How To Choose Fresh Seafood
You only have one mission every time you step into a market, and that is to buy the freshest product available, be it meat, poultry or seafood. Freshness is clearly the most important factor, especially when it comes to buying seafood. Here are what you should look for so as to make the process of buying fresh seafood easy.
1. Whole Fish
• Skin – The skin should look shiny and bright, and is firm and clear, with no trace of slime, dulled or discoloured patches
• Scales – The scales should be tight to the body of the fish
• Flesh – The flesh should be firm and should spring back when touched
• Gills – The gills of fresh fish should be should be bright red or pink without mucus, and not brownish
• Colour – There should be no browning around the belly cavity
• Eyes – The eyes of the fish should be bright and clear and not cloudy or sunken in
• Smell – Fresh fish should smell like the ocean – briny, fresh, and mild
2. Fish Fillet
• Flesh – The flesh should be translucent and even tone in colour with non-sticky surface
• Skin – The skin should be bright with no milky substance as milky substance on a fillet indicates the first stage of rot
• Colour – There should be no browning on the edges of the meat
• Smell – There should be no pungent aromas
3. Shellfish – Mollusks (clams, mussels, oysters and scallops)
• Alive – The shells should be tightly closed
• Shells – There should be no chips or cracks
• Smell – There should be no fishy smell
4. Shellfish – Crustacea (shrimp, crab and lobster)
• Alive – They should be active and lively
• Meat – For shrimps, the meat should be firm with legs intact
• Body – For crabs, there should be no cracks in the body, claws, or edible legs.
5. Squid
• Eyes – The eyes should be should be clean, bright and full
• Meat – The meat should be firm
• Skin – There should be no tears in the skin