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| TIPS
ON FRESH FISH |
FOOD
TIPS BY TALLYRAND |
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 The
term fresh fish will mean different things to different
people and different cultures.
- To
many people fresh simply means not frozen.
- To
others it means at its peak.
- To
the Japanese it means less than a day old, as in less
than 24 hours after it was caught. This is often referred
to as being sashimi quality. However for it to be
truly of sashimi quality it must have been caught,
killed, gutted and stored in a certain way before
sale.
- To
a professional chef it will usually (and hopefully)
mean being served within three days of being caught.
Fresh?
There are so many factors that determine fresh when
it comes to fish.
- Fish
should always be gutted and gilled as soon as it is
caught, so any bacteria held in these areas cannot
permeate into the flesh as it breaks down (it also
ensures a better flavour and aroma).
- A
fish may be only two days old but if it is has not
been stored correctly it might as well be two weeks
old! Experts agree that for every hour a freshly caught
fish is not stored on ice, it loses one day of shelf
life. So a fish not chilled for four hours is equivalent
in quality to a five day old fish that has been kept
on ice.
- If
a fish is stored correctly (kept on ice) from
the time it is caught, it has a useable life of up
to ten days. However this is rarely the case and one
should use the fish of course as soon as possible.
Besides the fact that it tastes so much better, you
must also remember the health benefits and staying
safe from food poisoning.
- How
to tell how fresh fish is? With filleted fish it can
be very difficult, one must rely on your sense of
smell and touch.
- When
lightly pressed the flesh of fresh fish should
be quite resilient and bounce back, the older
it gets the more likely it is that the indent
will remain or slowly bounce back.
- It
should of course smell fresh, the more it smells
like fish the older it is. The fresher it is the
less unpleasant aroma there will be.
- The
above presumes you are allowed to smell and touch
prior to purchase otherwise you must rely on the
supplier and maybe the use by date if packaged.
- a
pleasant aroma (someone once wrote that, fish
should smell of the sea, be briny in aroma . .
. by the time it smells of fish it is too late).
- flesh
that is resilient
- plentiful
scales that are not dried up
- the
body being covered in sea slime
- bright,
bulging eyes
- the
gills should be bright and / or red and free from
any yeasty aroma and slime (slime in the gills
is usually a bacterial slime - not good)
The
older the fish, the lower the quality, the less the
above will apply. For example all other signs might
be present but:
- The
eyes might be slightly sunken - indicating the fish
is fresh but not the freshest.
- No
sea slime on the body can indicate that its is very
fresh but it may be that it has just been handled
with a cloth and wiped off.
What
it all comes down to is using your own judgement, relying
on your senses (including common sense) and what
are you buying the fish for.
- If
its for sashimi (see below) it must be almost
alive!
- If
it is for poaching it must be fresh, fresh.
- If
it is for frying, bbq, etc then as long as the fish
smells all right it probably is and will taste fine.
Sashimi
I mentioned above about sashimi quality. Sashimi quality
fish means it is so fresh it is suitable for serving
raw. Sashimi basically being a Japanese dish of paper
thin slices of raw fish or other seafoods, ornately
presented and served with dipping sauces.
Sushi
Sushi on the other hand is entirely different. Sushi
is essentially a dish of cold cooked rice. The most
common variety most people know is Maki zushi or Californian
roll - cooked rice, rolled into a tube shape, wrapped
in nori (a toasted, processed, flat sheet of seaweed)
that will include many other ingredients such as meats,
seafoods, vegetables, etc that may be cooked, raw or
a combination of both, served with a dipping sauce.
There is also Nigiri sushi which is known as a la
carte sushi or sometimes hand made sushi
which is rice made into a small rugby ball shape and
foods dressed over the top
Food
safety
I cannot stress enough though that even fish straight
out of the sea does NOT guarantee against food poisoning!
If the fish contains certain pathogens (food poisoning
bacteria) or if it has been feeding near sewerage
outlets (and many fish do) then even cooking
them is still likely to give you a bit of a stomach
upset. All you can do, like anything in life, is to
stay as safe as possible.
RELATED RECIPE
Food
and Cooking Tips
from professional
Chef Tallyrand
Born
and raised in Plymouth, Tallyrand started his initial
training as a chef at Plymouth College of Further Education.
It was here that he was to learn his love, his passion
for food and the culinary arts. From here he headed
to Germany to complete his apprenticeship as Commis
de Gardemanger.
Germany
gave him his first taste of cooking for the rich and
famous, as half way through his first year, along with
the Sous Chef and a Chef de Partie, he was whisked off
to Cologne to help prepare meals for a political conference,
where amongst other dignitaries they cooked for Mr Brehznev,
the then powerful Russian leader. This was to prove
to be just one of the many celebrities he was to cook
for or get to know over the years . . .
If
you would like to find out more why not visit Tallyrand's
own web site www.tallyrand.info (link in main menu)
Email Hub-UK : info@hub-uk.com
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