People sometimes wonder: “How to choose good sea products? How do I know whether a seafood is fresh or not?” In order to maintain the seafood health benefits, you must understand the complexities of the selection, food processing and how to eat seafoods with no worries. Before you buy any sea products, learn how to choose fresh seafoods correctly as follows:
1). Always buy on a reliable places. A well-experienced seller will keep their seafood in cold temperature in a container filled with ice. These containers should also be able to drain the melted ice to reduce the risk of decaying.
2). Check the quality and hygiene. Fresh seafood looks clean and insect-free. You can even use disposable gloves to ensure the freshness of the seafood.
3). Smell the aroma. All seafood should have a pleasant fresh sea smell. When you pressed the product, the meat should be chewy, with fins and scales intact stick tightly. The skin color should be clear and shining, not dull. Look for bright and lustrous skin and scales, firm flesh that springs back when touched, and bright pink-red gills. Fresh fisheyes look clear, glowing and prominent. If the fillet wrapped in a package, the packaging must be tight and undamaged.
4). When selecting fresh mussels, hold the shell and slide to the opposite direction. If the shell moved, it is not fresh anymore. They should be closed, or close when tapped or gently squeezed. Just like fish, make sure that the peeled shrimps or scallops have no foul stench. For squid, cuttlefish and octopus, choose the ones with brightly colored lustrous skin, with firm, intact flesh and tentacles. When buying live crustaceans, look for any signs of liveliness, a hard shell (which indicates that they haven’t recently molted), an intact limb and antennae. Dead crustaceans (prawns, scampi, or blue swimmer crabs) should have firm, intact heads and brightly colored shell with no discoloration, especially at the joints.
5). Frozen seafood should be completely frozen and free from ice crystals or freezer burn (a food condition where it was damaged by oxidation or dehydration). The most noticeable characteristics of freezer burn is the change of color of a product from its original color. Always check whether the packaging is intact.
6). Moist, not fishy sting and distinctive color may be a good sign of a good cooked seafood. The distinctive color here means the colors that describe the freshness of a product. For instance, the shell of a shrimp should be pink. For lobsters and crabs, their shell should be bright red. Before buying anything, always check the packaging and expiration date.