Page 4 - Food and Nutrition for You

ch14.qxp 3/26/2009 12:22 PM Page 297

Chapter 14 ■ Fish 297

BASIC CULINARY SKILLS

Selecting Whole Fish ❹ Check the texture by pressing on the body. The
❶ Smell the fish. It should have a clean, sweet flesh should rise quickly after being pressed and
smell. should not hold the mark.
❷ Check the temperature. It should be at a ❺ Check the gills and the belly. The gills should
temperature of 41° F or less. not be brown or slimy. The flesh should stick to
the bones, especially along the backbone.
❸ Check the appearance. There should be no cuts
or bruising. The fins should be pliable. The
slime should be clear. If there are scales, they
should stick tightly to the body. If there is a
head, the eyes should be full and not shrunken
or dried out.

Storing Finfish

Fish will go bad quickly if not stored properly. It should be stored in the refrig-
erator at 41° F or below, but even under ideal circumstances, fish will only last
a few days.

FIGURE 14-4
Pack the belly of a whole fish with
ice, then store it belly down in a
perforated pan of shaved or flaked
ice. Why do you think a perforated
pan is better than one with no
holes? Why is shaved or flaked ice
better than cubes?

Do not buy frozen fish that has white frost on
Safe Eats
the edges. It has freezer burn which indicates
that it was not packed well or that it has

thawed and been refrozen.