Overview
About Turbot
Turbot is a prized European flatfish with a firm, gelatinous flesh, and it carries a moderate histamine grade for a reason most fish do not: it is deliberately aged.
Chefs commonly rest a whole turbot on the bone for two to four days before cooking, and dry-ageing fish has become standard in serious kitchens. Ageing is precisely the process that lets bacteria convert histidine into histamine. The turbot a chef considers perfectly ready is the turbot most likely to catch a histamine-sensitive diner out.
Sensitivities
How Turbot scores
Watch for
What trips people up
- Moderate histamine, and higher again in aged or dry-aged turbot. Restaurants rarely mention that a fish has been rested, so a reaction to turbot in a restaurant but not at home is a common pattern
- Some tyramine and free glutamate, which matters if you are on a tyramine-restricted diet or track savoury-food reactions
- Greenland turbot is not turbot. It is Greenland halibut, a different family sold under the turbot name in North American markets, and it is a much fattier fish
- Clean otherwise: no gluten, no lactose, no FODMAPs, no salicylate, no oxalate, no nickel and no sulfites in the plain fillet
Diet fit
Where it fits
Swap ideas
More alternatives
FAQ
Common questions about Turbot
Is turbot high in histamine?
Moderate rather than high in a fresh fillet, but it depends heavily on handling. Turbot is one of the fish most often aged on purpose, because resting it on the bone for a few days improves the texture, and that same time allows histamine to form. Buying it frozen at sea or as fresh as possible is what keeps it at the low end.
Is Greenland turbot the same as turbot?
No. True turbot is a European flatfish; Greenland turbot is Greenland halibut, a different species from a different family, sold under the turbot name mainly in North America. It is considerably oilier, which changes both how it cooks and how quickly it takes on amines.
Is turbot low FODMAP?
Yes. Plain turbot has no fermentable carbohydrate and grades clear on fructans, GOS, excess fructose, polyols and lactose. The classic accompaniments are what break it: hollandaise brings dairy, and a shallot or garlic butter brings fructans.
References
Read the background
Ratings reflect the Triggerbites ingredient database and may vary with portion size and preparation.