Why Frozen Fish is Better Than Fresh

There’s a new catch now to the old tales: Frozen can be your better buy. Many consumers equate “unique fish” with top quality and frozen fish with lower quality. And they’re willing to pay for fresh often double the impress. But fresh is not always best, this is especially true if the fish has languished on trawlers and in warehouses, losing taste, texture and nutrients.

While a well-handled fresh fish will have a better taste and texture, improved freezing techniques are making frozen fish every bit as good eating. For example, much of the seafood streak for Japan’s top sushi restaurants, where the quality of raw fish is essential, is frozen at sea. This fresh-versus-frozen debate comes as seafood sales increase. Driving the inquire are shoppers looking for nutritious, low-fat alternatives to red meat in response, many supermarkets have opened fresh-fish counters, providing cooks with a new source of food, but also confusion. If it says fresh; it means that the fish is anywhere from three days to three weeks old. There is no legal definition of what fresh means. Unique written on the package basically means not frozen. The quality of fish is obvious by how it is handled in the first three hours after it is caught. The best scenario: The fish is cleaned immediately and put on ice.

I am hooked on good fish. Some tips: Expect a clean, non-fishy smell. Whole fish should be firm, covered with a clear Film, have clear eyes and bright red gills. Fillets or steaks should be firm and have good color, not be flaky or murky. Ask your fish merchant if any of the following methods have been used in handling the fish. He may not know so if you keep asking questions, he will be forced to ask his supplier for answers. Bled and boxed at sea, a new technique emerging in the New England fishing fleet the fish is cleaned, chilled and placed in hard plastic boxes on board the fishing vessel. This is what you want, so ask for it: Frozen at sea. Another positive new development used by some large fishing trawlers in the Bering Sea and the Georges Bank in Unique England. Fish are cleaned, filleted and frozen very hasty. Examples: mahi mahi, sword-fish and tuna. Dapper chilling, I call this method “freezing in the worst possible manner.” Fish are frozen at too improper a temperature (between 15 and 18 degrees). Ice crystals form and puncture the flesh, allowing moisture to urge out .These are usually thawed and sold fresh as pre-cut fillets in plastic packages. A telltale sign: a gargantuan pool of water in the package. A perfectly fresh fish will have a very evident “bloom,” a bright translucence and clarity. To make bad fish have bloom and extend shelf life, some markets dip fish in salt water or sodium tripolyphosphate. The FDA requires dipped fish to be labeled, but ask your retailer.