Yellow tail tuna (hamachi) -- is it possible that the sweet taste comes from sugars present in the fish's flesh?
It feels like this might be a stupid question but I can find nothing from googling this and in my experience, anything that tastes sweet tends to have sugar or sugar substitute.
Best Answer
Meat/fish do not contain significant carbohydrate - glycogen is the sugar found in meat, but it is stored in the liver, which DOES contain carbohydrate, though not necessarily sufficiently for liver to be perceived as sweet.
Fish tastes sweet because of free amino acids.
Free amino acids are not to be confused with protein, which is tasteless. Protein is amino acids bonded together. Most amino acids are bound.
This provides total amino acids: https://www.healthbenefitstimes.com/yellowtail-fish/
But it does not list free amino acids.
This appears to be a paywalled study of yellowtail FAA https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2621.1982.tb05006.x
You could buy that and study.
82% of crab body meat free amino acids are glycine + alanine https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/33721749.pdf
This explains why crab meat tastes sweet. The sweet taste of yellowtail (which is not tuna) could be best evaluated by comparing the FAAs with fish that don't taste sweet. You might also consider the LACK of other flavours in the fish - as something that contains a lot of bitterness might not taste sweet, even with the same amount of sweet-tasting amino acids in it.
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Why does my fish taste sweet?
Fish tastes sweet because of free amino acids. Free amino acids are not to be confused with protein, which is tasteless. Protein is amino acids bonded together.What does yellow tail taste like?
Yellowtail fillets can have a dark muscle line along the edge. Cooked meat is white and firm with a sweet, mild flavor. The high oil content gives the flesh a buttery texture.Is Yellowtail a tuna?
Yellowtail fish is one of the most popular menu choices at sushi restaurants. But how much do you know about this famous entree? For one thing, it's not actually tuna, as many people think. Most of the time, yellowtail actually refers to Japanese amberjack, a delicious fish that lives between Japan and Hawaii.Top 3 Best Fish vs. Worst Fish to Eat: Thomas DeLauer
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