Alosa served as the focal point of John McPhee's book "The Founding Fish". The roe, or more properly the entire engorged uterus of the American shad—filled with ripening eggs, sautéed in clarified butter and garnished with parsley and a slice of lemon—is considered a great delicacy, and commands high prices when available. Alosa Alosa is a genus of fish, the river herrings, in the family Clupeidae. Along with other genera in the subfamily Alosinae, they are generally known as shads. They are distinct from other herrings by having a deeper body and spawning in rivers. Several species can be found on
Fish as food "fiscas") which was pronounced as it is today. English also has the term seafood, which covers fish found in the seas and oceans as well as other marine life used as food. Over 32,000 species of fish have been described, making them the most diverse group of vertebrates. In addition, there are many species of shellfish. However, only a small number of species are commonly eaten by humans. Fish can be prepared in a variety of ways. It can be uncooked (raw) ("e.g.," sashimi). It can be cured by marinating ("e.g.," ceviche), pickling ("e.g.," pickled herring), or smoking ("e.g.," smoked