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In addition to be caused by decomposition, this can be an issue with farm-raised seafood vs wild caught as well. Cram as many fish as possible into space available, feed them as much as they will eat to grow fast and thus produce a lot of waste for the space they occupy. This requires adequate, well maintained filtration. Skimp on this and the waste builds up toxic levels of nitrates/ammonia in the tanks. Additionally, farm raised fish are not normally fed diets as healthy as what they eat in the wild. Wild salmon is loaded with omega 3's due to their natural diet. Farm raised salmon? Not the case due to the crap diet they are fed. When I eat out, I always ask if the fish is wild caught. If they cannot verify this, I won't order it.
I suppose i feel a sense of relief ... Apparently, many others have expeierenced this "ammonia" smell in their seafood and have lived to tell the tale:/ Ive been online for an hour or more since returning home from dinner-I don't normally order fish (other than shellfish) when out to dinner however, earlier this week I ordered a baked cod dish and was pleasantly surprised-it was light and flaky with a buttery cracker-crumb topping and had NO "fishy" taste/smell. I ordered the same dish tonight and was horrified at the pungent ammonia aroma-it didn't exactly TASTE bad but, the AROMA (it filled my mouth and nose w the 1st bite) was extreamly potent!! I asked the server to smell the fish, she didn't say much but sent the manager over, who took the plate in back to have a smell... the manager was very nice and when she returned she offered to replace my meal and agreed the smell was "off" but, she didnt offer much of an explanation-there seems to be many people who've encountered this "ammonia-y" cooked seafood smell/taste and, although I've read and understand the decomposition theory, it seems MANY ppl have experienced this in FRESH CAUGHT SEAFOOD?? Is that it?? Decomposition or live fish being among decomposing fish?? It's kinda got me sketched out/:
some wholesalers will wash fish in ozonated water that kills 99 % of bacteria in fish...
thats the only thing i can think of...but it doesnt have an ammonia smell..
The other thing that causes an ammonia smell in fish is what the fish last had for dinner himself. Fish-eating fish who consume certain kinds of squid, especially, will take on that taste -- a powerful reek of ammonia.
If that happens to anyone in a restaurant they should definitely complain to the waiter, so nobody else will be served the same thing.
If you happen to be sensitive to the smell of ammonia, even fairly fresh fish can give off a whiff of ammonia. It's part of the reason some people just never learn to like fish.
If you bring fish home and it has a mild ammonia smell, or is a normally stinky fish like shark or skate, you can counteract it with a 20 minute soak in milk, per the following, from America's test Kitchen:
Quote:
"Fishy" odors begin to develop in fish immediately after they are caught and killed, as bacteria on the surface break down the compound trimethylamine oxide into stinky trimethylamine. As long as the flesh is still firm and the skin is shiny rather than slimy, this fish is still fine to cook and eat. (Obviously, if your seafood smells overpoweringly of ammonia, or is mushy, slimy or otherwise questionable, discard it.)
America's Test Kitchen recommends soaking the fish in milk for 20 minutes and patting it dry to remove any fishy odors. The casein in the milk binds to the trimethylamine, so the offending compound is drained away with the milk.
I remember when I was very young, my uncle and his family took us to a very hyped seafood restaurant.. everyone was very excited to eat there. When the fish got there, I took a bite and it has a heavy ammonia taste to it. I don't think the others minded, or at least I don't remember it that way. Needless to say, the rancid taste of ammonia-laden fish has become a recurring and traumatizing memory.
Fast forward decades to now, some coworkers took me to a seafood restaurant deemed one of their favorites. I ordered their recommended fish dish and with my first bite, I caught a huge wiff of ammonia in my mouth and nose!
What's with the ammonia taste in fish? Is this some acquired taste I'm not aware of? Or have I been unlucky and tasted rotten fish in both instances?
Thanks, OP, for starting this thread. I found the responses very informative and useful.
This happened to me for the first time today. I bought cod at the grocery store and didn't notice any odor when preparing it. But when I started to eat it, the unmistakable taste of ammonia was horrible. I'll be sure to return the rest tomorrow and ask for a refund. Thanks for the information!
Others nailed it: it is fish that is not fresh. To get served it in a restaurant in unacceptable, as they should be able to smell it too when it is cooking.
I get the occasional amonia fish from the grocery store, usually from shell fish where it is completely frozen (I'm in AZ thats how we roll for most fish) and you can't tell until you are steaming it. I've eaten it before when not too strong and not gotten sick, but I usually just dump it and take the receipt back to get my money returned.
One exception is rays/skates, for some reason they seem to often have a hint of amonia smell even when relatively fresh. Soak 'em in milk for awhile it'll take care of it, I have no idea why.
We got the answer about skate and shark.....they excrete thru the skin so the flesh has an ammonia/urine smell.
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I found the responses very informative and useful.
