Mistakes in fish selection can be costly. How not to make a mistake and choose fresh fish?
Fish is a valuable, healthy product. But when buying this delicious delicacy, you should be careful and picky. Fish is a perishable product. Stale fish can be a source of poisoning. How not to be mistaken in your choice?
Whole fish
- They choose fish slowly. When choosing fish, pay attention to several points.
- Consider the gills. They should be pink or bright red, with no putrid or pungent odor.
- In stale fish, the gills have an unpleasant maroon, brown, or brick color.
- Smell the fish before buying it. Fresh fish smells like algae, sea, river or lake water, stale fish has a sharp, characteristic fishy or "swampy" putrid smell.
- Pay attention to the surface of the fish carcass - it should be dense, without pronounced blood spots or a thick layer of mucus.
- Look at the scales, touch them - they should be shiny, not sticky, but slippery or rough to the touch, depending on the type of fish.
- Look at the eyes of a fish - in fresh fish they are convex, bright, and in stale ones, they are cloudy and sunken.
- Take a close look at the belly of the fish - it should not be swollen, swollen. If in doubt, you can ask the seller to cut the belly of the fish.
- The belly of fresh fish should not have dark, brownish or brown spots that indicate decomposition has begun.
Fish in the form of fillets
- When buying fillets, try not to buy frozen cuts with an icy surface. What you find after a thick cocoon of ice has melted may not be good for you.
- Fresh fillets have a faint smell, a pungent fishy smell suggests that the fillets are not of the first freshness.
- Do not buy wrapped or vacuum sealed pickled fish. The product may not be fresh.
- At the risk of buying pickled fish, remember: the more spices, the more likely the product is defective. With the help of spices, very often unscrupulous sellers save stale goods.
- It is better to marinate fish at home. The marinade reveals the best taste properties of fish within 15 minutes. It is not worth keeping the fish in the marinade longer, its taste will deteriorate.
With discounts in the store, do not rush to buy fish without meticulously testing it. Live fish bought at a discount is much preferable to frozen fish, since the product can be expired, stale.
Try not to buy fish in random places, stalls, spontaneous bazaars. It is better to buy fish in the market or in a store where the product is usually tested.
The best option is to buy live fish at "proven" familiar outlets. Of course, you will have to invest time and effort in cleaning, but the effort will be rewarded by the excellent quality of the prepared fish dishes.
