# Cheese with seafood is a NO-NO?



## amazingrace (Jul 28, 2006)

Okay, I've heard a number of times now on the food network, that pairing seafood and cheese is not acceptable. (and I will agree that there are _some_ cheeses that would not be good---but come on_---all _cheeses?). I want to know whose rule is this, and why? I have a number of recipes for sauces with cheese, which I've served with seafood dishes. And salmon mousse often has cream cheese. No one has complained yet. What is this stupid rule all about? Is it that just because one food authority doesn't like the combination, it has to be wrong for everyone? And by the way, I don't care if the experts say it's wrong---I'm still gonna do it as long as everyone in my circle of influence likes it. :look:


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

My understanding is it comes from Italian cuisine. But I like parmesan on shrimp and a few other fishy things. 

Cream cheese of course is good with a lot of seafood.


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## amazingrace (Jul 28, 2006)

Well, they're just wrong, and someone needs to tell them. :lol:


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## vohrtex (Apr 21, 2009)

i think it is more that so many seafoods have a delicate flavor and texture, while cheese tends to be more thick and heavy with and strong flavor, which can overwhelm seafood. 

A couple years ago lobster macaroni and cheese was popular in New York, but never really took off. Despite it's popularity, every review I ever saw said the lobster got lost in the heavy cheese sauce, besides the fact that it just sounds gross. On the other hand, a good lox and cream cheese bagel is awesome. Every food rule seems to have a "but" or "except" in it somewhere.

It would appear that cheese is just harder to put with seafood than with meat or poultry; it 's hard to think of a way to combine gorgonzola with fish!


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

It's too bad no one will invent _coquille saint jacques_. It could have been good.

BDL


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## thegardenguru (Dec 4, 2009)

Hokey smokes! I just had shrimp and scallop enchiladas today at Dos Corallitos. REALLY. And what am I going to do with my seafood lasgana with gruyere recipe? Do I tell everyone who said they loved it that they are radicals? 

Tuna melts? Shrimp alfredo? Anchovies on a cheesey pizza?

I suppose it's like pairing any other foods. Some strong foods overwhelm delicate foods. Choose your cheese, choose your coquille.

Joe


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

My wife makes an excellent sandwich: baguette, cream cheese, smoked salmon, and avocado slices marinated in lemon and black pepper. I love it!


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## teamfat (Nov 5, 2007)

There's something I haven't made in a while, will have to put it on my 'to eat soon' list. Sauce mornay on poached halibut? That will never happen!

The one dish I take to parties that disappears the fastest is my seafood quiche. Lots of shrimp, scallops, crab, sometimes lobster, sometimes octopus, with gruyere and parm.


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## amazingrace (Jul 28, 2006)

Thanks everyone! I can tell by your wonderful replies that the "food snobs" must be all wet. I hope they check in here occasionally to see what real people want to eat! :thumb:


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## kcz (Dec 14, 2006)

What about those crab-stuffed mushroom caps with cheese melted on them? Inelegant but quite tasty.


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

One thing to keep in mind, Grace, is that if we are to believe the Food Network, the only worthwhile ethnic food is Italian. And among Italians that is pretty much a rule; no cheese with fish. 

Once you broaden out to other cuisines, however, you find all sorts of ways that cheese is mixed with fish and seafood. And the fact is (but say it softly) there even are exceptions in Italy. 

I'd also suggest that people who present that as a hard and fast rule somehow don't think of cream cheese as cheese. So things like a bagel with a smear and lox; and crab rangoon, etc., just don't count as seafood and cheese. 

On the flip side, I reckon they don't consider scallops to be seafood, cuz there's a whole array of dishes that pair scallops with various cheeses. 

At base, there are only two food pairings: those you like, and those you don't like. And if the ones you like violate somebody's rule, that somebody doesn't have to eat them. But don't let it stop you.


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## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

Oh yes, here they will often look like they;re going to cut off your hand if you ask for cheese with your fish pasta. 
Highly irregular! 
And yet, recently i ate in a really good calabrese fish restaurant with a great pasta with fish and cheese, and in another sicilian restaurant there were fish-cheese pastas. 

There are plenty of very flavorful fish that can certainly withstand even strong cheeses (the sicilian one was with pecorino!) But many Italians tend to live entirely in their region and anyway they just can be very snobby about "their" way of eating. They really can;t conceive of any other and many will travel with half their luggage allowance in food! Canned tuna! stuff like that. Not because they miss it but because they don;t think anyone else can cook. I wouldn;t mind the apologetic attitude some americans have that they just like meat and potatoes. They present their food prejudices as if there were "correct" tastes and bad ones and of course their personal preferences are the correct ones. And of course, since the cuisine is exceptionally good, they get away with it and others, from other cultural traditions can become even more rigid about it than anyone here, and go on tv and flaunt their superior "knowledge". When someone needs an excuse to look down on someone, maybe they are insecure themselves. 

It took me YEARS to get up the courage to order a cappuccino after a meal ("What! ruin a good meal with MILK at the end? Oh yuck! what a boor!" but I'm much older now and couldn;t care less what they think.


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## indianwells (Jan 2, 2007)

My tuna linguine is a firm favourite in my house and we all sprinkle parm on it.

If it tastes good, it's _not_ wrong!


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## chris.lawrence (Oct 19, 2009)

Actually from a scientific point of view (which is mostly my approach to food) cheese and seafood makes ALOT of sense; think about the sense of taste; savoury.

Savoury is usually a breakdown of amino acids and fatty acids; seafood is VERY savoury; as the amino acids are already present in the fish's muscle fibres to balance the absorbtion of minerals through the salinity of the water.
Cheeses contain various cultures of lactic-acid bacteria that very slowly break down the fats into short-chain fatty acids and release amino acids. Therefore the older the cheese the better they'll match (and rennet split cheeses will match much better than fresh or acidified cheeses).

You also have the sense of savoury in tomatoes, mushrooms, steak, sea weed...etc...

Try a layer of salt-roasted tomatoes with your scallops or your shrimp, and grated mushroom with a well-aged cheese and see how well they all match.


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

Oh gosh! Whatever are we gonna do with all that Mornay sauce? eace:


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## tuscan chef (Jan 27, 2010)

Yes cheese is not cosnidered to be used with fish.
However, you can use "parmigiano" to "mantecare" a risotto. 
This might be the only accepted cheese to go with fish.
Now there is a new tendency, not to use parimigiano on tomato sauce.


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## voodoochyl (Feb 1, 2010)

Seems like there are many exceptions to the rule. At my wife's bar and grill, they have a seafood quesadilla that is really tasty.


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## grumio (Apr 16, 2006)

The "no cheese with seafood" rule was one of those I decided to ignore as soon as I heard it...


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## homemadecook (Jan 27, 2010)

I like shrimp with feta cheese in a salad is great


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

Meanwhile the Food Network website is full of recipes mixing fish with cheese - including some Italian ones:

fish cheese : Food Network


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## fl italian (Mar 2, 2009)

Siduri is correct in that, in Italy, if you order fish and then ask for cheese, they'll either ignore you like you never even spoke or, as I've seen done, the chef will come out and tell you to leave!!

Italians are picky and nothing is better than theirs but the reality of it is, whenever you're there... there is NOTHING better! 

Also to mention.... we're really stubborn but I love to toss some parmegiano on my frutta di mare.... just not in Italy!!


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## dc sunshine (Feb 26, 2007)

Oh No....my tuna mornay will have to live its days in purgatory.

The list of seafood with cheeses of various types is endless. I really don't understand what the fuss is all about. If it tastes well together, use it. If it doesn't, don't. It's your palate, and the only one that owns it is you.


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## voodoochyl (Feb 1, 2010)

Do you guys watch "Chopped"? A recent episode had one of the judges scolding a competitor for using cheese with fish.


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## cyberdoc (Nov 1, 2009)

Pick subtle cheeses so they don't overpower the seafood, and you will be fine.


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## amazingrace (Jul 28, 2006)

That's actually the place I heard this "rule"! I do not like that particular judge...he's waaay too judgemental for my taste ... all puns intended. :look:


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## tuscan chef (Jan 27, 2010)

Yes I confirm, if you ask Parmigiano in a real good seafood restaurant, the chef would come and say something to you. Or the waiter will look at you disgusted.
In Venice, the waiter would tell you not to do it.
That happens often with coke or soda. 
I have seen often in Florence saying " we don't want our food to be ruined by cocacola".
I was always with US customer and they were aggravated by this lack of freedom and I was a little embarassed as I was guesting them. 
There is a reason for this incomprehension. 
Restaurants in Italy (but also in France) are more seen like a show, a performance.
In US more like a service. So here you taste the chef performance and you might like or not, but can not change the proposal much. In the US the customer judges by how much he was pleased. 
Consider that now there is a new tendency of limiting the offer on a restaurant, to some point where you get no choice at all. The wine list increases and the menu list decreases.


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## chrislehrer (Oct 9, 2008)

Other useful rules we learn from "Chopped":

Duck must be served with crisp skin.

An entree must be of a certain fixed size -- too small and it's really an appetizer, and too large and it's not gourmet dining.

It is clever and original to do classical French cuisine.

All traditional English foods, however tasty, are mislabeled. For example, you cannot call an English curry a curry because it doesn't taste like what you get in India.

Cooks must be racially profiled. Chinese people who cook French aren't showing who they really are. White people who cook Chinese aren't being authentic.

Last but not least, the most important thing about "Chopped":

This is a serious competition, and must be treated with respect. (To which I give a big rasperry and a two-handed bird: this is a GAME SHOW. Ted Allen is a gay foodie Pat Sajack, and that jerk with the white hair is basically a nasty, flat-chested Vanna White.)


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## voodoochyl (Feb 1, 2010)

^^^ HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I love it. Yeah, that guy is a jerk, but I think Alex Guarnaschelli is the worst. I would LOVE to see them do the show, and see how well they would do. Have one basket with Cod and Parmesan cheese.


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## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

I just made a really good fish pie - spinach, fish, shrimp, covered with a sauce made of sauteed shallots with cream added and cooked down till a little thick, then a couple of handfuls of grated parmigiano. Mashed potatoes on top and baked. It all fits very well together. Heresy! Anathema! burn me at the steak. oops, i meant stake.


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

Well she did do the show: YouTube - Iron Chef America Battle Farmer's Market (1 of 5)

Oops - sorry: different show.


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## dc sunshine (Feb 26, 2007)

Siduri - for shame  Tsk Tsk
I'll be betting it tasted darn nice. 

But you gotta be careful who you tell that to - the fish with cheese police may be listening....
You could be hung, drawn and quartered, then aged for 3 weeks....oh now I'm just being silly


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## schmoozer (Jan 10, 2010)

When I was in Alaska a few years ago, I was surprised to find a number of restaurants serving halibut and salmon with a heavy layer of cheese, cheddar IIRC.

Schmoozer


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## cyberdoc (Nov 1, 2009)

Once in a while straying off the traditional reservation can be a good thing. :thumb:


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## cyberdoc (Nov 1, 2009)

Infidel!!!! Just kidding. I have some seafood dishes with cheese that I'm partial to as well. SHHHH, don't tell anyone.


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## oregonyeti (Jun 16, 2007)

Siduri, that sounds really good.

You're allowed to be creative so long as you don't . . .
You're allowed to like the flavor of something so long as . . .
What a load of crap!


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## dc sunshine (Feb 26, 2007)

I agree - cooking for yourself depends upon what _you_ like. To heck with the rules and mores and traditions. Like it? Eat it. Don't label it. Just enjoy the food.

I'm sure many people have all sorts of unusual combos out there - who....really...cares...?


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## amazingrace (Jul 28, 2006)

It's one thing if it's a health issue. Some rules just must not be broken. I watched an episode of "Chopped" in which a contestant purposely prepared undercooked chicken (yes, he intended for it to be med), to show the judges something different. He's on national TV, with the name of the restaurant where he works (worked, maybe?), most likely with his bosses and many patrons watching. He's competing for $10K, and he flies in the face of all that is healthy? Fool! 

But pairing cheese with seafood poses no health threat that I'm aware of. So I'm planning to break that rule often. :lol:


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## tuscan chef (Jan 27, 2010)

There is a confusion here. I believe no one disagree on the fact that there is a complete freedom when cooking for yourself or for your friends. 

Rules are not made to be broken or followed, they are part of a culinary tradition.

If you find that there is a certain rule to cook Italian, if you follow it you are cooking the Italian way, if you are not following it you are cooking something different, call it fusion, nouvelle or eclectic. 

So maybe it's just semantic.

The other part is when you eat outside. I have mixed feeling. Tourist is not aware of certain traditions or rules so he might ask something "wrong". I believe that the chef should smile and explain why something is not accostumed instead of being upset or arrogant. 
There was a time when in Italy you would get bad reactions if you start with a salad as opposed to a pasta. Now this has gone. 

A few days ago we cooked a risotto with prawns and did a light mantecatura with parmigiano. We tried, it was just a little parmigiano, it was good, we explained and everyone said that they learned something...


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## dc sunshine (Feb 26, 2007)

Food traditions change and evolve through the years. Why not? What we class today as a certain cuisine/style has no doubt altered from what it was 100/200/300 years ago. Certainly many recipes can be identified, in most cases, as having a particular country of origin. And then, some "fusion" recipes get plain ol' silly 

I'm all in favour of a barramundi parmigiana - because it would taste well. So, bend/break the rules when you want. Obviously, this is for home cooking, whereas for restaurant cooking there would, I imagine, be stricter lines and recipes to adhere to. I defer to my betters in this respect.


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Well, whatever the rules are for Italy, I ate swordfish prepared with pecorino cheese in Cagliari; and had anchovy and pecorino fritters, bought on the street in Syracuse and a bar in Messina.

In a sense it's not that surprising, as Sardinia and Sicily are islands that make a lot of cheese, and the particular cities are ports which do a lot of fishing. It was famously observed about another subject, "That coat, we ain't got. Cohen, across the street, he got. In your size, a nice lambskin jacket we got." Pecorino and fish, Sardinia and Sicily they got.

Now, either Sardinia and Sicilia are not Italian; or we're making the mistake of over-generalizing regional styles. I'm not an actual geographer mind you, but seem to recall there's more to Italy than ER, Tuscany and Rome -- so my money's on the latter.

FWIW, the _Chopped_ judge who came down from the mountain with "no cheese with fish" chiseled on stone tablets is Scott Conant. Conant is a chef/resaurateur who hit the big time as a chef at an early age -- and has improved his position as a successful chef/owner since. Sometimes early success leads to the already all too human trait of overvaluing the universal nature of one's individual prejudices.

Could you imagine going on _Chopped_ without being aware of Conant's dislikes of raw red onion, and cheese with fish, and not having some plan to avoid or deal with them up front? It's just as important as resolving to not get defensive, lie, or just say something stupid to Alex Guarneschelli. Conant at least can dislike one dish from a contestant, but like another. Irritate Guarnaschelli, and "the end."

You don't want a judge who likes everything, do you? To me, anyway, Conant seems picky but not too picky, and think he'd be fun to cook for. Guarnaschelli is not only more intimidating, but to my eye she favors the female chefs.

Personally, I do cheese with shellfish in all sorts of ways and cheese with fish in more than a few -- but nothing beyond anchovy and jalapenos on pizza which you'd call "Italian."

BDL


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

_Could you imagine going on Chopped without being aware of Conant's dislikes of raw red onion, and cheese with fish, and not having some plan to avoid or deal with them up front? It's just as important as resolving to not get defensive, lie, or just say something stupid to Alex Guarneschelli. Conant at least can dislike one dish from a contestant, but like another. Irritate Guarnaschelli, and "the end."

You don't want a judge who likes everything, do you? To me, anyway, Conant seems picky but not too picky, and think he'd be fun to cook for. Guarnaschelli is not only more intimidating, but to my eye she favors the female chefs. _

Based on the few times I've seen it, yeah, I could imagine just about anything, because from where I sat none of the contestents had done any preparation---including watching the show.

I mean, does a vegetarian, who only cooks vegetarian dishes, really expect to do well on that show? Or a pastry chef who doesn't recognize half the ingredients? Talk about ego.

As to the two judges you single out, I couldn't disagree more. I'm fully aware of Conant's rep. But, frankly, he leaves me cold. Anyone who comes in with the idea that his personal biases are universal laws of nature just doesn't belong as a judge. The fact that he often contradicts himself, one dish to the next, just makes him a worse judge.

And then there's darling Alex. Maybe if she removed the maize core from her nether regions I would be more willing to pay attention to her. And the fact that she has obviously made her decisions before even tasting a dish couldn't be plainer. I wonder, too, between her TV shows and being a judge on every competition that comes down the pike, when she has time to run the restaurant she's supposedly so famous for.

But I guess that sort of judging should be expected on something as contrived and unrealistic as Chopped is. Let's face it, if there are no rules to begin with, why should it matter how the judges behave?


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## grits-n-gravy (Feb 28, 2008)

This world would be a sadder place if not for Blackened Mahi over Cheese Grits souffle...


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## tuscan chef (Jan 27, 2010)

Well, I agree that the nice thing about cooking is experiment and try to find a new version or a total new way of cooking a certain food.
But everyone knows that these brings in high percentage to a disaster, that small point of percentage that is good, it's a triunph. 
So far, the recepies brought up against the "rule" of no cheese with fish, are, as we said, the exceptions confirming the rule.
I will explain, if you cook fish in a very spicy way, or deep fry or whatever brings you more into "not tasting like fish", then cheese is fine, from a taste point of view.
The core of cooking fish, and here the regional cuisine plays a role, is to maintian the seafood taste and it's freshness, therefore the "rule" of no cheese with fish, should read, when cooking fish, if your target is to maintain the freshenss and the flavour of the fish, don't use whatever fights with it. That means not only cheese, which overcomes the flavour of anything, especially seasoned cheese like parmisan. It also means, spices and herbs with a distinctive taste. 
So, to give the example of barramundi parmigiana, you are enhancing a low flavored fish with something else. In terms of taste, parmisan kills the fish, but that is what you aim. That is why you are not doing a sea bass parmigiana (you can do it, try to get my point). 
There is a better explanation with pairing wines. The "rule" is white wine with fish, with the exception of fish that is cooked in a way that goes more into the meat tradition. In that case, and this happened to me in Venice in a very famous fish restaurant, the sommelier indicated ....surprise....to match barolo with a spicy red (tomato) fried cod sort of soup, similar to what we call a Livornese.
So the new algoritm about cheese and fish is "thou shall not cook fish with cheese unless that fish has a good pairing with red wine".


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## fl italian (Mar 2, 2009)

Tuscan Chef..

If we could only buy fish here as fresh as in the Mercado's of Italy, we wouldn't have to cover it with cheese!! 

At the morning markets, the only time I've seen seafood that fresh is when I unhook it from my line!!

I couldn't agree with you more regarding cooking with cheese. Yes, it adds flavor but it overpowers everything you're doing. Tuscan cooking uses lots of herbs for it's flavorings and it was after a trip to Toscana that my skills jumped dramatically with all new taste sensations.


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## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

Personally i see cheese - at least most cow cheese with the exception of the moldy types - gorgonzola and taleggio, for instance - as a mild flavor, as compared to most fish. It can be salty, yes, but not what i'd call strong. 

And were it that we shouldn't pair mild flavors with cheese, then why cheese in bechamel? Bechamel is a mild flavor, buttery, milky - cheese alters it completely - (and in a great way). We should also not put cheese on potatoes, which have a mild flavor (yet italian puree, that is mashed potatoes, always has parmigiano) or on plain pasta with butter, or on zucchine, which taste practically of nothing, or... i could go on. 

Also what is stronger than garlic and hot red pepper? Yet the number of italian fish dishes using garlic and pepperoncino are countless!

No, it isn't that cheese is too strong for fish. Certainly not ALL cheese too strong for ALL fish (and in that case, please don't put garlic on fish either!) I find many kinds of fish to be quite strong and distinctive, as i think many people do. I think it is another sort of prejudice. The kind that becomes a badge of superiority. Those in the know, and those who are not in the know.


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## gunnar (Apr 3, 2008)

Actually, this isn't all that unheard of anymore. The health issues involved depend on the chicken and iirc the blackfoot chicken does not have the issues that others do. in Japan and other Southeast Asian countries raw chicken and pork are on the menus and people are doing just fine. 

Now, health issues aside, would I serve med-rare chicken to a panel of judges on national TV? Not on your life, might as well give them burnt toast with a raw egg in the middle. they are not looking for cutting edge they are looking for food they know and like.


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

One thing nobody seems to be mentioning is that many of these "rules" grew out of the classic French approach, which, in turn, sprang from the classic Italian. 

In that tradition, strict adherence to rules and procedures is the norm, the expected. 

And that, seems to me, is what we find with the fish & cheese rule. Somewhere down the line it became codified as a hard and fast commandment. And those into classic cooking just keep passing it down. 

Then come all us iconoclasts who say to heck with the rules. There are only two culinary combinations that count: those that work and those that don't. All else is talk.

Same with wine. The cast-in-concrete rule has always been, whites with fish and poultry, reds with red meat. But the fact is, there are only two kinds of wine in the world: those you like and those you don't. 

All of which is at the crux of the controversy. It isn't about rules, per se. It's about one's culinary orientation.


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## blueicus (Mar 16, 2005)

That, and I wouldn't trust the chicken I get in a mystery TV show to be anything other than factory chicken that I would never serve rare.


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## fewls (Feb 7, 2010)

I recently had Salmon stuffed with crabmeat and brie at Mccormick and Schmick in Las Vegas and it was really deliciousy! Not something that I would have ever tried at home...I think the problem is that cheese and fish have such different cooking times--it takes longer to melt cheese than it does to cook a filet so I guess the problem is that unless you sauce the fish, you could end up with dried fish flakes instead of a delicate piece of fish, especially if you are new to cooking fish...but you folks are right..."hard and fast rules" have more exceptions than proofs!


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## greyeaglem (Apr 17, 2006)

Well, I'll stand with the "no cheese" snobs. After all, McDonalds can't be wrong can they? I will always come down on the side of eat what you like and don't let anyone tell you what you like. However, a lot of the dishes mentioned here as being made successfully with cheese contain shellfish, which isn't technically fish even though it lives in the water. Lumping it all together would be like saying anything you do with one kind of meat can be done with any other. 
To my taste mornay overwhelms and ruins the taste of some perfectly good scallops. (My opinion only.) Many of us feel that cheese paired with fish make both items taste not very fresh. I mentioned in a different post a dish made by a well respected local restaurant that contains pan-seared halibut with gruyere cheese, portabella mushrooms and a chardonnay sauce. So you have fish, fungus from the mushrooms, fungus from the cheese and fungus from the wine. It would have to taste like somebody's foot.


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## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

However, a lot of the dishes mentioned here as being made successfully with cheese contain shellfish, which isn't technically fish even though it lives in the water. Lumping it all together would be like saying anything you do with one kind of meat can be done with any other. [/QUOTE]
Yeah, but the food snobs say that just as much for seafood as for fish. Just try and ask for cheese on your pasta with vongole!

It would have to. But does it? 
or is that your guess? I don;t think fungus or wine tastes like feet, and only certain cheeses do.


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

_However, a lot of the dishes mentioned here as being made successfully with cheese contain shellfish, which isn't technically fish even though it lives in the water._

Pick me no nits, Grayeaglem.

For starters, the original poster specified "seafood," which in my world includes shellfish.

More to the point, if you look at the posts that specifically mention combinations, those with finned fish actually outnumber those using shellfish. There are 14 posts that specifically talk about a finned fish used with cheese---15 if we include your own mention of halibut with gruyere. These include salmon, tuna, anchovy, halibut, barramundi, swordfish and mahi mahi.

I find it interesting, too, that you can tell us all about the flavor profile of a dish you've never tasted. Have to wonder, too, how many feet you've eaten that you know what they taste like.

It's these kinds of preconcieved notions, and codified "rules" that go to the heart of this discussion. If that's how you want to live your culinary life, that's fine. Me, I want to remain as I've always been; open to new approaches, new tastes, and unconventional flavor profiles.

A case could be made that one reason Spain is in the forefront of creative cuisine is precisely because cooks were so restricted under Franco. Even local specialties and what we call artisan foods were outlawed.

As a result, there are no codified rules in Spanish cuisine, leaving chefs free to experiment.


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## greyeaglem (Apr 17, 2006)

No, I didn't want to waste $25 on something I knew would taste like, (in the interest of splitting hairs) feet smell. My assumption was verified as correct by one of the cooks from the place who said it was a very accurate description of what that fish entree tastes like. Laughed so hard he almost fell off his bar stool and said he couldn't describe the taste better. It was a case of the chef putting together a bunch of hot-button ingredients without thinking through what the combination would actually taste like. However, they do have customers who like it, which touches back on what I said in the first place. To each their own, eat what you like. You just won't find it on my menu. Doesn't make anyone right or wrong. Political discussion, anyone? Or maybe religion would be more fun. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif


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## a_mak (Aug 27, 2009)

This reminds me, I haven't had Lobster Thermidor in years.


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## schmoozer (Jan 10, 2010)

teamfat said:


> The one dish I take to parties that disappears the fastest is my seafood quiche. Lots of shrimp, scallops, crab, sometimes lobster, sometimes octopus, with gruyere and parm.


*That is beautiful - gorgeous - a real work of art!*


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## tuscan chef (Jan 27, 2010)

I hadn't check this post for a while. So where we stand about the cheese with seafood?.
It seems that the defense of the pros is relativism (what is good for one can be bad for another but no one coult tell). The one against are in a absolutistic view, but mellowed down by exceptions. 
Philosophists have been debating this about 2400 years ago, Protagora vs Plato for example. It seems that the relativistic lost, although they get rehashed everyonce in a while. 
So let's get to the higher level. Ready? 

IS THERE ANY RULE THAT HAS TO BE FOLLOWED OR ANYTHING COULD BE BROKEN?

more

IS THERE AN UNIVERSAL GOOD TASTING FOOD?  
or similar IS THERE ANYTHING EVERYONE in the world DISLIKE?


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## homemadecook (Jan 27, 2010)

Yeah i like that too ...i love eating seafood .!


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

_IS THERE AN UNIVERSAL GOOD TASTING FOOD?

_Chocolate


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

KYHeirloomer said:


> _IS THERE AN UNIVERSAL GOOD TASTING FOOD?
> 
> _Chocolate


My brother, don't forget "fried."

BDL


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

Fried chocolate is good. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/thumb.gif


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## missyjean (Nov 5, 2009)

And if it's 70% cocoa, it's practically a health food /img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif (jk)


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## schmoozer (Jan 10, 2010)

boar_d_laze said:


> It's too bad no one will invent _coquille saint jacques_. It could have been good.
> 
> BDL


And don't forget McDonald's Filet-O-Fish sandwich ...


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## fr33_mason (Jan 9, 2008)

vohrtex said:


> it 's hard to think of a way to combine gorgonzola with fish!


 Hmm.... How about grilled tilapia or snapper fillet with a sweet chili sauce and shredded gorgonzola on top. Top it with a sprig of thai basil. That just popped into my head when I read your question. Now I'm going to try it and let you all know how it turns out. Wish me luck people.


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## charron (Feb 3, 2010)

LUCK!! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/bounce.gif


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## coulis-o (Jan 23, 2010)

Mornay Sauce goes well with Cod.


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## ed buchanan (May 29, 2006)

Seafood Au Gratin
Seafood Lasagna
Seafood Canolonni
Coquille St. Jaques  
Crabmeat Dewey
Baked Clams Oeganatta  
Seafood Quiche   
Seafood Crepes              just to name a few exceptions ,Italian or otherwise


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## greyeaglem (Apr 17, 2006)

Seems like the reason for adding the flour has been lost to posterity. Reminds me of the story of a man who was watching his wife prepare a roast. "Why do you always do that?" he asked. "What do you mean, do what?" she replied. He said "Whenever you make a roast, you always cut off one end and stick it on top with a toothpick. Why do you do that?" She said "I don't know, my mother always did it and I learned it from her." Later, she got to thinking about it and decided to call her mother. "Hey Mom, I've been wondering. You know how you always cut the end off the roast and stick it on top with a toothpick? Why do you do that?" Her mother said "I don't know, you're grandma always did it and I learned from her." Now, they were really boggled, so they decided to go visit grandma in the nursing home. They said "Grandma, something has been bothering us. We want to know why you always cut the end off the roast and stick it on top with a toothpick before you bake it. We both do that because you always did, but we don't know why." Grandma shook her head and said "Well, I don't know why _you _do it, but I did it because I needed a five pound roast to feed my family and the pan I had was too small so I had to cut the end off to make it fit."


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## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

greyeaglem said:


> Seems like the reason for adding the flour has been lost to posterity. Reminds me of the story of a man who was watching his wife prepare a roast. "Why do you always do that?" he asked. "What do you mean, do what?" she replied. He said "Whenever you make a roast, you always cut off one end and stick it on top with a toothpick. Why do you do that?" She said "I don't know, my mother always did it and I learned it from her." Later, she got to thinking about it and decided to call her mother. "Hey Mom, I've been wondering. You know how you always cut the end off the roast and stick it on top with a toothpick? Why do you do that?" Her mother said "I don't know, you're grandma always did it and I learned from her." Now, they were really boggled, so they decided to go visit grandma in the nursing home. They said "Grandma, something has been bothering us. We want to know why you always cut the end off the roast and stick it on top with a toothpick before you bake it. We both do that because you always did, but we don't know why." Grandma shook her head and said "Well, I don't know why _you _do it, but I did it because I needed a five pound roast to feed my family and the pan I had was too small so I had to cut the end off to make it fit."


I loved that story greyeaglem - heard a variation of it many years ago, i don't know where. I use it as a metaphor in many contexts.


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## lilly rose (Mar 14, 2012)

I use I use any and all of the Mexican cheeses with seafood all the time - Queso Fresco rocks crumbled on a plate of shrimp scampi or over a bowl of spicy mussels!


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## lilly rose (Mar 14, 2012)

another for the 'finned fish and cheese list', blackened blue salmon


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## curtispnw (Feb 16, 2012)

I noticed this is an old post, showed up on my email, so I will make a comment, In the American Italian restaurants I worked in, cheese (Romano) and parsley garnished everything, except linguini and clam sauce (clear sauce).

Reminds me of the time I put linguini and clam sauce out on a buffet, and I happened to be out checking the buffet and an old man asked what is this, I told him linguini and clam sauce, and he replies, no it is not, this is spaghetti, and he was right, it was spaghetti, its just habit to call it linguini and clam sauce after making it that way 100s of times, I wanted to tell the old guy, to just sit down and eat it, you will enjoy it, but didn't, He was probably Italian and knew his pasta, Same thing with rice and Asians, dont cook it right, or name it right there chasing you down to let you know. Keeps you honest


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## sissyathome (Sep 20, 2011)

Absolutely beautiful!  I make a lot of quiches, too, mostly salmon. It is so popular among my circle that I almost have to keep a printed copy of that recipe in my purse.  I agree that everything doesn't go with everything foodwise.  However, there are some seafood dishes that simply would not appeal to me without the proper cheese.  Rules!!!!  In my kitchen, I make the rules.


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## petalsandcoco (Aug 25, 2009)

Nothing fancy but _oh my _: toasted bread rounds with garlic snails topped with grated emmantal , broil for a few minutes till golden........sheer delight.

Petals.


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## bobbyjk (Sep 27, 2010)

I have made grouper  with a mornay sauce for catering for years and its always well received... so i dont understand the  debate.


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## cheffconnie (Mar 10, 2012)

I also agree with the experts.  Why drown the marvelous flavor of expensive seafoods with the overpowering flavor of asiago!  That being said, there is room for cream cheese and salmon, or tuna melts in this world!  And I personally love a brie and salmon pizza.......


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## layjo (Oct 12, 1999)

Yeah I think it's mostly an Old School Elder Italian (Non) preference of mixing cheese with fish.  I like cheese on fish in the right way!


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

Mushrooms stuffed with crab topped with aged swiss   macaroni and cheese with lobster   2 big sellers for me.


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## harleyquinn (Jun 12, 2012)

How many Seafood dishes have you enjoyed that was served with a delicious cream based sauce? Quite a few I imagine especially if your an expert on the subject. Now in saying that where does cheese come from? I will assume u know the answer. So is it that far fetched that there are some fish dishes that go great with cheese? I can name at least 20 dishes off the top of my head. My guess is you get your tacos from taco bell, your chinese food from panda express, and your sushi from the mall. Live a little and you will see the beauty of flavors out there.


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

Don't believe all these elf described experts. Most of them can't boil water theyare like critics. Just read a few older classical cook books on your own you will be surprised at some combinations..  Coquille St. Jaques for example.


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## ordo (Mar 19, 2009)

No rules for me also.  I try, i like, i don't. Period. Last week i ate some home made pasta with vongole and egg plant at a friends place. Served with grated parmigiano. It was excellent, irreproachable.

By the way, my friend deep fried some egg plant leftovers and served it sprinkled with honey as a surprising micro dessert.


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