When fish broth is one of the ingredients in a sauce recipe and you cooked the fish you
are going to use with it in a liquid, then that liquid becomes the broth you will usually use
in making the sauce. If your fish was not cooked in a liquid, if the liquid wasn’t suitable for
your sauce or if you want to complete the sauce by the time the fish is cooked, this is a
good recipe to follow. You can add to or change the ingredients in this basic recipe to suit
your taste. Add more wine, or use none at all. Add more spices, or use none at all. You can
even strengthen it if you like with a little chicken or veal broth.

Ingredients
• 1-2 pounds of fish trimmings (carcass, including head and tail) or whole dressed fish,
head and tail left on.
• 4-6 cups of water
• ½ cup white wine or 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 1-2 carrots, sliced
• 2 onions, sliced
• 1 large stalk of celery, chopped
• Mushroom stems and peelings (optional)
• 1-2 bay leaves
• 1-2 sprigs of parsley (add last 5 minutes only for delicate flavor)
• 1-2 sprigs of fresh thyme to taste
• 2-4 peppercorns
• 1 clove garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste (go easy on these seasonings until after broth is reduced).

Preparation
Simmer, covered, for at least 2 hour. taste. adjust seasonings and strain.
Note: For a slightly stronger, different flavor, leave skin on carrot. For a delicate flavor, use a
delicately flavored fish: removing the skin also results in a less strong flavor.

Fish Fumet
Boil broth down to ½ - ¼ normal strength. Traditionally fumet is a strong broth.

If you haven't eaten mussels before, they have a mild, delicate flavor
all their own, not like the stronger flavors of clams and oysters. The
wild mussels along our coast are the California Mussel (Mytilus
californianus) and differ from the commercial Blue Mussel (Mytilus
edulis) by being slightly tougher, but if you keep to the medium-size
ones you almost can't tell the difference. As hors d’oeuvre, their mild
richness carries without a dipping sauce. They make an excellent
addition to mixed seafood chowder. Of course, there's mussel stew,
mussel risotto, or my favorite, mussel pasta.

WARNING: Under certain conditions, wild mussels can be
harmful to your health, even fatal.

For our protection, the California Department of Health Services operates a shellfish
monitoring program where wild mussels are tested regularly. There is an annual
quarantine period from May 1st to October 31st, when most outbreaks of Paralytic Shellfish
Poisoning (PSP) have occurred. If a problem appears outside the quarantine period, an alert
is issued. Radio, T.V., and newspapers are notified. Signs are posted at ocean accesses. Also,
there is the “Shellfish Information Line” which has a recorded message of the current
conditions, and should be referred to before you go out, even during the “good” season.
Call toll free at 1-800-553-4133 or 1-510-540-2605.
How do mussels become dangerous? They filter the sea water for their diet of microorganisms.
The problem comes with the bloom of certain micro-organisms, occurring
when light and temperature are just right. Some species of microscopic creature contains a
trace of poison that in itself may not be enough to matter to a creature the size of a human.
And though the mussel remains unaffected by the poison, it stores it in its flesh in
increasing doses until it can become bio-concentrated to lethal levels for humans. When
the bloom goes away, the poison levels in the mussels dissipate and they become edible
again. Some people mistakenly believe the bloom known as “Red Tide” to be the source of
the problem, but the organisms responsible for PSP can bloom without changing the color
of the water, and so, water clarity is no guarantee.

Limpets are in the group of sea snails that are found all over the world. You will find
them clinging to rocks. Their homes are usually a scraped out region of a rock as
large and as thick as their shells. During the day, they look for food. They live on
algae. Limpets use their tongues to scrape algae off the rocks.

Ulva taeniata
This alga characteristically has a ribbon-like thallus, and we have found it
growing abundantly in semi-sheltered habitats.

Postelsia palmaeformis
The common name of this seaweed is the “sea palm”. It grows on the tops of
rocks in areas associated with intense wave action. When they reach
maturity, spores are produced that slime off of the sharply attenuated blades
during low tide, where they then settle and differentiate.

Fucus gardneri
Fucus, pronounced like mucus, is a funny looking alga that grows in the
upper intertidal zone. The inflated ends are called receptacles (these
house reproductive parts, i.e. eggs and sperm), and they are fun to pop.
But be careful, because Fucus sometimes feels like mucus.

Ulva is very common along California in bays as well as heavily exposed
sites and easily recognized by the small holes in the thallus.
Ulva is a genus of algae that includes species that look like bright green
sheets and live primarily in marine environments. They can also be
found in brackish water, particularly estuaries. They live attached to
rocks in the middle to low intertidal zone, and as deep as 10 meters in
calm, protected harbors. Ulva are usually seen in dense groups.
Commonly known as the sea lettuce or the green laver, Ulva species can
be eaten in soups and salads, and used as a substitute for nori (Porphyra), the popular
seaweed in sushi. Ten species of Ulva exist worldwide, all of which have representation on
the coast of California. The shapes of Ulva are quite varied- circular to oval to long and
narrow, ranging in size from microscopic to 65 cm. They have fine, silky textures with
waved or ruffled margins. The delicate blades of Ulva are usually only 40 microns thick.

Greek myths describe Iris, the goddess of the rainbow, as a messenger for
the Olympian deities. The characteristics of the alga Iridaea flaccida
strikingly reflect its namesake. The same properties of light which
produce a rainbow provide Iridaea's surface with its brilliant iridescence.
Vibrant colors wash across the thallus surface due to the multilayered
construction of its cuticle. Flaccida subtly manages to communicate its
phase of life history to the casual observer--yet it lives an isomorphic
existence. Both its iridescent cuticle and the differences in blade strength
between its life phases provide insights into the adaptations of wave-swept algae to
mechanical stress.