It's a simple question, but one many people
don't know how to answer: How long does fresh fish last in the refrigerator
after you buy it? The Huffington Post asks.
Equally passionate about good seafood as we
are afraid of fish that's gone bad, we at HuffPost Taste reached out to the
experts to confirm the answer once and for all. After speaking with some
fishmongers from around New York City, we found the consensus: Fresh fish lasts
in the fridge for two to three days, at most.
The folks over at Brooklyn's Fish Tales say
that fish will keep for three days maximum. Of course, they buy fresh fish
every morning and urge anyone to buy fish the same day they're going to cook
it. If that's impossible, you should keep it on ice in the refrigerator. Never
keep it in the freezer, they say.
According to the fishmongers at The Lobster
Place, which also buys fresh seafood every day and suggests you do your
shopping as close to the time that you're planning to eat as possible, a whole
fish will keep slightly longer than fillets. When you buy a whole fish, less of
the area that you're planning to eat is exposed to oxygen. This means it will
keep a little longer. They estimate a whole fish will last a maximum of three
days, while fillets will last closer to two days.
Certain fish will dry out faster than
others, the folks at The Lobster Place say, and some will change color slightly
as they age. Discoloration doesn't necessarily indicate that the fish has
spoiled, however. Your best method of deciphering whether or not your fish is
still fresh is "by giving it the old smell test," the fishmongers
say. If it smells off, it probably is.
To prolong the lifespan of seafood, you
need to store it correctly. Village Fishmonger has a detailed list of
instructions for the proper way to store various kinds of seafood. (The website
also has great instructions for prepping and cooking different kinds of
seafood.) Village Fishmonger recommends storing fish two ways. The first is to
keep the fish in its packaging or to seal it in a bag and rest it on top of
ice. The second is to unwrap the fish and place it on top of a layer of plastic
that is set over the ice. Either way, the fish should not come in direct
contact with the ice.
Storing shellfish requires a different
technique. Village Fishmonger suggests keeping clams and oysters covered with a
damp paper towel in a container that will allow for drainage in case there's
any excess moisture. Fish Tales confirms: store shellfish in a bowl, covered
with a paper towel, in the fridge.
The bottom line is that seafood is best
eaten when it's as fresh as possible -- but with proper storage, it will last
up to three days. Now that you know how long your fish will keep, check out the
easy seafood recipes below. Just make sure to use the smell test before you get
started.
Read the article HERE.
