65
votes
Why does frozen food still have an expiration date?
Frozen food does spoil over time. Much slower than even just thawed, sure, but don't expect that something that would spoil within few days at just above 0°C will last with unchanged quality for years ...
56
votes
Accepted
Can I thaw salmon directly in water?
The salmon will get water logged and mushy (and consequently release a lot of water during the cooking process) if you omit the bag. It's not unsafe, but it will decrease the quality of the salmon.
- 10.6k
45
votes
Accepted
Is IKEA frozen salmon safe to eat raw in sushi?
Unless if it's labelled "sushi-grade" or "sashimi-grade", they probably don't freeze it deeply enough, so I wouldn't recommend it as-is. This is because of Salmon's high risk of parasites. However, ...
- 586
37
votes
Accepted
Why add vodka to batter for frying fish?
According to this article about Blumenthal's method, which also explains the other ingredient/method choices: https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/07/dining/07curious.html
The key to the Fat Duck batter ...
- 11.7k
31
votes
Accepted
What type of beer is best for beer battered fish?
The primary use of beer in a beer batter is its alcohol, which disrupts gluten formation and needs less heat than water to evaporate, improving the texture of the final crust. For flavor, most recipes ...
- 26.1k
26
votes
How can I unstick frozen fish/food quickly?
For the already-stuck fish: no, there is no way. Don't try to chisel them out, I've known somebody who damaged their freezer that way.
For any fish you will be placing there in the future: find a ...
- 135k
23
votes
Can a fish living in fresh water be called seafood?
Don't read too much into the "sea"; there's no rule that every word in the language has to stick precisely to its etymological roots.
Seafood just means edible aquatic life, i.e. fish and shellfish ...
- 58.1k
22
votes
Wild Salmon from grill is too dry
The answer to "how do I grill plain wild salmon without it being dry" is both simple and hard: don't overcook it.
Wild salmon fillets are thinner, with less fat, than farmed salmon. As such,...
- 58.9k
20
votes
Can I thaw salmon directly in water?
Osmotic Pressure
If you boil vegetables in water, some of the compounds from within the cells will leach out of the vegetables into the water. The reason is because vegetables are bags of water with ...
- 331
20
votes
Accepted
How do you properly and consistently pan-sear shrimp?
There are a few things you can do to help your shrimp get a nice sear.
First, make sure they're as dry as possible before adding them to the pan. Use paper towels and pat dry. Especially if you're ...
- 764
19
votes
Is it possible to make taste of raw oily salmon less pronounced?
My suggestion would be if you don't like the taste don't buy the fish in the first place, however if you have bought fish and then found out it's too strong a flavor there are a few things you can do:
...
- 74.2k
18
votes
Accepted
Wild Salmon from grill is too dry
Cedar planks.
https://www.thespruceeats.com/cedar-plank-salmon-4140628
So easy, so delicious and it works great.
Get cedar planks. You can pay big bucks for cedar planks intended for this use. Or ...
- 6,596
17
votes
Accepted
Is there any advantage of filleting a fish at home instead of buying a fillet?
When you cut any food you expose the cut surface to oxygen, which causes chemical changes due to oxidation. You also expose the cut surface to microbes and organisms which break down food. Both of ...
- 74.2k
17
votes
Accepted
UV lamp to disinfect raw sushi fish slices
That is an interesting idea, but I would not recommend it.
It is true that UV light is able to kill microorganisms, and it has been used to treat water for quite some time now. It has also been used ...
- 286
17
votes
Is cod supposed to fall apart?
That's totally normal for cod, it's a flaky fish. The best way to keep it together is to leave the skin on, if possible.
If the fish is skinless your best bet of keeping it together is to handle it as ...
- 74.2k
15
votes
Accepted
Would it really be possible to cook a fish in clay?
Baking fish in clay is like baking the fish in an impromptu duch oven: it keeps the moisture inside the meat, unlike roasting the fish on a skewer.
The clay should impart only very little flavour. If ...
- 57.8k
15
votes
Is IKEA frozen salmon safe to eat raw in sushi?
If you can't find details then it's pretty likely it is not sushi safe, and I would certainly make that assumption. Sushi safe freezing would add extra costs and Ikea is all about low costs. Plus, it ...
- 74.2k
13
votes
Accepted
How much time does it take to boil salmon?
It just has to get to 145F for safety, and in boiling water that happens really fast. 5-10 minutes is totally believable. On top of that, fish is really unpleasant when overcooked, so you really want ...
- 58.1k
11
votes
Eating raw fish: what are parasite infection risks really: how big?
As I explained in another question recently, there is no meaningful answer to this. There is no way to make the prediction "you have a X percent chance of infection per parasite infested meal". ...
- 135k
11
votes
UV lamp to disinfect raw sushi fish slices
Partial answer, but here are some important facts before someone gets hurt:
Germicidal UV (UV-C) lamps are NOT the same as blacklight/anti-counterfeit/tanning (UV-A/UV-B) lamps.
Parasites and ...
- 15.2k
11
votes
What type of beer is best for beer battered fish?
I don't think the alcohol affects the tase in this kind of perparation. The point is to create surface of contact by using the gases in the beverage.
Usually in restaurants that serves this kind of ...
- 658
11
votes
Why does frozen food still have an expiration date?
They are most likely "best by" dates, meaning quality may suffer, but they remain safe.
- 73.2k
11
votes
Can I thaw salmon directly in water?
Yes, if you use brine!
(And keep an eye on it to make sure you don't leave it in too long after thawing.)
It's interesting that Lawnmower Man brings up osmotic pressure. Though he makes some very ...
- 375
10
votes
Accepted
Is it possible to determine if fish caught from fishing is safe to make into sashimi or sushi?
The biggest concern with fish caught in the wild is the presence of parasites. You'll have to look up which species of parasite are present in the species of fish that you wish to use, and treat it ...
- 371
10
votes
Accepted
How long can you keep tuna in jar with olive oil
No, it is not safe anymore.
The scombridae family of fish (mackerels, tunas, bonitos) decay in a way that does not necessarily cause a bad smell, as the bacteria just convert amino acids of the fish ...
- 3,094
10
votes
Good Frozen Fish /seafood
I'd like to start with an analogy. Look at what you said in comments that some vegetables are actually better purchased frozen than purchased fresh. Let's take frozen peas vs fresh.
Peas notoriously ...
- 58.4k
10
votes
How can I tell if katsuobushi is made from bonito or the real deal?
I suspect that what you have here is a translation issue:
There are a range of fish called "Bonito", which are largely fish from the mackerel family. However, one of the fish also known as ...
- 13.3k
10
votes
How can I unstick frozen fish/food quickly?
You can sometimes break stuff free from ice, but you have to be careful not to damage the fridge, so you shouldn't use sharp tools.
What you want for something like this is a block of wood (like a ...
- 79.3k
9
votes
What is the difference between Atlantic and Steelhead farmed salmon in taste and how to cook?
Technically, steelhead is an ocean-going subspecies of rainbow trout (a term more commonly applied to fish who live only in fresh water). They're definitely related, though; salmon, trout, and char (...
- 14.9k
9
votes
Accepted
Do tinned anchovies need to be sold cold for food safety or quality reasons?
I found this very informative article from the Crown Prince company, an anchovy canner and distributor. Apparently the reason for cold storage has to do with the preservation process and product ...
- 2,496
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible