- Swordfish
- Tile Fish
- King Mackeral
- Shark
- Raw Shellfish
- Smokedfish, nova style lox, kippered or Jerky
Because of the omega 3 fatty acids in fish 1 time a week Pregnant women can and should eat 6 ounces of fish in the following forms:
- Tuna Steak
- Canned tuna or albacore
- Halibut
- Snapper
All of us should eat fish 2 times a week to keep up the Omega 3 fatty acids in our systems that help prevent heart disease, eczema, arthritis, inflammation, autoimmune disease, hypertension, cancer and even depression.
Oysters are a splendid food: low-calorie, low-cholesterol, dense in protein and an excellent source of vitamins A, B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), C (ascorbic acid) and D (calciferol). Four or five medium-size oysters supply the recommended daily allowance of iron, copper, iodine, magnesium, calcium, zinc, manganese and phosphorus.
Colder water oysters are generally saltier, with crisper flavors. All oysters can be creamy as it’s a warm water condition that can and often triggers spawning. Spawning happens when the water heats up in the warmer summer months. So ask your server if they are creamy to make certain that you get the flavor you are looking for.
Mussel and Clam shells should close when you touch them when alive. Usually they open by themselves when cooked, revealing the cooked soft parts.
Shrimp should feel firm to the touch.
Fresh fish is generally separated into 2 categories, lean and fatty. Lean fish contain 1% to 5% fat. Fatty fish contain 5% to 35% fat which makes their flesh darker, richer and stronger tasting than lean fish. You can freeze lean fish up to 6 months and fatty fish up to 3 months.
Fish are also categorized as either round fish which are fish with rounder bodies and one eye on either side of the head or flat fish. Flat fish have both eyes on one side of the head. Depending on whether they are flat or round, fish also come in various cuts.
Whole fish is sold with the head, tail, fins and scales intact and must be gutted and scaled before cooking. Dressed fish are gutted and scaled with the head, tails and fins intact. Pan- dressed fish are dressed and have the head and tail cut off so that the fish fits into a skillet. If fresh whole fish is readily available, you not only benefit economically but also receive the highest quality in freshness and taste. The skin acts as a protective covering and keeps the fish more flavorful and juicy.
One can purchase fish in a multitude of ways. Each way has a quality and price differential to the other. With this differential in mind, here are some helpful purchasing tips:
Whole fish: When purchasing a whole fish first look at the eyes. A fresh fish has bright, clear and protruding eyes rather than dull hazy sunken ones. The skin should be moist and shiny, the gills should be red or pink, and the flesh firm and elastic. The odor is also a sure sign of freshness: A fresh fish has a fresh, slightly oceanic, mild odor rather than a fishy or sour smell. Use this fish within 1-2 days and keep it in the coldest part of your frigerator.
Fillets and steaks: Fillets come deboned and are ready to cook. Steaks are the cross sections from large round fish; they very from ¾ to 1 inch in thickness. Steaks contain part of the backbone and often the outside edge is covered with skin. Look for cuts with moist flesh that is free from discoloration and skin that is shiny and resilient. Again if the fillet or steak has an off odor, do not buy it.
Frozen fish: The package should still have its original shape with the wrapper intact. There should not be any ice crystals, visible blood or discoloration of the flesh. Select frozen fish packages from below the load line of the freezer case and do not allow them to thaw on the way home for the store.
Wild fish vs. farmed fish. Wild fish, the kind that are caught in rivers, seas and oceans are much better for you than farmed fish, the kind fed and raised in a crowded tank. It’s also important to know that only WILD salmon has been shown to contain the highest levels of the good stuff that your brain & body crave. Wild-caught fish grow and evolve their muscles, tissues and fat levels the hard way, fighting for survival of the fittest in the oceans and rivers. By contrast, fish farming is the principal form of aquaculture. It involves raising fish commercially in tanks or enclosures, usually for food. A facility that releases juvenile fish into the wild for recreational fishing or to supplement a species' natural numbers is generally referred to as a fish hatchery
Common fish species raised by fish farms include salmon, catfish, tilapia, cod, carp, trout and others. Additionally, Crab is never farmed while mussels, clams and oysters are always farmed. These shellfish are farmed for safety and quality control reasons.
In general, Ferry Plaza Seafood regularly carries wild fish. Once in a while, because salmon is very popular, we will have farmed salmon if it’s all we can get vs. not having any at all. The most important thing to us in this circumstance is to ask our fish monger: How was it grown? Was it raised in a polluting net pen or in less harmful tank or pond? As with all things, there are extremes so rest assured that for us it’s very important that the fish was raised in a tank or pond scenario.
How much fish should one buy:
- Whole fish ¾ to 1 pound per serving
- Dressed fish ½ to ¾ pound per serving
- Pan dressed fish 1/3 pound per serving
- Fillets ¼ to 1/3 pound per serving
- Steaks ¼ to 1/3 pound per serving
Buying Crab: We sell and cook a lot of crab. We believe the best crab is crab that has been brought into us in the morning alive and cooked that morning so that you the consumer, can take it home and eat it. We really think that hosting crabs in a tank is not a good idea. The crab isn’t fed typically in this scenario and isn’t very active. After a while, the crab will begin to go into a starvation mode while living in the tank. The result is watery flesh or worse yet they end up empty inside once you crack them open.
