wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

Comments

• [1] Steve from Baldwin, Long Island September 29, 2008 - 12:30PM

  I recommend a look at www.seafoodwatch.org.

  The site identifies which species are OK to eat and which are threatened or laden with mercury.

  Tuna, unless it's caught on a line, is listed as "to be avoided".

  
  
• [2] Hesch from Lower East Side - 39-year teacher in NYC September 29, 2008 - 01:08PM

  Will you include the history of "tuna"?

  I learned of it as one of the major marketing coups in history. The fishing industry was having difficulty with one of their [potentially] most profitable items because of its name: Horse Mackerel. This VERY large fish, up to a quarter TON of meat, couldn't be sold. NOTE: TON of fish => TONNA (in the Latinate languages) => Tuna in English.

  Yummy. Enjoy. Peace - Hesch

  
  
• [3] Michal from brooklyn September 29, 2008 - 01:13PM

  Please talk about Tuna around Asia becoming Very extinct, because its mating time is several years into life. They are fished early and before mating.

  
  
• [4] Amanda Stinchecum from Brooklyn NY September 29, 2008 - 01:17PM

  I believe Mr. Ellis is badly misinformed about the history of sushi in Japan, which began during the Heian period, when sushi was the result of a technique for preserving fish. The idea that sushi is associated with refrigeration indicates a basic misunderstanding of the appreciation for sushi (and sashimi) in Japan, which is for raw fish prepared fresh from the sea (that is, immediately after being caught), where possible, cut up while the fish is still alive. I don't believe "horse mackerel" is the correct translation of any Japanese word for tuna, generally known as maguro.

  
  
• [5] Stuart from Bronx, NY September 29, 2008 - 01:19PM

  To answer your question, blue fin tuna is kosher. I and many other Orthodox Jews love it in sushi!

  Very interesting show...

  
  
• [6] Amanda Stinchecum from Brooklyn NY September 29, 2008 - 01:21PM

  Horse mackerel is the usual translation for "aji."

  
  
• [7] Richard E from long island/nyc September 29, 2008 - 01:24PM

  its my undeerstanding that NYC law requires all sushi to first be frozen, that is to be sure all parasites are dead

  
  
• [8] Ash in Manhattan from Manhattan September 29, 2008 - 01:27PM

  My goodness. I can't recall the last time I have heard anyone so totally in command of the English language and so totally clear in all of his comments. He has been a joy to listen to (even though I have never given the topic he spoke on a single thought)!

  
  
• [9] Taher from Croton on Hudson September 29, 2008 - 01:31PM

  Leonard you always have guests that minimize the level of toxicity in foods.

  I just had Chelation for high levels of Mercury. The process is not over.

  
  
• [10] Sheryl Eisenberg from New York September 29, 2008 - 01:40PM

  Listeners should be aware that contrary to what Mr. Ellis says, mercury in tuna does pose a health risk, especially to children and pregnant women. See NRDC's "Eating Tuna Safely" guide at http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/mercury/tuna.asp or EWG's Tuna Calculator at http://www.ewg.org/tunacalculator?gclid=CNHfz6bDgZYCFQNfFQodwCYEEA to see how much canned tuna can be safely consumed at a given weight level.

  For information on risks from tuna and other large, predatory fish to the general (non-pregnant) adult population, please see my This Green Life column, "What I Didn't Know about Mercury," at http://nrdc.org/thisgreenlife/0609.asp,

  Note that blue fin tuna tends to contain even more mercury than that used in cans.

  
  
• [11] Hesch from Lower East Side - 39-year teacher in NYC September 29, 2008 - 02:16PM

  IMHO, "horse mackerel" may or may not be a 'translation' of ANYTHING in another language; the existence and edibility of such a food source for centuries before 'translation' could become an issue.

  My understanding is that the mackerel family runs from the immense Horse variety[ies?] through the other tuna to the commonly marketed mackerel and through the various sardines down to the anchovies. IF 'aji' is in any way associated with one of the fish named tuna in modern times, I believe it is because it is the historical Japanese name for that fish - it is not a 'translation', it is the Japanese name for the creature.

  And, personally, I have enjoyed all of them I have tasted, though not necessarily all the recipes along the way.