How to Choose The Fresh Fish: 11 Best Tips to Buy Seafood Near Me
Fish is one of the staples of India and people would love to eat it. We can find lots of varieties that one can experiment with. But, most of us find it challenging to cook the seafood.
The seafood tastes amazing and it needs some expertise to cook it perfectly. And, the taste of the seafood recipe depends on the freshness of the fish.
If you feel like having fish for lunch or dinner, we would recommend you purchase fresh fish. Most the people will get confused about what kind of fish to buy? How to pick the right one? Or how to store it?
You need to know a few tips to buy fresh fish before you end up purchasing stale fish. The first and foremost thing you required for cooking a flavorful dish is to have fresh ingredients.
Once you get to know how to choose the fresh fish, you can prepare a delicious fish curry.
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Where to Purchase Fresh Seafood Near Me
When it’s coming to relishing lip-smacking fish curry, choose the best way to purchase the fish either by ordering online or buying the live fish from the fish market.
There are many apps and websites that enable us to order fresh fish online. You can choose the best one to get the fish delivered to your doorstep.
You can also visit the fish market nearby and purchase the live fish that you want to eat.
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Tips to Buy Fresh Fish Near Me
Picking the fresh fish is quite a challenging task. Many sellers will manipulate you easily. Therefore, you need to be smart enough when purchasing fresh fish.
Here we would like to give you the best tips to buy fresh fish which are suggested by the experts.
1. Fresh Vs Frozen Vs Live Seafood Near Me
By reading this terminology itself, you will get confused. Whether to buy fresh or frozen or live fish, totally depends on which type of seafood you like to cook.
There are different types of freshness you must know about before purchasing seafood.
- Fresh Seafood - Shell fishes like clams, mussels, oysters and other types will be sold fresh and alive. For example, you can see clams or mussels will close tightly when touched.
- Frozen Seafood - Don’t be afraid of the word frozen. Actually, after catching the fish, fishermen will immediately freeze it to preserve the freshness. So, without hesitating, you can buy fresh-frozen seafood.
- Live Seafood - Depending on the seasonality and regionality, you can find a variety of fresh and live seafood in the market.
2. Look For Glossy Body in Seafood Near Me
Chefs suggest us to spend a minute in checking the skin of the fish.
- Look for the fish that is bright and don’t select that looks dull.
- Poke the fish, as fresh fish will not be sticky.
- Split skin or soft scales means it’s an old fish.
Remember, the freshest fish skin will shine. If you’re still confused, ask the fishmonger for help.
3. Smell The Fish
Whether you are buying a lobster, salmon fish, or any other fish, it’s better if you rely on your nose. It’s quite common to have solid fishy scent.
But, remember fresh fish will have a mild odour. If a fish is spoiled, the fish filets will smell bad. Even clams and mussels will smell wet and releases a fresh sea breeze. While raw shrimp with blackened edges or random means it is decaying.
As a rule, new fish will have mild scent and decaying fish will deliver awful scent. Make sure you check twice when purchasing the fish near me.
4. Check Fish Eyes
This is one of the ideal approaches to checking whether your fish is fresh or not. Fish eyes will tell you about its newness.
- Eyes should look clear and swell.
- There should not be darkness in the eyes
- If the eyes are not clear, it could be recommended as an old fish
- Eyes should not be indented into the head.
- If the eyes are a bit cloudy, it means the fish is getting old or it got caught before five days.
Take a look at the fish. Do the eyes look clear? Does it look dull? Or any stains on it? Check thoroughly, as the eyes are the window to a fresh fish near me.
5. Observe The Gills
A fresh fish will have pink or rosy shaded gills. Likewise, the gills will be wet and not dry or sticky. If you check inside the gills, it will be in reddish colour.
If the gills are tannish dark or dark pink, it means the fish is old or decaying. In case, the gills look dark red, consider it an old fish.
Simply remember, a wet, shiny and pink or red gills, then the fish is good and fresh. Ought not the fish that has blurred or brown gills.
6. Other Signs
If you found any stains on the skin, brown colored, or yellow vileness at the edges of the fish, consider it as the signs of the decaying fish.
7. Check For Wounds
Check for wounds on fish if it has any. Light red spots on the fillets show that it is wounded. Though it is eatable, avoid it if has any signs like a blur, dull skin, bad smell, or dark eyes.
If you are unsure about the fish, either ask the fishmonger or a person who knows much about the fish.
Hope these tips to buy fresh fish near me will surely help you out. Make sure to select the best quality fish by keeping these tips in your mind.
8. Buy Whole Fish
Always try to buy whole fish, except if the fish is very large. The entire fish generally stays fresh for a longer period. It also allows you to check the condition of the fish.
The eyes should be clear, gills should be red or pink, should smell the sweet aroma. If the whole fish doesn’t have all these, it’s probably not a good fish and it also spoils the dish.
9. Look for Proper Filleting
If you can’t do the filleting by yourself, ask the fishmonger to do it nicely. Ask him to clean it properly and make sure it isn’t soaked in water before or after cutting.
You know, freshwater is not good for fresh fish near me, as it removes the essential oils and ultimately reduces its shelf life. So, after cutting the fish, keep it in water with salt sprinkled on it.
If you want to do the filleting, ensure you have the appropriate sharp knife. However, it requires practice to do the filleting and cutting the fish. Ask your fishmonger to cut the gut, gill and scale the fish for you, to make it easy for you.
If you want to preserve it, after coming home, take an airtight container and place the ice on the bottom of it, then place the fish to preserve its freshness.
10. Cook Away Fresh Fish
Make an occasion, bring the fresh fish near me and eat it on the same day. Fish and seafood are not any groceries or vegetables you want to buy and cook in the following week.
If you’re planning to get the fillets home, make sure you wrap them tightly in a plastic wrap, as it quickly oxidises when compares to the whole fish. So, store them right away after cutting.
If you opt for fresh frozen fish,near me remember its quality and shelf life are very less. Either store them properly or cook them immediately. And, if fish is not frozen or vacuum-sealed, wrap them in a freezer bag.
In case, you want to cook the fish, it’s better to unwrap the frozen fish a day before and leave it overnight in the fridge. And, you can cook it in the morning.
As a thumb rule, it is always best to cook fresh fish the right way or within two days. Beyond that, don’t use the fish, as it will start decaying.
11. Buying Preserved Fish
Apart from fresh or frozen fish near me, there are also other buying options. If the fresh fish isn’t available, you can purchase dried, canned, preserved, or fermented seafood, which also provides the best taste.
Dried seafood like baby prawns, ribbon fish, bolinao fish, or any heavily salted fish often tastes delicious. Actually, many will love to eat dried seafood dishes.
Many will say canned seafood is not good, but it’s just the best practical and economical way to shop the seafood. Well, known brands will carefully preserve the fish and help in providing a convenient version of fresh fish near me.
Bottom Line: Choosing Fresh Seafood Near Me
Hope these tips to buy fresh fish will surely help you out. Make sure to select the best quality fish by keeping these tips in your mind. Don’t forget to look for the eyes, gills, smell, and wounds.
There are hundreds of recipes that you can experiment with. As seafood is one of the best foods that promote our health. So, whether you want to take it as a snack, in your sandwich, or spicy meal, make sure to eat the seafood twice a week.
