Are the names of some food items written in katakana?


Japanese for Busy People 1 (lesson 11) mentions when talking about [キス]{kisu}
([whiting](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiting)) at a [てんぷらや]{tempura-ya}:

> NOTE: Names of fish, fruits and vegetables etc. are sometimes written in
> katakana.

Does using katakana only apply when talking about the animal, as opposed to
talking about the food? (For an English equivalent, people refer to the animal
as "shark" but sometimes refer to the food as "flake")

Assume that it's not gairaigo and therefore would be in katakana anyway.




Unscientific survey: I looked for きす recipes on Cookpad (cookpad.com). By my
count: katakana: 13 hiragana: 8

In my experience in a cooking context when there aren't set rules (e.g.
outside something like a newspaper which will presumably have some sort of
style guide), individual usage varies.

I can also confirm that the グルメ section of Yomiuri generally uses katakana in
this situation, or sometimes the kanji if appropriate.




Unscientific survey: I looked for きす recipes on Cookpad (cookpad.com). By my
count: katakana: 13 hiragana: 8

In my experience in a cooking context when there aren't set rules (e.g.
outside something like a newspaper which will presumably have some sort of
style guide), individual usage varies.

I can also confirm that the グルメ section of Yomiuri generally uses katakana in
this situation, or sometimes the kanji if appropriate.

