What is the Italian “pesce stella”?
Risparmiare con la dieta e la spesa intelligente
B2 Italian listening practice · Standard Italian · Curated for upper-intermediate learners
Pesce stella (“star fish”) is one of several Italian words for inexpensive bycatch: ugly, perfectly edible local fish that get pushed aside for pesce spada, gamberi and scampi. Italian nutritionists pitch them as the smart move: cheap, local, fresh, lower mercury, often left whole on the boat because nobody asks for them. Other names in the same bracket are cefalo (mullet), eglefino / asinello (haddock), mormora.
In this clip, l’uomo nutrizionista Antonio Galatappi argues that switching to pesce stella and similar species cuts grocery bills, eats sustainably and shifts demand. The pitch lines up with WWF Italia's long-running campaign for pesce dimenticato.
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Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · OpenSubtitles 2018 (HermitDave) (spoken). Buckets approximate; exact ranks not stored.
- ▸In sustainable-fishing campaigns by WWF Italia, Greenpeace Italia and Slow Food Italia
- ▸In Italian seafood reporting by Gambero Rosso, Il Sole 24 Ore and Repubblica Sapori
- ▸In recipe pages on Giallo Zafferano and La Cucina Italiana celebrating pesce povero
- ▸In Mediterranean nutrition material from the Università di Parma food-science department and the INRAN institute