Select Page

Teaching Tired Old Turkey to Swim!

by | Nov 14, 2012

Holiday dinners usually feature ham and turkey. You may start having left-over sandwich nightmares after eating turkey for the next six weeks! Many Florida families choose fresh seafood as a delicious and healthy addition to their traditional holiday meals.

 

Fish on a thick bed of ice with bellies down. Courtesy of Florida Sea Grant

This is a great time of year to purchase and enjoy seafood.  There is quality fish, shrimp, and shellfish currently at your local grocery store or seafood market. Usually with the holidays, there’s more time to explore new recipes in the kitchen. Fresh ingredients are the key to any good recipe and helps ensure healthy eating.  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) FishWatch website (www.fishwatch.gov) provides consumers with information regarding seafood nutrition, safety, and sustainability.

 

FishWatch suggests the following when shopping for fresh fish:

  • To be sure the safety of seafood is being properly preserved, only buy fish that is refrigerated or properly iced. Fish should be displayed on a thick bed of fresh ice that is not melting and preferably in a case or under some type of cover. Fish should be arranged with the bellies down so that the melting ice drains away from the fish, thus reducing the chances of spoilage.
  • Fish should smell fresh and mild, not fishy, sour, or ammonia-like odors.
  • A fish’s eyes should be clear and bulge a little (except for a few naturally cloudy-eyed fish types, such as walleye pike).
  • Whole fish and fillets should be firm and spring back when pressed.
  • Fish should have shiny flesh and bright red gills free of slime. Dull flesh could mean the fish is old.  Note: Fish fillets that have been previously frozen may have lost some of their shine, but they are fine to eat.
  • Fish fillets should display no darkening or drying around the edges. They should have no green or yellowish discoloration and should not appear dry or mushy in any areas.

Fresh Florida Oysters are almost as popular during the holidays as pecans and walnuts; they are just a little more difficult to crack! Oysters are a welcomed addition to any meal, as side dishes, appetizers, or snacks between larger meals. You’ll enjoy finding great ways to prepare this nutritious shellfish.

Consumption of raw seafood such as oysters is not recommended for those whose immune systems are compromised.  For example, patients completing chemotherapy or folks with blood or digestive disorders are at a higher risk for contracting bacterial infections.  Ask your doctor if you have a question whether you are at higher risk. Properly cooked oysters (plump, opaque, and curled edges) are healthy choices. Cooking kills bacteria associated with raw seafood. For more information on oyster consumption and recipes visit http://safeoysters.org

One recipe that complements the traditional bird is oyster dressing. With this recipe you can enjoy both turkey and seafood together. For more oyster and seafood recipes like this one, visit www.fl-seafood.com

 

Complement a traditional holiday meal with seafood dish like oyster dressing. Courtesy of Florida Dept of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS)

Ingredients:
12-ounces Florida oysters
½ c. Florida celery, chopped
½ c. Florida onion, chopped
¼ c. butter
4 c. day-old bread cubes
1 tbsp. fresh Florida parsley, chopped or 1 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. sage
½ tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. poultry seasoning
1/8 tsp.  teaspoon pepper

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325° F. Drain oysters; reserve liquid. Remove any remaining shell particles. Chop oysters. Cook celery and onion in butter until tender. Add oysters and oyster liquid to vegetables; cook for 10 minutes. Combine oysters, cooked vegetables, bread cubes and seasonings in a large bowl; mix thoroughly. If stuffing seems dry, moisten with additional oyster liquid or chicken broth. Bake dressing in a greased casserole dish for 30 minutes.

Apalachicola Oysters: Importance and Decline

Apalachicola Oysters: Importance and Decline

by | Nov 7, 2012

Worldwide, oysters and their habitats have declined in population. National concern over the reduced oyster populations and potential failure of the Oyster fishery in Apalachicola Bay have been recently featured in the news.

In September, Jack Payne, University of Florida IFAS Senior Vice President for Agriculture and Natural Resources announced the formation of the UF Oyster Recovery Task Force.  This group, now called the UF Oyster Recovery Team, includes members from various stakeholders including scientists, industry, public health representatives and more. Florida Sea Grant is leading the team and director Karl Havens is the Chair.

“The recovery team has multiple priorities, including learning why oyster populations declined, finding ways to help them bounce back, and identifying solutions for social and economic impacts”, Havens said. A firm date has not been set for the recovery team’s final report, but the team is hoping to deliver some results to the community by early 2013.

Oysters on the half shell

Courtesy of Florida Sea Grant

Eastern oysters are more than just a tasty treat!  They provide a variety of functions to the bays and estuaries.   They are a staple to the health and wellness of our bay.  These organisms are hearty and tolerant of a wide range of salinity conditions from fresh to full-strength seawater.  However, they are most “happy” when they are living in brackish water (a mixture of fresh and salt water).

Oysters are considered an important keystone species because of the variety of functions they provide for the areas they inhabit.  Considered biofilters, oysters have the ability to filter up to 24 gallons of water per day.  They help to control algal blooms, lower the amount of suspended sediment, silt and nutrients, and improve water quality/clarity.  Oysters also provide critical food and habitat by creating solid three dimensional structures, referred to as reefs in the areas they grow. This reef structure provides habitat to many other fish and invertebrate species that live in the estuary.

Historically, the oysters harvested from Apalachicola Bay represent approximately 10 percent of the U.S. oyster harvest and about 90 percent of Florida’s harvest.  This oyster fishery is an icon of our state and many jobs are dependent on this industry. The future is uncertain.  However, the members of the Oyster Recovery Team are hopeful that by working together, the oyster resources will rebound and that a sustainable oyster management plan will be in place to insure the future of this vital fishery.

Follow news for the UF Oyster Recovery Team’s efforts at the UF-IFAS Franklin County Website or http://franklin.ifas.ufl.edu

To help with support of seafood workers and disaster relief efforts in Franklin County visit the BAYAID website or Franklinspromisecoalition.org

UF/IFAS scientists and UF Oyster Recovery Team Members, Bill Pine and Peter Frederick, have been studying oyster communities along the Big Bend of Florida and hope that by studying these un-impacted oyster beds, they can help restoration efforts in Gulf and around the world be more efficient and effective.