The Alaska pollock has been said to be “the largest remaining source of palatable fish in the world.

Compared with pollock, Alaska pollock has a milder taste, whiter color and lower oil content.

High quality, single frozen whole Alaska pollock fillets may be layered into a block mold and deep frozen to produce fish blocks that are used throughout Europe and North America as the raw material for high quality breaded and battered fish products. Lower quality, double-frozen fillets or minced trim pieces may also be frozen in block forms and used as raw material for lower quality, low-cost breaded and battered fish sticks, portions, etc.

Single frozen Alaska Pollock is considered to be the premier raw material for surimi; the most common use of surimi in the United States is “imitation crabmeat” (also known as crab stick). It is the main ingredient in the surimi-based sandwich product called “Seafood Sensation”.

Alaska pollock is commonly used in the fast food industry, for example the Filet-O-Fish sandwich at McDonald’s. It is also used by Dairy Queen, Arby’s, and Burger King.

You can find authentic Kosher Alaska Pollock on many Kosher Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Tilapia (pronounced /tɨˈlɑːpiə/) is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the tilapiine cichlid tribe. 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. Historically they have been of major importance in artisan fishing in Africa and the Levant and are of increasing importance in aquaculture (see tilapia in aquaculture).

The common name tilapia is based on the name of the cichlid genus Tilapia, which is itself a latinization of thiape, the Tswana word for “fish.” Scottish zoologist Andrew Smith named the genus in 1840.

Like other large fish, they are a good source of protein and a popular target for artisanal and commercial fisheries. Tilapia have very low levels of mercury as they are a fast-growing and short-lived fish that mostly eats a vegetarian diet and therefore do not accumulate mercury found in prey. There is research suggesting that farm-raised tilapia contains an 11:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids whereas other fish, such as salmon, contain closer to a 1:1 ratio.

You can find authentic Kosher Tilapia on many Kosher Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Swordfish (Xiphias gladius; from Greek ξίφος: sword, and Latin gladius: sword), also known as Broadbill in some countries, are large, highly migratory, predatory fish characterized by a long, flat bill. They are a popular sport fish of the billfish category, though elusive.

The swordfish is named after its sharp beak resembling a sword (Latin gladius), which together with its streamlined physique allows it to cut through the water with great ease and agility. Contrary to belief the “sword” is not used to spear, but instead may be used to slash at its prey in order to injure the prey animal, to make for an easier catch.

Swordfish were harvested by a variety of methods at small scale (notably harpoon fishing) until the global expansion of long-line fishing. Longline gear can be targeted to a variety of fish, but bycatch remains a significant problem.

Swordfish is a particularly popular fish for cooking. Since swordfish are large animals, meat is usually sold as steaks, which are often grilled. The color of the flesh varies by diet, with fish caught on the east coast of North America often being rosier.

Swordfish are classified as oily fish. Many sources including the United States Food and Drug Administration warn about potential toxicity from high levels of methylmercury in swordfish. The FDA recommends that women who are pregnant or who may become pregnant should eat no more than one seven-ounce serving a month; others should eat no more than one serving a week.

You can find authentic Kosher Swordfish on many Kosher Restaurants in Los Angeles.

The milkfish (Chanos chanos) is the sole living species in the family Chanidae. (About seven extinct species in five additional genera have been reported.) The milkfish is an unofficial national symbol of the Philippines, where it is called by the Tagalog name bangus.

Milkfish have a generally symmetrical and streamlined appearance, with a sizable forked caudal fin. They can grow to 1.7 meters but are most often about 1 meter in length. They have no teeth and generally feed on algae and invertebrates.

They occur in the Indian Ocean and across the Pacific Ocean, tending to school around coasts and islands with reefs. The young fry live at sea for two to three weeks and then migrate to mangrove swamps, estuaries, and sometimes lakes and return to sea to mature sexually and reproduce.

The milkfish is an important seafood in Southeast Asia. The fry are collected from rivers and raised in ponds where they grow very quickly and are then sold either fresh, frozen, canned, or smoked. Because milkfish is notorious for being much bonier than other food fish, deboned milkfish, or “boneless bangus,” has become popular in stores and markets.

You can find authentic Kosher Milkfish on many Kosher Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Surimi is a Japanese loan word referring to a fish-based food product intended to mimic the texture and color of the meat of lobster, crab and other shellfish. It is typically made from white-fleshed fish (such as pollock or hake) that has been pulverized to a paste and attains a rubbery texture when cooked. The term is also commonly applied to food products made from lean meat prepared in a similar process.

Surimi is a much-enjoyed food product in many Asian cultures and is available in many shapes, forms, and textures. The most common surimi product in the Western market is imitation or artificial crab legs. Such a product often is sold as sea legs and krab in America, and as seafood sticks, crab sticks, fish sticks or seafood extender in Commonwealth nations.

Lean meat from fish or land animals first is separated or minced. The meat then is rinsed numerous times to eliminate undesirable odors. The result is beaten and pulverized to form a gelatinous paste. Depending on the desired texture and flavour of the surimi product, the gelatinous paste is mixed with differing proportions of additives such as starch, egg white, salt, vegetable oil, humectants, sorbitol, sugar, soy protein, seasonings, and chemical enhancers such as transglutaminases and monosodium glutamate (MSG).

If the surimi is to be packed and frozen, food-grade cryoprotectants are added as preservatives while the meat paste is being mixed. Under most circumstances, surimi is processed immediately into a formed and cured product.

You can find authentic Kosher Surimi on many Kosher Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Oily fish, oil-rich fish or pelagic fish are those fish which have oils throughout the fillet and in the belly cavity around the gut, rather than only in the liver like white fish. Examples of such fish include sardine, salmon, trout, anchovy, and mackerel, among others. Oily fish fillets may contain up to 30 percent oil, although this figure varies both within and between species. Oily fish generally swim in the pelagic zones of the oceans and are usually cold water fish (while white fish are warm water fish).

Oily fish are a good source of Vitamins A and D as well as being rich in omega 3 fatty acids (white fish also contain the same nutrients but at a much lower level). For this reason the consumption of oily fish rather than white fish can be more beneficial to humans, particularly concerning cardiovascular diseases, but oily fish are known to carry higher levels of contaminants than white fish. Amongst other benefits, studies suggest that the omega 3 fatty acids in oily fish may help sufferers of depression, reduce the likelihood of heart disease and improve inflammatory conditions such as arthritis.

Consuming oily fish twice per week may also help prevent sudden death due to myocardial infarction by preventing cardiac arrhythmia. The eicosapentaenoic acid found in fish oils appears to dramatically reduce inflammation through conversion within the body to resolvins, with beneficial effects for the cardiovascular system and arthritis.

You can find authentic Kosher Oily Fish on many Kosher Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Pollock (or pollack, pronounced the same and listed first in most UK and US dictionaries) is the common name used for either of the two species of marine fish in the Pollachius genus. Both P. pollachius and P. virens are commonly referred to as pollock. Other names for P. pollachius include the Atlantic pollock, European pollock, lieu jaune, and lythe; while P. virens is sometimes known as Boston blues (distinct from bluefish), coalfish (or coley) or saithe.

Atlantic pollock is largely considered to be a whitefish, although it is a fairly strongly flavored one. Although traditionally a popular source of food in some countries like Norway, in the United Kingdom it has previously been largely consumed as a cheaper and versatile alternative to cod and haddock in the West Country, elsewhere being known mostly for its traditional use as “Pollack for puss / coley for the cat.” However, in recent years pollock has become more popular due to over-fishing of cod and haddock. It can now be found in most supermarkets as fresh fillets or prepared freezer items. For example, when minced, it is the primary component of fish fingers and Popcorn Fish.

Because of its slightly gray color pollock is often prepared, as in Norway, as fried fish balls or if juvenile sized maybe breaded with oatmeal and fried as in Shetland. Year old fish are traditionally split, salted and dried over a peat hearth in Orkney where their texture becomes wooden and somewhat phosphorescent. The fish can also be salted and smoked and achieve a salmon-like orange color (although it is not closely related to the salmon), as is the case in Germany where the fish is commonly sold as Seelachs or sea salmon.

You can find authentic Kosher Pollock on many Kosher Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Whitefish (white fish, demersal fish) is a fisheries term referring to several species of pelagic deep water fish with fins, particularly cod (Gadus morhua), whiting (Merluccius bilinearis), and haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus), but also hake (Urophycis), pollock (Pollachius), or others.

Unlike oily fish, white fish contain oils only in their liver, rather than in the gut, and can therefore be gutted as soon as they are caught, on board the ship. White fish has dry and white flesh.
White fish are divided into round fish which live near the sea bed (cod, coley) and flatfish such as plaice which live on the sea bed.

White fish is sometimes eaten straight but often used reconstituted for fishsticks, gefilte fish, lutefisk, surimi (imitation crabmeat), etc. For centuries it was preserved by drying as stockfish and clipfish and traded as a world commodity. It is most widely known as the key ingredient in the classic British dish fish and chips. In Jewish cuisine, smoked whole whitefish and whitefish salad are delicacies enjoyed with bagels.

You can find authentic Kosher Whitefish on many Kosher Restaurants in Los Angeles.

The haddock or offshore hake is a marine fish distributed on both sides of the North Atlantic. Haddock is a popular food fish, widely fished commercially.

The haddock is easily recognized by a black lateral line running along its white side and a distinctive dark blotch above the pectoral fin, often described as a “thumbprint” or even the “Devil’s thumbprint” or “St. Peter’s mark”.

Haddock is a very popular food fish, sold fresh, smoked, frozen, dried, or to a small extent canned. Haddock, along with cod and plaice, is one of the most popular fish used in British fish and chips. It is also one of the main ingredients of kedgeree.

Fresh haddock has a fine white flesh and can be cooked in the same ways as cod. Freshness of a haddock fillet can be determined by how well it holds together, as a fresh one will be firm; also, fillets should be translucent, while older fillets turn a chalky hue. Young, fresh haddock and cod fillets are often sold as scrod in Boston, Massachusetts; this refers to the size of the fish which have a variety of sizes, i.e. scrod, markets, and cows. Haddock is the predominant fish of choice in Scotland in a fish supper.

Unlike the related cod, haddock does not salt well and is often preserved by drying and smoking. One form of smoked haddock is Finnan Haddie, named for the fishing village of Finnan or Findon in Scotland, where it was originally cold-smoked over peat. Finnan haddie is often served poached in milk for breakfast. Smoked haddock naturally has an off-white color; it is very often dyed yellow, as are other smoked fish. Smoked haddock is the essential ingredient in the Anglo-Indian dish kedgeree.

You can find authentic Kosher Haddock on many Kosher Restaurants in Los Angeles.

Cod is the common name for the genus Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae, and is also used in the common name for various other fishes. Cod is a popular food with a mild flavor, low fat content and a dense, flaky white flesh. Cod’s soft liver can be tinned and eaten. Cod livers are processed to make cod liver oil, an important source of Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA). Larger cod caught during spawning are sometimes called skrei. Young Atlantic cod or haddock prepared in strips for cooking is called scrod.

The Atlantic cod, which can change color at certain water depths, has two distinct color phases: grey-green and reddish brown. Its average weight is 5–12 kilograms (11–26 lb), but specimens weighing up to 100 kilograms (220 lb) have been recorded. Cod feed on molluscs, crabs, starfish, worms, squid, and small fish. Some migrate to warm water in winter to spawn. A large female lays up to five million eggs in midocean, a very small number of which survive.
Cod meat is moist and flaky when cooked and is white in color. In the United Kingdom, Atlantic cod is one of the most common ingredients in fish and chips, along with haddock and plaice. It is also frequently consumed in Portugal and Spain

Periodically a cod with a deformed skull is found; the skull has a distinct top or crown giving it the name “king cod” or kongetorsk in Norwegian. In Norway this rare fish was earlier considered to be able to forecast the weather and was commonly used for that purpose. A woolen thread suspended the fish from the ceiling; its nose would point in a different direction depending on the coming weather. In reality, the thread rather than the fish that caused the movement. The twisted thread served as a primitive hygrometer by reacting to the air’s humidity, turning the fish as the humidity rose and fell.

You can find authentic Kosher Cod on many Kosher Restaurants in Los Angeles.