Bacalhau and Loup de mer are different fish, but they're close enough in the kitchen to stand in for one another.
Gadidae
Atlantic cod is a cornerstone of European and North American food culture, with a mild, flaky white flesh that has fed populations for centuries. It is sold fresh as thick fillets and steaks in the UK and US, and as salt-dried bacalhau in Portugal and Brazil — a product so culturally embedded in Iberian cuisine that Portugal alone is said to have a different bacalhau recipe for every day of the year.
Full guide →Moronidae
European sea bass is one of the great naming confusion fish — the same farmed species is called loup de mer in France, lubina in Spain, branzino in Italy, and robalo in Portugal and Brazil. It has delicate white flesh, few bones, and a clean mild flavor. Farmed extensively in the Mediterranean, it is most commonly cooked whole — roasted in salt crust, grilled over open flame, or baked with herbs.
Full guide →Both are mild white fish suited to similar preparations — sea bass is more delicate and expensive, cod is firmer and more robust.
| Country | Bacalhau | Loup de mer |
|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸United States | Cod | Sea bass |
| 🇬🇧United Kingdom | Cod | Sea bass |
| 🇫🇷France | Morue | Loup de mer |
| 🇪🇸Spain | Bacalao | Lubina |
| 🇦🇷Argentina | Bacalao | Pejerrey de mar |
| 🇲🇽Mexico | Bacalao | Robalo |
| 🇵🇹Portugal | Bacalhau | Robalo |
| 🇧🇷Brazil | Bacalhau | Robalo |
| 🇮🇹Italy | Baccalà | Branzino |
| 🇩🇪Germany | Stockfisch | Wolfsbarsch |
Browse every species in the atlas on the fish index, or identify one from a photo with Identify my cut.