VINE SHOOT

It may be called a butterfish, cobbler, permit, or palmetto. No matter what name you give it, the Florida vine is considered one of the best tasting fish in the ocean. It is a very popular fish in the Florida area both commercially and for sport fishing. Found in the warm waters of the South Atlantic from Cape Cod to Brazil, it is not to be confused with the California branch, which is actually a member of the butterfish family and is not a branch at all. It is a fast-growing fish, reaching 8 to 12 inches in its first year and has a life expectancy of 3 to 4 years. Due to its rapid growth and great taste, growing the branch is becoming very popular. The average harvest size for the cultivated branch is 1 to 1.5 pounds. It has a silvery body, metallic blue on top and golden yellow on the underside with a deeply forked tail and an average catch weight of 1 ½ to 3 pounds. The branch is known to reach 9 pounds and 26 inches long. It is quite an expensive fish due to high demand and commercial fishing restrictions. The branch has a pulp that is very flaky, very firm and quite high in fat and has a delicious rich flavor. Remains moist with a pearly white color after cooking. The best way to cook the pámpano is to bake, roast, sauté, fry or fry in the oven.

Snapper

A small fish known as the saltwater skillet fish, the porgy or scup, commonly called, is very popular with sport and commercial anglers along the Atlantic coast from Maine to South Carolina. The name “porgy” comes from an American Indian word for “fertilizer,” a common use for fish due to its abundance in the early American years. It has a silvery blue back with dull silvery sides and 12 to 15 faint vertical stripes. The porgy averages 1 to 2 pounds and 12 to 14 inches long, but can grow up to 3 or 4 pounds. They can live up to 20 years. Some of the regional names under which it can be found are, scup, maidens, fair maidens, convict, paugy, prison fish, bream, and bream. The tender, flaky meat of porgies has a mild flavor and moderate fat content. They have many bones and are difficult to fillet, which is why they are commonly sold whole. The best way to cook porgy is to bake, fry, pan-fry, sauté, or steam.