Beginners guide to buy Whole Fresh Fish/9 Tips to check the freshness of fish
Beginners guide to buying fresh fish
9 tips to check the freshness of fish
The Deciding Factors
1. 1. Eye Test
2. 2. Red Gills
3. 3. Firmness
4. 4. Sniff test
5. 5. Skin texture and shine
6. 6. Fins and tail
7. 7. Color/appearance of the
fillets
8. 8. Lively shellfish, Crab,
Prawn, Squids
9. 9. Aroma of cooked fresh fish
Eye Test
Eye are windows to the sole of any fish. Dark, CLEAR, glossy bright, silky, swell(convex) eyes.
Check both factors if your fish any of these Sunken, red-glazed,
or cloudy white eyes with grey dullness is really a no-no
Red Gills
Probably the oldest trick to buy fresh fish is to check the gills. Freshly caught fish gills shall be bright pink or red / Bright scarlet. Decayed and old fish dull brick or dark brown color.
Sticky gills sometimes indicate the use of formalin solution. Old fish have unclear, greasy, sticky, looking gills.
A red dye is often applied to the gills to make them appear fresh. If formalin is used, the fish retains the gills' red color to look fresh. Mostly expensive fish are chemically laced to look fresh for weekends when the demand is quite high.
Formaldehyde-contaminated fish look out for flies near the fishes (in open
markets) if present it tells the fish is not contaminated.
Firmness
Fresh fish has a hard firm and rigid body. The belly of a fresh fish is shiny, firm, and undamaged.
If it is bursting out it is on the old one. Fingertips should not leave an impression when poked, they should bounce back to normal when pushed with a finger if the fish is soft/mushy means the fish is old. Old fish are sometimes frozen to make it firm and hard to mislead people. A rubbery flesh mostly suggests formalin preservation.
Ammonia is used to slow ice melting, and formalin is used to prevent the fish for long shelf life. Ammonia
and formalin are chemicals that are harmful to human health.
Sniff test
A fresh fish will have a clean, salty smell and not smell fishy.
They should have no pungent smell. Rotten fish have a foul nasty smell. The smell of chemicals suggests the presence of a formaldehyde solution.
Texture
Fresh fish should be metallic, soggy, bright, and have clean-looking skin.
Most have an appearance of a live fish. Scales will be intact and adhere lightly to the skin. OLD and dull fish have fallen scales.
No brown spots or patches, it shows signs of decay. Fish skin loses shine looking dull as they get old.
Fins & Tail
Examine the fins and tails to disclose the freshness of the fish.
Many fish traders take care to preserve only the meat of the fish using ice and formalin if the fins have started to shrivel, dry, brittle, or decay say no to the fish. Torn fins suggest the fish was mishandled.
Fillets
When buying fillets, look for neat, moist, trim bright, and firm fillets with a translucent white (for white fish) appearance.
The fillets should have no cracks. No discoloration around the edges. Poor quality fish is soft, limp, and tears with no pressure, not holding tight to the fish muscles. The prepacked fillet should contain a minimum of water pooling, if not it is old.
Shell Fish
Shrimps & Prawn
Should be firm and have a mild odor.
The shell should be translucent with a greenish, bluish, or pinkish tint. Inodorous
and firm meat should be while cooking.
Fresh crabs and lobsters look
vibrant and bouncy. Should be heavy for their size. If the crab is sulking in a
corner of the tank, it’s probably not worth putting in your cart.
Once cooked if the shellfish does not open, better throw them away.
Squids have bright unharmed meat with clear eyes. A fresh squid has reddish brown spots but if it decays, its fresh turns yellow.
The aroma of cooked fish
Trust your senses. Fresh fish does
not taste bad or bitter in deep-colored portions there should be no foul smell
while cooking. A good fish when cooked has a rich aroma, if fried or grilled
the inside fresh would be bright white.
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