Is Pufferfish kosher?
No — Pufferfish is not kosher under Jewish dietary law.
Not kosher. Puffers have leathery, essentially scaleless skin — plus they contain tetrodotoxin, so the halachic question is the least of your concerns.
Image: Photo by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration · licensed Public domain · source
About Pufferfish
Fish able to inflate themselves by swallowing water. Prized in Japanese cuisine as fugu despite the deadly toxin. Tetraodontidae is a family of marine and freshwater fish in the order Tetraodontiformes. The family includes many familiar species variously called pufferfishes, puffers, balloonfishes, blowfishes, blowers, blowies, bubblefishes, globefishes, swellfishes, toadfishes, toadies, botetes, toadle, honey toads, sugar toads, and sea squabs. They are morphologically similar to the closely related porcupinefish, which have large external spines (unlike the thinner, hidden spines of the Tetraodontidae, which are only visible when the fish have puffed up). The family name comes from Ancient Greek τετρα- (tetra-), meaning "four", and ὀδούς (odoús), meaning "tooth", referring to the four teeth of the type genus Tetraodon. The majority of pufferfish species are toxic, with some among the most poisonous vertebrates in the world. In certain species, the internal organs, such as the liver, and sometimes the skin, contain mucus tetrodotoxin, and are highly toxic to most animals when eaten; nevertheless, the meat of some species is considered a delicacy in Japan (as 河豚, fugu), Korea (as 복, bok, or 복어, bogeo), and China (as 河豚, hétún) when prepared by specially trained chefs who know which part is safe to eat and in what quantity. Other pufferfish species with nontoxic flesh, such as the northern puffer, Sphoeroides maculatus, of the Chesapeake Bay, are considered a delicacy elsewhere. The species Torquigener albomaculosus was described by David Attenborough as "the greatest artist of the animal kingdom" due to the males' unique habit of wooing females by creating nests in sand composed of complex geometric designs. Tetraodontidae is a family of marine and freshwater fish in the order Tetraodontiformes. The family includes many familiar species variously called pufferfishes, puffers, balloonfishes, blowfishes, blowers, blowies, bubblefishes, globefishes, swellfishes, toadfishes, toadies, botetes, toadle, honey toads, sugar toads, and sea squabs. They are morphologically similar to the closely related porcupinefish, which have large external spines (unlike the thinner, hidden spines of the Tetraodontidae, which are only visible when the fish have puffed up). The family name comes from Ancient Greek τετρα- (tetra-), meaning "four", and ὀδούς (odoús), meaning "tooth", referring to the four teeth of the type genus Tetraodon. The majority of pufferfish species are toxic, with some among the most poisonous vertebrates in the world. In certain species, the internal organs, such as the liver, and sometimes the skin, contain mucus tetrodotoxin, and are highly toxic to most animals when eaten; nevertheless, the meat of some species is considered a delicacy in Japan (as 河豚, fugu), Korea (as 복, bok, or 복어, bogeo), and China (as 河豚, hétún) when prepared by specially trained chefs who know which part is safe...
Kosher ruling
Source: Orthodox Union; Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0); Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)
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