flat, and soften the texture. They don’t really
make the fish inedible. That change is caused
by microbes, especially bacteria, with which
fish slime and gills come well stocked —
particularly Pseudomonas and its cold-
tolerant ilk. They make fish inedible in a
fraction of the time they take to spoil beef or
pork, by consuming the savory free amino
acids and then proteins and turning them into
obnoxious nitrogen-containing substances
(ammonia, trimethylamine, indole, skatole,
putrescine, cadaverine) and sulfur compounds
(hydrogen sulfide, skunky methanethiol).
The first defense against incipient spoilage
is rinsing. Bacteria live and do their damage
on the fish surface, and thorough washing can
remove most of them and their smelly by-
products. Once the fish is washed and blotted
dry, a close wrapping in wax paper or plastic
film will limit exposure to oxygen.
Shellfish That Glow in the Dark