Buy fresh seafood. Conservation

Seafood is one of those ingredients that we associate with celebration. I would even say that a super special occasion or celebration in style, for example, Christmas .

In the blog you will find many ideas to prepare seafood, recipes with seafood are my favorites and one of my star ingredients when I have guests at home.

I imagine that it is the Galician gene that has been inserted since childhood and where memories influence, eating octopus on Sundays is like in Madrid the cooked on the weekend.

There is seafood of all types and it does not always have to be associated with the price. The mussels are on the top of my favorite seafood and its price is most economical.

But what is important in addition to the price is its quality. For this you must have a series of tips to know how to buy seafood and that they do not scam you. And when you have it at home, lose the fear of keeping it without spoiling it.

Christmas is coming and you can save a lot of money buying now at a good price and freezing for when the holidays come. The savings are substantial and in our house this has been done for many years, my mother is very farsighted.

It is important to know how to handle seafood and keep it from purchase, including knowing if they are really fresh or if there is a trick. I hope this post removes your doubts.

Buy seafood. Tips

1. Buy the seafood you need, do not buy too much for much offer that they put in front of you. Seafood is a very perishable food, it is better to buy what you need or plan to use.
2. If possible, buy from a trusted place. Although in large cities this does not usually happen, in the province, you usually have a trusted fishmonger where you go every day and they usually treat you with luxury. When you buy from a site and don’t come back, the link for excellence is not created, although it should be.
3. Go to the market or fish shop first thing in the morning. The product is fresher, there is more variety and the fishmonger will have more time to assist you.
4. Buying seafood anywhere simply because it is cheap and looks good can be a mistake. On dates such as Christmas, all the necessary inspections may not be fulfilled, it is impossible due to the sales volume.
5. Take it to the fridge immediately. You should put it in the fridge at a temperature between 0 and 3 ° C and put it in an airtight bag so that it is not in contact with other foods.
6. My mother always put it in the fridge wrapped in a damp cloth … error. The fridge smelled of seafood several days. The large airtight bags on sale today are great for both the fridge and subsequent freezing.
7. Mussels and clams must be fresh. The shell of the shellfish should be closed and, if opened slightly, should be closed when touched. Cuttlefish, squid and octopus should have firm flesh and a slightly bright color.

Tricks to identify fresh seafood

1. Each type of seafood has its own characteristics. In general, the external appearance already tells us many things. It is usually bought better in shellfish nurseries or cookers, but they are usually more expensive. In them you will see that they are in large tanks, they are usually watered with clean water so that the conditions are the best. In fishmongers they are watered continuously with water or with mists so that when they are always wet they shine and improve their appearance.
2. The crustaceans that must be bought alive are lobsters, lobsters, spider crab, sea ox, crabs, crawfish, … all must be moving their legs and releasing like a stifle in the form of foam. That assessment indicates that they are not dead, a good sign.
3. Refrigerated seafood such as prawns, prawns or prawns must have a good color and also that everything is in its place. They must have the head and their legs must be well attached to the body and not about to come off.
4. In the boxes of shrimp that I usually buy to cook at home, I see what they look like because they have a plastic that shows their appearance. It is a good sign and gives me confidence. Imagine that you buy without knowing what goes inside the box. Sometimes the offers are not a bargain, quite the opposite.
5. In fresh prawns and prawns they must have a translucent appearance and the rest of the body must not have dark spots. Likewise, the meat must be firm and shiny.
6. I like to buy clams, mussels, cockles and oysters the same day that I will consume them. So I remove the dirt or grit that it brings and I am much more sure of the quality of it.

Freeze seafood

• Freezing correctly is much more than just opening the freezer and stuffing in the ingredient. Seafood must be cooked beforehand the same day of its purchase to keep its characteristics and properties intact. The flavor, color and aroma.
• All shellfish can be frozen, although some suffer a lot in this process, such as barnacle, which I do not recommend freezing. The rest, almost 90% of what we find in our fishmongers can be frozen.
• Once cooked, it is much less perishable and can stay in the fridge for several days. For example, mussels and cockles lose absolutely no flavor. In the blog as you see in the first point we have several tips for cooking seafood .
• To do it correctly it must be cooked, then take it out well drained and put it in an airtight pan and then close it. Let it cool to room temperature and then to the fridge at 2 or 3º C. It is essential before freezing.
• Then we put them in the freezer. Our freezer should reach -20º C (star rating, minimum *** to ****). The fish is then kept at temperatures of -20ºC until it is completely frozen.
• We must remove it 24 hours before consumption, leave it at room temperature and it would be ready for consumption. If we defrost correctly, the characteristics of frozen fish are almost the same as those of fresh fish.