Cooking Fish: A General Essay

To cook fish is to prepare it for consumption by heating it until its internal temperature is raised to 145°F (63°C) or perhaps a few degrees less. One cannot be absolutely precise, since the temperature to be reached may vary slightly according to the nature of the fish being cooked, the chemical composition of any liquid in which it is being cooked, and other factors. There is, moreover, an interplay between time and temperature. The longer the cooking time, the lower the temperature which must be reached.* None the less it remains true that for any particular piece of fish in any particular set of circumstances there is one exact internal temperature which should be reached but not exceeded, and that this will be very close to 145°F (63°C). To keep this principle firmly in mind is the best safeguard against the sadly common fault of overcooking.