How to determine fresh and healthy seafood?
What comes to your mind when you think of delicious food? Is it your staple or is it something you eat at a fancy restaurant? Well, for most of us, it is an elegant treat that we can’t usually cook the way expert chefs do. At Ray’s at Killer Creek in Alpharetta, GA, we have expert chefs who really know seafood.
What make a cuisine unique are the essential ingredients that it must have. However, when you change the mains, it makes it much different. For example, a four cheese roasted vegetable dish will have a stark contrast when you add fish to it.
Yes, we’re going to tell you about seafood and why you should add them to your diet as and when you can. Fish are healthy treats that don’t just make a great taste but also come loaded with plenty of benefits.
Health benefits of seafood
Seafood is a good source of all the necessary elements which our body needs to stay fit and active. We seldom cook seafood at home as most of us ignore their goodness.
Seafood such as shellfish is a good source of protein, minerals, and vitamins. The flesh of a fish contains a small percentage of fat. Some fish have a high content of omega-3 fatty acids. The omega-3 fatty acids help in brain functioning and development. They also improve eye and nerve power and reduce the risk of coronary heart diseases. Fish such as salmon, trout, mackerel, herring, and sardines, along with crab, mussel and oyster are a great source of omega-3 fatty acids.
FDA recommends at least two meals of seafood a week. It helps in maintaining excellent health, blood circulation, and clear skin. The only problem with seafood is that most of us find it tough to cook. What we can do is look for restaurants which cook quality seafood. Many restaurants serve seafood in their menu, and a place like Ray’s at Killer Creek is exceptional.
If you are bored and tired of the same old kind of protein in your regular meals, do give a try to the deep, delicious seafood dishes available. Having a variety of protein helps in serving different flavors to our taste buds, and we don’t get bored with what we eat.
What is seasonal seafood?
Salmon and halibut are two of the most popular dishes which are seasonal. They are only available during the summer time but vary from country to country. This is due to the geographical conditions, the seasonal changes and the water conditions. You can avail them from the market even after the season closes as they are harvested in tons. The cold storages are a great source of availing these seasonal fishes for a more extended period. It has eased the process of consuming oysters, mussels, and crabs. One might feel a difference when buying them, but at restaurants, you can’t feel any difference with the taste and flavors.
How to determine freshness
It is imperative to know whether the seafood is fresh before you consume it. You must check it else you will never know how fresh seafood tastes like. Touch it, smell it, take a closer look and if they don’t work then go through the points listed below:
- If the fish is fresh, it will inevitably smell like it is just out of the sea. It’ll have a salty touch of the sea water when you place the first bite on it. Fresh fishes don’t smell bad and give you a delicious taste when cooked well. If you buy stale fish, it will have a pungent smell before you prepare it. Even after cooking it well, the smell won’t go away.
- When you are out for buying a big and whole fish, the body of the fish will express more about itself than what the seller says. The skin of the fish will be moist and shiny while eyes will be bright if it is fresh. If the fish is not new then the surface will be dull and discolored, the eyes will be grayish and have spots on the body. These are the signs that the fish have past the prime time.
- In the case of shellfish, check whether the shell is tightly closed or not. Tap on the tank to test and verify the quality. The same theory applies regarding mussels too.
- It is quite rare to get your hands on fresh shrimp as they are frozen right after they are harvested. There is a chance of getting fresh shrimp if you are purchasing them from the harvesting place. Else, all the shrimp available in the market are sold frozen. Regarding canned packages, they are labeled with previously frozen labels.
Although packaged fish can be eaten days after being stored, some people can be allergic to them. If you’re okay to consume such fish, then you can go ahead with it.
