How do I tell if fish is fresh?

Question

There is a fish market near my house that sells a lot of fish, but I am not sure how good it is. What do I look for when buying whole fish? Fillets? (Specifically catfish, salmon, red snapper.) What about crabs, scallops and oysters? What do I avoid? I don't want to poison anyone!

Answer 1

A whole fish is easy. Look at the eyes and the gills. If the gills are bright red, it is fresh. If they are maroon (or worse), don't buy it. The eyes will be clear and bright if it is fresh. And cloudy if it isn't. Also, press down on the flesh with a finger. If it pops back after you press it, it is fresh. If the indentation remains for a while, it is not fresh.

The only thing you can do with fillets is smell them. A fresh fish smells bright, not fishy.

Crabs, scallops, and oysters? Smell them. Same as above. Your nose will tell you if you want to eat it or not. Trust it.

Answer 2

Fresh whole fish - Look at the eyes the more clear the eyes, the more fresh the fish. This market - Are you close to the water? Do they own their own boats; if so when do they make their runs. What time of the week/day do they come in. What fish is native to your waters. As a general rule: Go to the market on a regular basis and look for the fish that are more fresh than others. Also, the smell and firmness of fish without head is really about all you can do to test for fresh the first few times. After that you should have a good baseline for future purchases. If you have a special request, talk to the market manager or the like and ask for pointers.

Answer 3

#1. Be sure it hasn't got ANY smell to it; if it does, it isn't fresh
#2. The flesh should be resilient
#3. Stay away from "farm raised" salmon, etc.
#4. If shellfish, (clams) are open in their shells, toss them out
#5. Fish does NOT have a long "icebox" life--the fish monger will usually put "Use by..." date on it
#6. Fresh fish always taste best, so do your things w/them as soon as you can
#7. If you buy in "bulk" you can put some of the "fresh" fish in the freezer
#8. Never refreeze previously frozen fish once it's defrosted
#9. It's okay to thaw frozen fish, COOK it & then freeze again--but always cook first!
#10. "Diver" scallops are the very best, & tend to be a little "dry" if they were frozen; try to get them fresh only, which will cost you an arm & a leg
#11. Talk to your "fish monger" to see if he/she knows their business; if you ask to "smell" the fish & they give you a blank look, don't buy there
That's all I can think of for now. I'm stealing Emeril's "icebox." Also, WHEN IN DOUBT, THROW IT OUT. (If you've forgotten it's in the icebox.) Hope I've helped.

Edit: I knew I'd forget something, but others helped a lot. Fact is, I never get whole fish, only fillets, so I don't have to look at "eyes" or scales.

Edit one last time: Please consider EVERYTHING I said; my "error" was in not getting into "whole" fish, which others did. I just assumed you didn't know a lot about fish--in general--& I'm sorry if I over-did it!

Answer 4

Make sure any shellfish are tightly closed, if open , don't get it . Fresh fish should not smell fishy, eyes are not sunken, flesh is firm. Best information would probably come from people who shop at the market. Most people will keep shopping where the product is good, so just ask if they have shopped there before. Your local grocery ,if they have a fresh fish dept, is a great source of information, even if you don't shop there.

Answer 5

A fish is fresh if it doesn't smell fishy. It should smell... clean, kinda like cucumbers if you know what I mean. Also, make sure that when you pick a fish that the eyes don't look tired... a tired fish won't cook as great as a wide awake one...and yes they're dead when you look at them. Obviously, you should avoid ones with mold and such. Ask the guy who gives you the fish, I'm sure they'll help you pick out the best one. =)

Answer 6

How did you recognize if fish is sparkling? * The fish's eyes must be sparkling and bulge a touch. purely some fish, alongside with walleye, have obviously cloudy eyes. * entire fish and fillets must have agency and modern flesh. boring flesh would propose the fish is previous. sparkling entire fish also must have vivid pink gills loose from slime. * If the flesh would not spring decrease back at the same time as pressed, the fish isn't sparkling. * There must be no darkening around the perimeters of the fish or brown or yellowish discoloration. * The fish ought to smell sparkling and uncomplicated, not fishy or ammonia-like.

Answer 7

Fresh fish shouldn't smell very 'fishy'. The older the fish, the more it smells.
For fish with skin on, check the scales. If they rub off easily, the fish is older. The scales on fresh fish don't come off easily.
I would think that the market is interested in supplying good merchandise, otherwise they wouldn't stay in business very long, would they?

Answer 8

Simplest,quickest way "at a glance"...Look it in the Eye:)

Seriously,,Fresh Fish have a CLEAR eye,,,
The Older it gets,,the more cloudy the eye becomes

Gills should be Red ideally,,,at least pale red to pink.

Older it gets the more faded the RED gills become,,,to nearly "white" or grey

Answer 9

Avoid cloudy eyes. And the fish should not smell strongly of fish. I know it sounds weird, but it shouldn't really smell like fish at all, but like the ocean.

Answer 10

Always smell the fish. If it smells fresh and also check the eyes they should look very fresh and clear. That's all you can check.