It is rightly said that consumption of seafood may help you lead a longer and healthier life. Many people consider seafood as an essential part of diet, livelihood and culture. The best thing about seafood is the versatility it offers. Right from that light sizzle of your halibut on the grill to the clanking oysters in your stir fry and classic sashimi servings, the versatility of seafood can always leave you surprised.
You would be wondering that from such a wide variety of seafood, which fish or shellfish would be the best to consume raw, without getting any food-borne illness. Well, let’s tell you that the products, labelled as “sushi-grade” and “sashimi-grade, are perfect for raw consumption.
Raw seafood consumption is mostly associated with the risk of parasites, bacteria or tapeworm, simply because of its raw nature. Seafood safety experts recommend proper guidelines for the handling and storage of seafood. For instance, the study reveals that freezing seafood before consumption may kill many harmful bacteria or parasites that may be present in it. Keeping the health concerns in view, seafood companies like us label “sashimi-grade” seafood responsibly, after following the storage guidelines given by Food and Drugs Administration. When you buy sashimi-grade seafood, Let’s take a quick review of how long the raw seafood can last in your fridge or freezer.
Fresh Sushi or Sashimi in Fridge
If you want to consume raw seafood, either as sushi or sashimi, it is highly recommended to consume fresh seafood as soon as possible. If it is not possible, sushi or sashimi can stay in your fridge for up to 24 hours. Consuming it afterwards may cause foodborne illness.
Sushi or Sashimi in your Freezer
Freezing the fresh fish at home, to consume it as sashimi later is probably not a good idea unless you have a commercial freezer at home. The temperature in our domestic freezers takes quite a bit of time unless something inside becomes solid. During freezing, ice crystals form in the food and break down the structure of protein on the cellular level. The quicker it freezes, the lesser will be the crystals and the lesser the crystals the better the quality of the seafood for raw consumptions.
Flash-frozen Seafood For Sashimi
In case you want to store seafood for long, you should buy the seafood that is flash-frozen at sea. Commercial freezers do their job pretty quickly. In fact, the seafood can be flash-frozen solid in the matter of hours. Minimizing the timeframe between harvest and production, flash-freezing keeps your seafood at the peak o it's freshness. Therefore, if you want to have frozen seafood as sashimi, always buy flash-frozen variety, so in that way, you can keep it in your freezers for up to 6 months for consuming it as sashimi (even longer if you want to consume it cooked).
Uni (Sea Urchin Gonads)
Uni is a famous delicacy that tastes best when fresh. Uni (sea urchin gonads) are best to consume in its raw state. It is recommended to serve uni as soon as possible, it lands in your fridge. However, it may last a few days in your fridge depending on the temperature of your fridge. Precisely, you can keep uni for up to 2 days in your fridge after receiving it for consumption as sashimi (and up to 5-7 days if cooked for example, in pasta). Also, make sure not to freeze it for sashimi because you will end up in losing its texture if that is important to you.
All Things Considered
Seafood is a source of healthy nutrients that are essential for our health. Yet, seafood safety is a big concern for all of us, especially when it comes to the risks that are associated with the raw consumption of seafood. Either you are a sushi person, or want to have sashimi at home, it is always best to consume the seafood as soon as possible after receiving. However, your sushi or a sashimi-grade variety of seafood can last for up to 24-48 hours in your fridge. In case, you can’t have it within 24 hours, it is always best to buy the flash-frozen item, that you may store for up to 6 months in your freezer for consuming as sashimi. (longer if cooked).
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