A quick Guide to Buying Seafood from Someone who Sells it to You.

Hi. My name is Lore and I’m you’re local grocery Seafood Monger/associate/pusher of all things that at on time existed in some form of H2O or attached themselves to rocks or dug themselves into sand, close to it.

As my title states I shall be offering a quick guide to buying seafood from someone like myself at the local grocery store.

My first tip is this…If you are looking for FRESH seafood, and by fresh I mean FRESH and not simply that it has not been frozen (this shall be explained further down), I suggest that you turn right around, get in your car, take a several hour drive to the coast early in the morning, and await the arrival of local fisherman who fish for local fish. NO grocery store will ever carry truly fresh fish and your trip will have been in vain if that is what you are searching for.

Anyone who truly knows seafood, knows that in order for it to be considered fresh (and this applies to other products like produce and bread/baked goods as well) that it must be caught/picked/baked that day. If you are lucky enough to live near the coast, or lucky enough to be able to hit up Japan’s fish market (the world’s largest), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsukiji_fish_market you might have a chance at procuring truly fresh seafood.

In the grocery world “Fresh” simply means that it has not been frozen at any point since being taken out of it’s habitat. And by not frozen…they mean not frozen on purpose, because due to the temperature of cooler trucks and how the product is packed even “Fresh” seafood may come in slightly frozen.

The assumption is that “Fresh” seafood is of a higher quality than it’s “Frozen at Sea” or “Previously Frozen” counterparts. The truth is that for the most part, especially in the “Frozen as Sea” or “F.A.S” category this is not true.

So why is “FAS” better than fresh…well according to http://www.fasfa.co.uk/ there is a plentitude of reasons. But from the laymans perspective here’s why in a nutshell: When those who catch fish for a living go out to sea it is rarely just for one evening or morning. Most often a boat is out for any number of days possibly a week or so. Seafood is caught/harvested and then held in the “hold” of the ship for however long it takes the ship to get back to port. Frozen at sea fish is prepped and then flash frozen on board while it is kept for that time while the “Fresh” simply sits down there. The flash freezing process as opposed to regular freezing minimally changes the product the procedure is done on. Cell degradation is stopped in it’s tracks and so it is kept at it’s highest quality the entire trip, while the fresh is slowly breaking down. FAS seafood usually has a better smell than it’s “Fresh” counterparts due to this. What people do notice about the frozen at sea is that there is a slight color change and in some instances a slight texture change…but it is a small change in comparison to what happens to the fresh along the way. The FAS is kept frozen and then allowed to thaw at a slow rate so that by the time it reaches the grocers it is as close to it’s natural state as possible and despite what some old wives tales may say…FAS is perfectly ok to refreeze. You however do not want to refreeze something that says “Previously Frozen” as that does not indicate a flash freezing technique.

So…tip 2. is that F.A.S. is Fresher than Fresh (Do a smell test and you’ll notice…shall be explained).

And tip 3. is If you plan on freezing your purchase FAS and Fresh are a go…Previously frozen is not.

Tip 4. Find out when your local grocery store gets their deliveries. Most grocery stores do not get deliveries of products every day of the week. The store I work for gets deliveries 4 days out of the week. So if you find out that your store delivers on Fri, Sat, Sun, and Wed then you know that avoiding Tue and Thu is probably a good idea. But keep in mind that just because they get deliveries on those days does not mean that they get a box of each item they carry.

Tip 5. Find out your store’s shelf life for their products. An average shelf life for an order of haddock at a store is 7 days. Yes a whole week from the receiving date. Now think back to what I told you about “Fresh” fish…if it’s caught on day one of the fishing expedition it sits a week in the hold, then it must be brought to the warehouse, packaged, possibly shipped to another warehouse and then shipped to the grocery store. By the time your local grocery market receives its seafood it could be up to two weeks old in some cases. Two weeks is a rarity but it does occasionally occur. If the product happened to be “Scrod”…Scrod happens to be the last catch of the day before the ship heads back…so Scrod could be haddock, cod, or pollack…it’s simply a reference to the last catch of the day…you might be lucky enough that if it was a local haddock boat and your box was scrod that it might only be a few days old.

Tip 6. Plan Ahead. This is one of the largest issues with seafood…people often buy it on a whim and end up regretting their decision.

So when you know you’d like some seafood, and you know when your store gets in their deliveries, give the local seafood department a call and ask a question similar to the following…”Did you receive any boxes of FAS Haddock in today?”. This can also be done if you are at the store…simply ask the associate. An associate should have no problem in answering this question, they may need to check the cooler for you but it is a yes or no answer. Then ask your seafood associate if they would mind opening up the box and allow you to smell a piece.

Tip 7. When in doubt…Sniff! Seafood should not smell “Fishy”. And a Seafood associate should have no problem with letting you smell their product. Now some fish will have a stronger smell than others…Salmon is stronger than haddock…and scallops are as well. If it smells like beer or ammonia…or an old tire then it’s a definite NO GO! This does not mean that your seafood associate is trying to sell you bad product…it simply means that your nose is a better judge than the shelf life guidelines set up by the corporate entities that run business. Each associate uses their own discretion throughout the day as to whether a product should be in the case for selling…and as everyone’s noses differ their nose may not be as attuned as yours is…especially if they’ve been behind the counter for several hours.

Tip 8. Look at texture. Some seafood can be naturally on the mushy side…but for the most part your seafood should have a firm texture. It would be ideal if you could touch the product but due to sanitary issues that is impossible…but certain fish are easier to judge than others. Sockeye salmon for example has a tendency to be mushier than it’s Atlantic counterpart. Due to how it’s packed it’s nearly impossible to have a nice clean firm piece of Sockeye. But if the salmon looks mushy throughout it’s probably best to stay away from it. Scallops are tempermental. Fresh Scallops often come in mushy and not in their whole state…and in those cases even though the “freshness” is not in question the texture is and it is best to wait or try on of the other options.

Tip 9. Judge your audience. This is a speech tip…but it applies to shopping in general as well. Grocery stores cater to their local clientele. This means that in the seafood department a small town grocery store will only carry the basics while a large city will have more variety. FAS Haddock should be a staple at any store…but something like Mahi Mahi or Orange Roughie will not be. If you know ahead of time that you will need a specialty product most stores will be willing to order it for you if they can, or they can refer you to a store that does carry the item needed. Also keep in mind that many items are holiday oriented. Things like 4 to 6 count Shrimp are mostly an item carried around Christmas and New Years, as are whole oysters, shucked oysters, and fresh shucked clams.

Tip 10. Shrimp…

Most Shrimp carried in a grocery store are not from the U.S.A. The exceptions are Maine Shrimp and Louisiana Shrimp. Maine and Louisiana are carried frozen in most places…but Maine are only carried fresh from Dec – early March. Maine Shrimp are smaller and raw…but easy to push out of their shells and have a milder, nuttier taste than their foreign counterparts. If you are buying Maine Shrimp…follow your basic seafood tips and find out when that batch came in and if there’s a fresh batch available and ask to smell it. If it smells like ammonia avoid it like the plague…and if you can buy Dec-end of Jan as through february the quality starts to diminish. Another good thing to know is that when Maine Shrimp are in season they are usually considerably cheaper than other shrimp. One last item to mention about shrimp is count size. If you look in the case of a seafood department or on the bag in the freezer section you will notice numbers. These numbers refer to how many shrimp are in a pound…your seafood associate will go by these numbers most when you ask for your order. You are more likely to get what you want if you ask for “A pound of the 41/50 shrimp” as opposed to “Can I have a pound of the 6.99 shrimp” or “The shrimp on sale”. And a side note…a usual front case shelf life for shrimp is 4 days. Most stores take bags of frozen shrimp off of their shelves or from their freezers and open them and place them in their case. If you plan on buying a bag of shrimp…most bags are in one pound units…you technically save money by buying the frozen bag and you are gauranteed “fresh” shrimp one they have thawed.

Tip 11. Shellfish and Lobsters.

Shellfish and Lobsters are “Good” until they are dead. A store usually will not order more of these items until they have run out. The problem with this strategy is that as these are live creatures they are slowly wasting away as they are not fed. Your best tasting shellfish and Lobsters will be those that arrived as closely to when you arrive.

My last few tips are simply tips for interacting with your local seafood monger.

If you plan on placing a large order, especially one like 6 pounds of Atlantic Salmon that will need to be portioned and skinned, it is best to call ahead.

If you ask your seafood associate what the average portion per person is do not be surprised by their answer. The average portion of seafood is somewhere around 6oz…with most people assuming 8oz. Products that are pre-portioned in the case are usually 5 or 6oz. So when the associate tells you this, do not react in a stunned or horrified manner and then say something to the effect of “Oh my…that’s WAY too much!” or “You’re kidding, We can eat a pound a piece!” Both of these responses say that you as a customer already know what portion size works for you. This portion size does not work for everyone and as a general rule the 6 to 8oz is the norm. If you ask a question, please do so with respect and expect the company answer back and do not take offense if it differs from your personal eating habits.

Please be patient if you have asked an associate to skin or scale an item. A seafood associate should not mind doing this for you, but it can be a task that is not always able to be done expediently.

If you plan on having an item steamed (most places offer this service for free), please mention this at the beginning of your order and expect that it may take some time for the process to occur. The most common steamed seafood item is lobsters and you can expect 3 to 4 minutes per pound.

Be aware that prices change daily on many items, and that depending on the store, prices can be drastically different. Most associates are aware that their items are high priced and while they understand where a customer is coming from, they are not in control of said prices. Prices also reflect Country of Origin and the quality control carried out by the corporate entities running the stores. One store may have fresh haddock for 6.99 but it may be from a different region or it may not be held to the same standards of another store.

In closing, As a seafood customer you pay enough for the product you are purchasing to be picky. You do not however pay enough to be rude or disrespectful. Unlike many other grocery departments, Seafood staff often have many recurring customers and providing quality product is important to them. If you treat your Seafood associate with respect they will make sure you are taken care of. And in the cases where you are not met with respect from the associate, remember it is your job to be pro-active in your purchasing…know your store and your product and you should have no problem getting quality seafood each and every time.