Market Name: Bream
Scientific Name: Sparus auratus
Common Name: Gilt-head bream, sea bream, daurade, daurade royale, orata
Flavor: Moderate
Texture: Medium
Description:
This high-valued species is the favored sea bream, prized in Mediterranean
cuisine and highly regarded by European chefs. It gets the “gilt-head”
name from the golden stripe between its eyes. The Romans reportedly
called the bream “Aurata,” the gilded one. The Greek goddess Aphrodite
also considered the gilt-head bream sacred. The fish reach maturity during
their second year, up to which time they are male. In the third year, for
reasons not fully understood, they become female. Sea bream are found
in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, but commercial harvests are small. As
with European sea bass, bream is increasingly supplied by aquaculture
operations, mostly in the Mediterranean. Some is also raised in Iceland in
geothermic water. A small member of the porgy family, Sparidae, sea bream
usually run 10 to 14 inches long and between 1 1/4 and 6 pounds. Upscale
chefs in the United States menu bream by its French name, daurade, or
daurade royale.
Product Profile:
The rosy-colored raw meat turns white when cooked. Bream’s moist flesh has
a rich, sweet flavor. The texture is firm but tender.
You Should Know:
A lesser bream, Pagellus bogaraveo, or red bream, is known by the French name dorade communue; don’t confuse it with the superior daurade royale, Sparus auratus.
Cooking Tips:
Daurade is best cooked whole, dressed but with the backbone left in. Because the flesh holds together well, it can be braised and used in stews. It is the fish traditionally featured in bouillabaisse. The fish is excellent poached in wine. It can also be stuffed and baked, grilled or sautéed.
Cooking Methods: Bake,Broil,Grill,Poach,Saute'
Substitutions: Black sea bass, Red snapper
Primary Product Forms:
Fresh: Whole (most common), Gutted, Fillets
Frozen:
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