Frozen fish is an unpredictable product. This is the conclusion that a resident of Slutsk made for himself when he contacted the editorial office of the Kur'er newspaper. He explained what the fish turned into after defrosting and how he returned it to the store. And a specialist from the Slutsk Zonal Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology told us how much the glaze on frozen fish can weigh, and advised how to determine the quality of this product by sight.
“The other day I bought frozen pink salmon at a grocery store,” said pensioner Mikhail , a resident of Slutsk. “When I defrosted it, I was pleasantly surprised: it looked like it had just been caught - elastic, beautiful silver color. I thought: wonderful fish, I need to buy more to salt it. The next day I went to this store again and bought it. But this time everything turned out the other way around. Not only that, when the fish melted, a lot of water flowed out of it, but when I started cutting it, it simply fell apart. The fibers were smeared under the knife. What should I do now? I don’t know if it’s even possible to eat it?”
We advised the man to return the defective product to the store. The next day, he called the editorial office again and said that in the store the sellers only looked at the fish and without further ado returned the money.
“Why do we sell such fish at all? - Mikhail was surprised. - After all, the store must check it before putting it on the counter and be responsible for what it sells. I think that many residents of our city have encountered low-quality frozen food. And sometimes it is covered in such a crust of ice that its appearance is difficult to determine.”
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It happens that domestic retail chains sell fish and seafood that have been thawed and re-frozen.
Why is that bad? Because pathogenic bacteria immediately begin to develop in thawed raw fish, turning this initially healthy product into a source of a serious intestinal infection.
In addition, such fish greatly loses its nutritional and beneficial qualities.
How can you tell if frozen seafood has been thawed again before being sold?
First, let's look at the types of freezing fish.
Frozen fish is cooled at a temperature of -8 to -18 degrees, and all the moisture in its meat turns into ice.
Signs to look for when choosing frozen fish.
1. Frozen fish may well have an ice glaze that protects it from loss of moisture. But its thickness is clearly limited according to sanitary standards.
For example, the weight of ice glaze on fish cannot exceed 5% of its net weight, on shrimp and other seafood - 6% of net weight, on fish fillets - up to 14%.
By the way, according to the rules, the manufacturer is obliged to indicate on the packaging the exact weight of the fish or seafood without ice glaze.
Fish thawed and re-frozen weighs more than fish frozen once!
And sometimes manufacturers add another thick layer of ice on top of the glaze, and buyers overpay “for water.”
The glaze on properly frozen fish should be thin and clear, not snow-white or lumpy.
2. Repeatedly thawed-frozen fish always has a “torn” appearance (the carcass is tattered, crumpled, skewed), has a yellowish tint and dark spots.
3. The smell of old fat is another sure sign of repeated defrosting and freezing.
4. And the flesh of such fish flakes and spreads when defrosted at home, and when frying it turns into an unappetizing porridge.
It is best to defrost it gradually - on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator at a temperature of +5 - +10ºС and under no circumstances in water - otherwise the fish will lose all its nutritional qualities.
Such fish are exposed to low temperatures (from -2ºC to -5ºC) either while they are still alive or within minutes of gutting and separating the head from the carcass.
For this purpose, special refrigerators are placed on fishing vessels. If such fish is properly stored and defrosted, its taste, nutritional value and consistency will be no different from fresh!
Rules for storing fresh frozen fish:
1) At a temperature of about 0ºС - no more than two to three days;
2) At a temperature of -5 ºС - maximum, 15 days.
These requirements apply to both the retail chain and the storage of fish at home. By the way, if the store does not have refrigeration equipment, fresh frozen fish should be sold out within the next 24 hours!
What does “normal” fresh frozen fish look like?
1. Silver-gray with dark red or pink gills;
2. The carcass is smooth, whole, without dents. Firm to the touch (but not “rock-hard” like frozen fish).
3. There should be no ice crust on freshly frozen fish at all (this is a clear sign of frozen fish from the previous paragraph).
4. Has a faint smell of fresh fish (no “aroma” of rancid fat, ammonia, rotten organic matter).
Yes, and keep in mind that if such fish is defrosted incorrectly, it may fall apart right on the grill!
By the way, the presence of snow in a package of fish does not always indicate a violation of its storage conditions. It also happens that when transferring the goods in the package, frost appears, which then turns into snow.
This is fresh fish that has completely preserved its original appearance, nutrients, vitamins and minerals.
Such fish are treated with cold air (from 0 to -2 ºС) or simply placed on crushed ice for three days after catching.
This technology makes it possible to treat fish at a temperature close to freezing, but not to freeze it, but to cool it as much as possible.
Chilled fish can be stored for no longer than ten days (and even then only if all packaging conditions are met).
And the packaging requirements are as follows.
Clean and gutted fish are placed in a container, the bottom of which is lined with crushed ice. Next, a “layer pie” is made from fish and ice: (layer of fish - layer of ice - layer of fish).
The top of the container is covered with thick material and the chilled fish is transported to the distribution network.
After opening a container with fish, they must sell it within three days, changing the ice on the counter twice a day!
Keep in mind that chilled fish (as opposed to fresh or frozen) is best cooked immediately. If you throw it in the freezer for a couple more days, after defrosting it will lose half of its taste and nutritional properties.
How to choose chilled fish?
1. The fish should be covered with a thin layer of transparent mucus (but if the mucus is white, it is better not to buy the fish);
2. The color of the fish must correspond to its natural color “during life.” For example, chilled carp will have a dark back and a golden belly.
What to do with fish that are falling apart
If after defrosting the pink salmon falls apart so much that it looks like porridge, there is no reason to get rid of the product. This kind of fish can be used to make steaks; it is difficult to bake it whole or stuff it with carrots and onions. But there are many proven recipes that in this case will become a saving straw. So, from defrosted soft pink salmon, in which the meat is separated from the bone as it goes, you can cook at home:
- delicious fish cutlets;
- meatballs for soup;
- casserole with fish and potatoes or vegetables.
Experienced housewives recommend using fish that falls apart to prepare rich soups and fish soup. It will also make an excellent filling for pancakes if you first boil the carcass and remove the bones.
Any odd or falling apart fish can be cooked in the oven into nests. For the base, take mashed potatoes, place the prepared fish on top in the center, and fill the workpiece with sour cream and cheese sauce.
Advice! If the fish was purchased for preparing a holiday dish, you can bake it entirely in foil, being careful not to damage the skin.
It’s unpleasant if pink salmon falls apart when it’s defrosted. But now it definitely won’t end up in anyone’s trash bin. You can't despair - there is always a way out. And when you go shopping again, you just need to remember the simple advice of professionals and make the right choice.
What kind of pink salmon should you buy?
Choosing good pink salmon is a rather difficult question. Determining the quality of gutted fish or its individual pieces is much easier than assessing fresh, ungutted pink salmon. Each option has its own rules.
- the standard weight of whole pink salmon averages from 800 g to 1.5 kg;
- the amount of ice on frozen pink salmon should not exceed 5%;
- The belly of a good pink salmon is even in color, not swollen and rather flat (the exception is females with caviar);
- if the pink salmon is gutted, then you need to determine the color inside its belly (it should be pink);
- the gills of pink salmon should be light red (their color is always bright and rich);
- the scales of fresh pink salmon are clean, shiny and smooth;
- the skin of pink salmon should not have even the slightest damage;
- pink salmon fillet should have a pinkish color;
- when pressing on the fish there should be no dents left;
- the pink tint of the belly of pink salmon indicates the presence of caviar;
- the smell of fresh fish should not contain an ammonia tint;
- The skin of high-quality pink salmon fits tightly to the meat.
If pink salmon is purchased in packaging, then special attention should be paid to its safety. You cannot buy fish in damaged packages. Despite its acceptable appearance, it can be damaged.
Sometimes it is recommended to determine the freshness of fish by its eyes. The presence of cloudy eyes is not always a sign of spoiled pink salmon. After freezing, they will not be transparent in any case.
The price of ungutted pink salmon is much lower, but do not forget that after cutting, almost half of the weight will be waste. The savings in this case are not very significant.
It is believed that the meat of male pink salmon is more juicy and fatty. This nuance can be determined by numerous criteria. For example, the female’s color is lighter, the male’s head is sharp and elongated, and the female’s is rounded. The rear fin of the male is short, while that of the female is elongated.
How to avoid buying low-quality fish
To avoid the fact that pink salmon falls into pieces after defrosting, you need to choose the right product in the store. It is important to note that it is allowed to catch this fish from July to September. This means that at this time it hits the shelves in better quality. And if the fish went on sale in March-May, you need to be careful when purchasing or even refuse to purchase the product. It may happen that during long-term storage the temperature regime was not maintained.
When purchasing frozen pink salmon, you need to be careful. Basic selection rules:
- the permissible amount of ice on the surface of the fish is no more than 4% of the total weight (according to GOST);
- The scales of frozen fish should be silvery, uniform, without dark spots on the surface;
- the skin should fit very tightly to the meat (without detachments);
- the packaging must be intact and transparent;
- the tail should not be dried out or even cut off.
It is necessary to refuse to purchase a carcass on the surface of which dents, cuts, or a yellow coating are noticeable.
Thawed pink salmon turned into porridge when cut. Why and what to do?
How to cook pink salmon whose meat has turned into porridge?
This can happen when the fish has been frozen several times or even frozen and after defrosting it turns out to be porridge.
Don't worry about this, there are no situations in cooking that cannot be resolved. Cut off the head and tail, remove the skin with a knife and remove the bones.
In this case, squeeze out excess water from the fish and fry the pink salmon meat with onions in a frying pan.
To increase the volume of fish, you can add boiled rice to it.
And then prepare a pie, or pies fried or in the oven, as well as pancakes stuffed with this filling. You can make potato casserole with this fish. Cut the potatoes into round pieces, then the onion, fish and grated cheese on top.
the author of the question chose this answer as the best
more than a year ago
From such a fish, which turned into porridge, God himself ordered to make minced meat. And from minced fish you can make cutlets or a filling for pancakes. You can fill a fish pie with minced pink salmon fish. Either way it will be delicious!
It's a shame when this happens. Now, when choosing fish in a store, you will choose more carefully and pay attention to all the signs of freshness of the fish. Fish that has been frozen and thawed several times always looks worse than fish that was stored correctly.
From such fish that have lost their shape, you can make cutlets. If there is a lot of liquid, then the pulp should be placed in a sieve and given time for the liquid to drain. Then add spices, an egg and a little semolina to the fish pulp. Mix the minced meat, let it sit so that the semolina swells and you can make cutlets, rolling them in flour or breadcrumbs, and if the minced meat is still a bit liquid, then fry the cutlets like pancakes, that is, scooping up the minced meat with a spoon and placing it in hot oil in a frying pan.
And you can also make a casserole. Separate the meat from the bones and place on a sieve to remove excess liquid. Then cook with or without onions, as you like.
Finely chop the onion and place in a frying pan with hot oil, stir and add minced fish. Stir-fry, add salt and pepper. Beat the eggs separately, choose the quantity yourself, and pour the eggs onto the fish. Reduce heat greatly and cover with a lid. Wait 5-10 minutes for the eggs to set. The casserole is ready!
Striped Murochka [320K]
more than a year ago
If pink salmon turns into porridge when cut, then most likely it was stored incorrectly, frozen several times, and then thawed.
It is very important to defrost pink salmon correctly; this must be done in the refrigerator. Also, the fish should be cut slightly frozen, this way it cuts much easier and the pieces turn out even.
It is best to make minced meat from such pink salmon; we twist the fish through a meat grinder.
And then you can add it to the pie or make a filling for dumplings.
You can make a casserole with this fish, it’s also very tasty.
As an option, you can cook fish cutlets or make fish burgers.
more than a year ago
If pink salmon has become a soft mass during defrosting, then there is no need to be upset; the time to turn it into a tasty dish is not yet lost.
I would do it this way:
I would finely chop the onion and fry it with spices, mix the fish mass with salt and pepper, and beat it with a mixer into a soft paste.
Then you need to mix the fish paste with fried onions, grease the mold with oil, lay out the mixture and bake.
You will get a good casserole - pate, which can be eaten both hot and cold.
Or form the paste into balls, adding a little flour and grated cheese and deep fry.
This happens if the fish was stored and transported incorrectly, repeated freezing and re-freezing and leads to the fact that the carcass turns into a mushy mass when cutting. There are only two options here - make cutlets or fish pate.
more than a year ago
The most important thing is that the thawed pink salmon does not smell of anything, otherwise you will have to throw it away. It is possible that you defrosted it incorrectly. I first put it in the refrigerator and it defrosts there, and then I take it out and it lies in the kitchen. Under no circumstances do I defrost fish in warm or hot water. If you defrosted pink salmon correctly, it doesn’t stink and looks like porridge, then most likely it’s the fault of the store where you bought the fish. It was apparently defrosted and frozen there more than once. You can make minced salmon from this pink salmon, and then bake a pie or make a casserole. Add onion, egg, just like in classic minced meat, and then use it for its intended purpose. If you have a lot of minced meat, then you can fry the cutlets.
more than a year ago
Unfortunately, it sometimes happens that when fish is defrosted, it loses its shape and turns into mush.
But don’t despair, prepare minced pink salmon as a filling for a pie or pancakes. In this case, you can also prepare minced fish for cutlets.
First, remove the skin from the fish and remove all the bones, and then pass the fish through a meat grinder.
The reason that pink salmon has “turned into mush” is improper storage of the fish. Most likely, the fish was defrosted and frozen several times; this should not be done; proper storage of fish is very important. In addition, know that defrosting fish should be done in the refrigerator.
Alice in the Country [309K]
more than a year ago
This state of pink salmon is probably the result of its repeated thawing and repeated freezing, so it became soggy and turned into mush. Well, never mind, let’s make minced meat out of it, to which you can add onions and (or) rice, and this minced meat is an excellent filling for pies, pies, fish dumplings, and pancakes. You can simply make fish cutlets from this minced meat. All this is very tasty.
