Mullet
Food · Protein · Food, Typed Supps
Raw, baked and steamed are the same fish. Cooking mainly removes water, which makes every number look bigger.
Stage by stage
- Intake (Chewing and stomach acid): Firm, oily flesh is loosened by chewing; the fat is held between muscle fibres rather than in a separate layer.
- Absorption (Fat and protein taken up): Bile emulsifies the fish oil so EPA, DHA and vitamin D cross together; the protein is absorbed as amino acids and short peptides.
- Cardiovascular tissue (Membrane incorporation): Pre-formed EPA and DHA are built into cell membranes without the conversion step that limits plant omega-3.
- Muscle (Repair and maintenance): Around 19g of highly digestible protein per 100g raw supports repair, alongside B12 at several times the daily requirement.
Time to effect
- Weeks: Regular intake shifts cell membrane fatty acid composition over roughly 4 to 8 weeks.
Allergens
Contains: Fish. Derived from what this food is, not from a product label.
Eating patterns
Fits: Pescatarian, Kosher, Keto, Gluten-free. Depends on the product: Halal, Low-FODMAP.
Satiety
167 on the satiety index, where white bread is 100 — high. Modelled from the Holt et al. (1995) measurements.
Environmental footprint
13.6 kg CO2e and 3691 litres of freshwater per kg, matched to "Fish (farmed)" in Poore & Nemecek (2018), Science 360.
Cost band
Mid — roughly £11 per kg, as a band midpoint rather than a price.
Key nutrients
Nutrition per 100g
- Calories: 131
- Protein: 19.2g
- Carbohydrate: 0g
- of which sugars: 0g
- Fat: 6g
- of which saturated: 2.7g
- Fibre: 0g
- Sodium: 131mg
Food vs. supplement
A 150g portion supplies roughly 870mg of combined EPA and DHA, comparable to a standard fish oil capsule, plus about 29g of protein, a full day of selenium and several times the daily B12 requirement. Mullet is the case where the whole-food route costs less than the capsule rather than more.
Kitchen tip
Mullet's oil oxidises faster than the fat in lean white fish, so it goes off sooner and develops the strong flavour it has a reputation for. Buy it as fresh as possible and cook it the same day; the fish that tastes muddy is usually the fish that sat too long.
Common myth
“The baked and steamed versions are more nutritious than the raw.” In reality: They are the same fish with water removed. Every per-100g figure rises during cooking because the denominator shrank, not because the fish acquired anything.
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