Ciguatera. Does anyone really know what they’re talking about?
Put a penny in the meat and if it gets tarnished, then the fish has ciguatera.
Put some meat out and if the cat won’t eat it, then the fish has ciguatera.
Leave the fish out and if the flies won’t land on it, then the fish has ciguatera.
Eat a piece of the liver and if it tastes metallic, then the fish has ciguatera.
Really, is this the best we can do?
From what I can tell, there was one company which sold testing kits but it went of business so now all we have available are these urban myth type detection methods.
They may work, but come on…
Another thing that seems odd is the species which people tend to pick on as carriers of ciguatera.
Barracuda seems to be the biggest target.
Well, my understanding is that ciguatera is caused by predator fish eating smaller fish who have lesser amounts of ciguatera and then the toxins build up in the larger fish.
If that’s the case, then people shouldn’t pick on one specific type of fish such as barracuda. Instead, they should pick on any predator fish….
I love barracuda. I think it’s delicious. I don’t have some weird palate either…
Be on the lookout for people talking about ciguatera. They may just be spreading things they heard but don’t really know anything about.