It's always good to cook fresh seafood within two days of purchase. If that's not
possible, here are some tips to help you store it.
To freeze fish the fillets or whole carcasses should be
tightly wrapped in plastic film or aluminium foil, taking care to exclude as much air from
the package as possible, then brought down to a temperature well below 0șC as rapidly as
possible and held there until needed. Air is the great destroyer of frozen fish as
it causes the flesh to dry and lose its texture. The better a package of fish is
wrapped, the faster it is chilled and the colder it is kept, the better it will taste
after thawing.
Another very successful way of freezing fish fillets, steaks and
fish pieces is to drop them into a container holding very cold (but still liquid) seawater
or salted water and then freeze the entire container, making sure that none of the fish
flesh protrudes beyond the surface of the water or ice. Although taking up rather a
lot of space in the freezer, this method does yield a superior product.
To thaw frozen fish, lift the packages out of the freezer
and place them in the normal section of the refrigerator for around 24 hours prior to
cooking. In cool weather the frozen fish may be covered with a cloth and left on the
bench or some other shaded place in the kitchen, but thawing should not be accelerated by
immersion in hot water or by leaving the package in direct sunlight. Both methods
promote the rapid development of bacteria. Once thoroughly thawed, fish flesh should
be used within 24 hours - 48 at the most and should not be re-frozen.
Always take fish out of the fridge 30 minutes
before you want to cook it to get it up to room temperature. It will cook more
evenly.
Store live oysters,
clams and
mussels in the refrigerator.
Keep damp by placing in shallow bowl with a wet paper towel draped over them.
Don't store an oyster on its side. Every so often, it will relax and open up a
bit. If it's sitting on its side, it could lose all its liquid which is vital
for flavour.
Keep fresh shucked oysters, scallops and clams in their own
container and store in the refrigerator. For best results, surround the container with
ice. See also
How to Open Oysters
Just before opening and cooking scallops, mussels, clams or
oysters in the shell, they should be scrubbed under cold water.
Handle all seafood with care.
Seafood with bruises or punctures will spoil more rapidly.
