| Edible Portion | Composition | Total Food Value per Pound Calories | Food Value per Pound Due to Protein Calories | |
| Protein Per Cent. | Fat Per Cent. | |||
| Fish: | ||||
| Bass, black | 20.6 | 1.7 | 443 | 373 |
| Bluefish | 19.4 | 1.2 | 401 | 352 |
| Carp | 17.4 | 2.6 | 421 | 315 |
| Catfish | 14.4 | 20.6 | 1,102 | 262 |
| Halibut steak | 18.6 | 5.2 | 550 | 337 |
| Lake trout | 17.8 | 1.0 | 363 | 323 |
| Red snapper | 19.2 | 1.0 | 389 | 348 |
| Salmon (canned) | 21.8 | 12.1 | 888 | 396 |
| Whitefish | 22.9 | 6.5 | 680 | 415 |
| Meat: | ||||
| Beef, round, medium fat | 20.3 | 13.6 | 895 | 368 |
| Chicken, broilers | 21.5 | 2.5 | 492 | 390 |
| Fowl | 19.3 | 16.3 | 1,016 | 350 |
| Lamb, leg | 19.2 | 16.5 | 870 | 348 |
| Pork chops | 16.6 | 30.1 | 1,455 | 301 |
12. A study of this table will show that on the whole the percentage of protein in the various kinds of fish is as much as that in meat, while in a few instances, it is greater. This proves that so far as the quantity of protein is concerned, these two foods are equally valuable in their tissue-forming and tissue-building qualities. It will be seen also that the percentage of fat in fish varies greatly, some varieties containing more than meat, but most of them containing less. Furthermore, the total food value per pound, in calories, is for the most part greater in meat than in fish, whereas the food value per pound due to protein is equivalent in most cases, but higher in some of the fish than in the meat.
13. It must also be remembered that the drying or preserving of fish does not in any way decrease its food value. In fact, pound for pound, dried fish, both smoked and salt, contains more nutritive value than fresh fish, because the water, which decreases the food value of fresh fish, is driven off in drying. However, when prepared for eating, dried fish in all probability has more food value than fresh fish, because water or moisture of some sort must be supplied in its preparation.
14. The method of preparing dried or preserved fish, as well as fresh fish, has much to do with the food value obtained from it. Just as nutritive value is lost in the cooking of meat by certain methods, so it may be lost in the preparation of fish if the proper methods are not applied. To obtain as much food value from fish as possible, the various points that are involved in its cookery must be thoroughly understood. Certain facts concerning the buying of fish must also be kept in mind. For instance, in canned fish, almost all the bones, skin, and other inedible parts, except the tails, heads, and fins of very small fish, have been removed before packing, indicating that practically all the material purchased is edible. In the case of fresh fish, a large percentage of what is bought must be wasted in preparation and in eating, the percentage of waste varying from 5 to 45 per cent.
15. DIGESTIBILITY OF FISH.--The food value of any food is an important item when its usefulness as a food is taken into account, but of equal importance is the manner in which the body uses the food; that is, whether it digests the food with ease or with difficulty. Therefore, when the value of fish as a food is to be determined, its digestibility must receive definite consideration. As has already been explained, much depends on the cooking of the food in question. On the whole, fish is found to be more easily digested than meat, with the exception perhaps of a few kinds or certain cuts. That physicians recognize this characteristic is evidenced by the fact that fish is often used in the feeding of invalids or sick people when meat is not permitted.
16. The ease with which fish is digested is influenced largely by the quantity of fat it contains, for this fat, acting in identically the same way as the fat of meat, has the effect of slowing the digestion that is carried on in the stomach. It follows, then, that with possibly one or two exceptions the kinds of fish most easily digested are those which are lean.
17. In addition to the correct cooking of fish and the presence of fat, a factor that largely influences the digestibility of this food is the length of the fibers of the flesh. It will be remembered that the parts of an animal having long fibers are tougher and less easily digested than those having short fibers. This applies with equal force in the case of fish. Its truth is evident when it is known that cod, a lean fish, is digested with greater difficulty than some of the fat fish because of the length and toughness of its fibers. This, however, is comparative, and it must not be thought that fish on the whole is digested with difficulty.
18. Another factor that influences the digestibility of fish is the salting of it. Whether fish is salted dry or in brine, the salt hardens the fibers and tissues. While the salt acts as a preservative in causing this hardening, it, at the same time, makes the fish preserved in this manner a little more difficult to digest. This slight difference need scarcely be considered so far as the normal adult is concerned, but in case of children or persons whose digestion is not entirely normal its effect is likely to be felt.
TABLE II
NAMES, SEASONS, AND USES OF FRESH FISH
| NAME OF FISH | SEASON | METHOD OF COOKERY |
| Bass, black | All the | Fried, baked |
| Bass, sea | All the year | Baked, broiled, fried |
| Bass, striped | All the year | Baked, broiled, fried |
| Bass, lake | June 1 to January 1 | Baked, broiled, fried |
| Bluefish | May 1 to November 1 | Baked, broiled |
| Butterfish | October 1 to May 1 | Fried, sautéd |
| Carp | July 1 to November 1 | Baked, broiled, fried |
| Catfish | All the year | Fried, sautéd |
| Codfish | All the year | Boiled, fried, sautéd, baked, broiled |
| Eels | All the year | Fried, boiled, baked |
| Flounder | All the year | Sautéd, fried, baked |
| Haddock | All the year | Steamed, boiled, fried |
| Halibut | All the year | Boiled, fried, creamed |
| Herring | October 1 to May 1 | Sautéd, fried, broiled |
| Kingfish | May 1 to November 1 | Boiled, steamed, baked |
| Mackerel | April 1 to October 1 | Baked, broiled, boiled, fried |
| Perch, fresh water | September 1 to June 1 | Fried, broiled |
| Pike, or pickerel, fresh water | June 1 to January 1 | Fried, broiled, baked |
| Porgies, salt water | June 15 to October 15 | Fried, sautéd |
| Red snapper | October 1 to April 1 | Boiled, steamed |
| Salmon, Kennebec | June 1 to October 1 | Broiled, baked, boiled |
| Salmon, Oregon | October 1 to June 1 | Broiled, baked, boiled |
| Shad | January 1 to June 1 | Baked, broiled, fried |
| Shad roe | January 1 to June 1 | Broiled, fried |
| Sheepshead | June 1 to September 15 | Boiled, fried |
| Smelts | August 15 to April 15 | Fried, sautéd |
| Sole, English | November 1 to May 1 | Baked, broiled, fried |
| Sunfish | May 1 to December 1 | Fried, sautéd |
| Trout, fresh water | April 1 to September 1 | Baked, broiled, fried, boiled, sautéd |
| Weakfish, or sea trout | May 15 to October 15 | Baked, broiled |
| Whitebait | May 1 to April 1 | Fried, sautéd |
| Whitefish, fresh water | November 1 to March 1 | Baked, fried, sautéd, broiled |