Escolar syndrome!
Hey all -
I posted about this yesterday and my post got removed...maybe because I included a link in the body of my email. I don't get why it would be deleted otherwuse.
Anyway, I had a horrible gastric experience last week, and after a small bit of research was able to trace it to the escolar I had for dinner nearly two days before. This was a very tasty dish at a well-regarded Manhattan restaurant, but I never would have ordered it if I knew what that fish is capable of.
Am I the last person around who didn't know about this? It totally freaked me out. Why do restaurants still serve escolar? Why don't they warn you?
I've linked to a thread on a health board about this as it is way too embarrassing to describe.
Anyone else had this experience? You may want to read the link below before eating escolar.
worm
Apr 17, 2006 12:26PM
OMIGOD yes...
Our local Whole Foods was featuring this fish a couple of years back, selling it as the perfect companion to a sauce they were also pushing. I just had to try it; I cooked the fish, dressed it with the sauce. We both found it delicious but much too rich to eat a lot of...and in the course of the night and the next morning discovered that there were a few other little problems with it as well! Poor Mrs. O suffered more radically than I did (I could probably digest candle wax), but neither of us wanted to repeat the experience. Nor do we understand why this fish is still being sold for human consumption.
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Sorry to hear that you learned the hard way about the effects of eating too much escolar.
The operative term is "too much" which can explain why a sushi eater would not have the same reaction.
It doesn't sound as though you got "bad" fish. The knowledgeable and opinionated fishmongers here in the Twin Cities do say that the high oil content of escolar can clean out your system, perhaps too effectively for comfort.
They warn their customers that the correct portion size for this fish is about a quarter pound per person, substantially less than their usual portion size for other types of fish.
Those same fishmongers have opined that restaurants should resist serving huge portions like they do for nearly everything else, and it could be that the restaurants are bowing to the feed-your-face-for-fifteen-bucks pressure.
Is escolar a "health hazard?" Are beans and legumes a hazard if they give the diner a similar reaction? How about food that's so spicy it messes up your GI tract?? What about eating too much of a good thing?
Quantity is key here.
Feel better soon.
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Worm, I answered your post yesterday with affirming evidence of your Escolar experience. Perhaps I was too flip when recounting the effects on an entire wedding group, but I too was puzzled when it was removed. Trying to warn diners about this potentially difficult problem seems to be well within the scope of Chowhound.
Without being too graphic, I also wonder why Escolar (or butterfish, as it is also called) continues to be featured on restaurant menus. I can only imagine that perhaps it is a small percentage of diners who are affected. Whatever the reason, having the information of the possible effects is important for diners, who can then make their own decisions.
Thank you for posting.
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obviously i eat a lot of escolar/butterfish in japanese restaurants because it's usually part of the main set. most of the time it's completely raw and other times it can be seared. the only time i've ever eaten it fully cooked was in a reputable seafood restaurant. no problems at all.
and i would remember those kinds of side effects...
bad batch of fish? maybe it's really tempermental in keeping.... enzyme that doesn't process it well?
Link: http://tongueandcheek.ca
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Escolar, butter fish, also called tapioca fish is not easily digestible. The problem affects just about everyone, however most noticeable if you eat you more than about 4 oz. People in sushi bars get far less than 4 oz. but in a restaurant you would get anywhere from 6-8 oz easily, which causes a problem.
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Ive had butterfish many many times in Japanese restaurants and never had a problem. I guess im lucky. The fish is so tasty though
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Shocking, isn't it? I instigated a thread similar to this one two or three years ago. The escolar we ate was absolutely delicious. I made it with some sort of asian glaze and steamed veggies. So good I wrote down the recipe w/ my modifications in my little book that same night. Two days later the title became "Asian-glazed anything-but-escolar w/ steamed veggetables".
I had absolutely no stomach discomfort either. Merely the bright orange....symptom....described in your link. It was pretty funny: the phone call to my husband. "Notice anything odd this morning?" We did eat fairly large portions.
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I am a chef that serves Escolar. I was told by my seafood puveyor that it is safe as long as you don't serve/eat more than 8 ounces at one time. In the past year I have recieved 1 complaint. While one complaint is 1 too many, I recieved alot more when I took it off the menu....(just a thought, it really does taste good!)
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I've been served escolar only once, in a private home. It was very simply prepared, barbecued, probably at least 8 ounces and possibly the most delicious fish I have ever eaten. Nobody suffered any ill effects. At the time I found it curious that I had never heard of such a tasty fish.
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Thank for posting this. Of late, DH has been experiencing a sensitivity to seafood. He is an adventurous eater and unless he is fowarned he'll try almost anything and if it is good he wants a lot of it. I think if he ate this it would freak him too much.
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I don't know about the "last" person, but the info has been out there, that I've seen, for more than 10 years. I first heard about it on a pre-Web BBS, but I've also seen newspaper mentions every few years since then. But I also have noticed a recent, significant increase in availability and also that no one seems to be warning people about it while they're serving it up like hotcakes. (I have noticed that Fairway has it pre-cut into fairly small pieces, though, and assumed it was their way of trying to minimize problems without actually turning people off with a warning that, to be fair, would probably make anyone unfamiliar with it avoid it like the plague.)
Some people are especially sensitive, but most people can handle "normal" fish portions without problems (I'd always heard 6 ozs, but not from someone trying to sell restaurants fish.lol) Having a cast-iron GI tract in general, I haven't had a problem the few times I've had it, but wouldn't want to push my luck with an especially oversized portion.
Some people report that grilling or broiling on a rack decreases the problem, by letting more of the responsible fats drain clear of the fish before it's eaten. And it is that - it's not an issue of freshness or enzymes or whatever - the fish is naturally high in a fat (don't remember the name) that our bodies don't digest well if at all, and which has more or less of an "effect" on people according to their particular physiology.
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I had escolar last night for the first time - had the horrible symptoms that appear to be common after eating this fish - also ate at a high-priced, well respected restaurant - had I known the aftereffects, I certainly would not have ordered this meal.
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Have had escolar several times at Captain John's here in the central valley (CA), large portions (6-8 oz) and never experienced anything unusual. A couple of times I've asked if it was available and was told yes they had it in stock, but wouldn't serve it? My BIL found a local source that will get it for us, plan on doing a scientific experiment, i.e. full size portions but cooked on a rack to let the oils drain. Will report back, if possible.
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New York Magazine has a little blurb about escolar in their current issue. See the link below.
Link: http://nymag.com/restaurants/features...
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