Storing This Food
Remove fish from plastic wrap as soon as you get it home. Plastic keeps out air, encouraging
the growth of bacteria that make the fish smell bad. If the fish smells bad when you open
the package, throw it out.
Refrigerate all fresh and smoked fish immediately. Fish spoils quickly because it has a
high proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids (which pick up oxygen much more easily than
saturated or monounsaturated fatty acids). Refrigeration also slows the action of microorgan-
isms on the surface of the fish that convert proteins and other substances to mucopolysac-
charides, leaving a slimy film on the fish.
Keep fish frozen until you are ready to use it.
Store canned fish in a cool cabinet or in a refrigerator (but not the freezer). The cooler
the temperature, the longer the shelf life.
Preparing This Food
Fresh fish. Rub the fish with lemon juice, then rinse it under cold running water. The
lemon juice (an acid) will convert the nitrogen compounds that make fish smell “fishy” to
compounds that break apart easily and can be rinsed off the fish with cool running water.
Rinsing your hands in lemon juice and water will get rid of the fishy smell after you have
been preparing fresh fish.
Frozen fish. Defrost plain frozen fish in the refrigerator or under cold running water. Pre-
pared frozen fish dishes should not be thawed before you cook them since defrosting will
make the sauce or coating soggy.
Salted dried fish. Salted dried fish should be soaked to remove the salt. How long you have
to soak the fish depends on how much salt was added in processing. A reasonable average
for salt cod, mackerel, haddock (finnan haddie), or herring is three to six hours, with two or
three changes of water.
When you are done, clean all utensils thoroughly with hot soap and hot water. Wash
your cutting board, wood or plastic, with hot water, soap, and a bleach-and-water solution.
For ultimate safety in preventing the transfer of microorganisms from the raw fish to other
foods, keep one cutting board exclusively for raw fish, meats, and poultry, and a second one
for everything else. Finally, don’t forget to wash your hands.
What Happens When You Cook This Food
Heat changes the structure of proteins. It denatures the protein molecules so that they
break apart into smaller fragments or change shape or clump together. These changes force
moisture out of the tissues so that the fish turns opaque. The longer you cook fish, the more
Fish