Sometimes when I make Challah, using vegtable oil not butter, I notice a slight fishy taste to the bread (I’ve also noticed this when I make chocolate chip cookies with butter).  I suspect it must have something to do with the flour but would like to hear if people run into this problem and know what might cause it.  Does flour have to be stored in the refrigerator after it’s opened ?

stix - 19 March 2011 10:16 PM

Sometimes when I make Challah, using vegtable oil not butter, I notice a slight fishy taste to the bread (I’ve also noticed this when I make chocolate chip cookies with butter).  I suspect it must have something to do with the flour but would like to hear if people run into this problem and know what might cause it.  Does flour have to be stored in the refrigerator after it’s opened ?

You don’t need to store non-whole-wheat flour in the refrigerator.  Does anyone else detect this off-flavor?

Yes, I don’t think it’s the oil or butter because when I make non flour desserts like souffles no one says anything.

If the oil you’re using in the challah is canola oil, I often notice a fishy taste/smell when baking or cooking with canola.  Try safflower or some other oil that doesn’t go rancid so easily and will stand up to high temperatures.

What flour are you using and what kind of container is it being stored in?  I’ve definitely had containers lend off flavors to sugar, it’s possible it might happen with flour as well.

Thanks to everyones input I think I figured out the problem - I give the my oven a heavy duty work out and realized that all the accumulated food that leaked in it must be affecting the flavor of the baked goods.

Hi, I actually just did a google search for fishy taste in choc-chip cookies and this thread came up.  I made a batch of choc-chip cookies a couple of weeks ago and two people mentioned that they had a fishy taste. As I bake to supply cafes - this isn’t good feedback. I’m convinced that it is either the butter or the chocolate I’ve used, as I’ve made them before and not had this problem. Admittedly I use gluten-free flours and the bean flours can impart unusual tastes if used in too high a quantity. But this isn’t the case with my flour mixes. Also my flours are all fresh, as I grind the grains myself. My oven is clean, so dripping from above can’t be a problem…. Also at the same time as baking the cookies, I baked a number of other cakes and biscuits and none of them had this taste…. I can only conclude that it must be the butter or chocolate that I was using. Any other ideas or experiences of this?

Thanks.

Hi, Alyanora,

Welcome to the forum!  This is a long shot, but I wonder if it could be the eggs?  I’ve had eggs before that have tasted VERY fishy.  I actually stopped eating eggs for a long time because of this.  I finally found some that have been consistently good (believe it or not, my store’s own ultra-cheap brand), so I’ve stuck with them when I can’t get ‘real’ eggs from hen-owners I know.

So that’s the best I can come up with, unless perhaps your butter and chocolate are absorbing odors from other sources.  I know chocolate is supposed to be susceptible, and it’s likely butter is, too.  At the same time, it’s hard to imagine fish smells roaming the fridge.

Good luck, and congratulations on getting to bake for your, um, ‘bread’!!!

—ak

Well, I cleaned my oven and I’m still having the fishy brad problem on occasion.  Sometimes I use vegtable oil instead of butter for some loaves.  I’m wondering if it might happen when the dough is not absolutely thoroughly baked ?

Does the fishy taste only happen with your vegetable oil loaves?  If so, I would suspect the oil.  What oil are you using?  It may be rancid or about to go rancid, or it may not hold up well at the high temps that most people bake bread at. 

As forum member Anne pointed out in another thread, it could also be your eggs.  I’ve noticed that some brands, especially some advertised to have omega-3s, have a fishy taste.

Hi Julie, that sounds interesting (can you provide a link to that other thread on the omega-3 egg issue).  How can you tell which brands have the least omega-3’s ?

Actually, it’s in this post—a couple above Julies’ reply (unless I did mention it elsewhere as well—I tend to repeat myself….).  I think your best bet is just eating an egg from the carton when you get them and see if they’re fishy.  I’ve noticed that fishiness is more pronounced on over easy (as opposed to coddled or scrambled) eggs, but scrambled is 2nd.  If that brand is fishy, try another brand. 

Usually if an egg is an ‘omega-3’ egg, they will not fail to advertise it prominently on the packaging, as it is a selling point.  I ate many brands of organic eggs, free-range eggs, etc., and ultimately settled upon the cheap store brand eggs.  They had the best ‘set up’ (didn’t spread when you put them in a pan to cook) and no fishy taste.  They also had the longest dates. 

The yolks are small, though, so when I use them in a recipe, I always weigh yolks and whites separately.  For example, if a recipe calls for 2 eggs (100g), I know that means 60g whites, 40g yolks, so I separate them and weigh each component.  An egg generally means 30g white, 20g yolk.

Good luck on your egg quest and in ultimately resolving your fishy-taste issues. 

—ak

I’m going to try different egg brands and see what happens, but an additional thought occured; I read once in Cook’s Illustrated that iodized salt as opposed to regular table salt can leave an odd aftertaste in baked goods - can anyone comment on their experience with this and if the taste is similarly fishy.  Thanks.

Although I’ve never noticed this myself, the iodized salt aftertaste is usually described as ‘bitter’ rather than ‘fishy.’

When we have challah on the table there’s usually whitefish or nova lurking somewhere nearby…

I have the same problem and could only think that it’s the eggs. I heard they feed the chickens a ground up fish meal and turns the eggs fishy. I am now enjoying a peanut butter/almond butter mixed and honey fishy tasting sandwich. Haha.

I heard somewhere that some egg brands will feed the chickens a fish meal. See link: http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/118303/omega-3-eggs-fish-meal-feed