As much as consumers enjoy fresh fish, finding high-quality options can sometimes be challenging. Frozen seafood offers an easy solution for those wanting to experience its taste and nutritional value without needing to purchase it regularly – offering its full benefits without the inconvenience.
Multiple brands now provide carefully curated collections of premium quality frozen seafood options, such as:
Flavor
Many frozen seafood brands have acquired an unfairly poor reputation due to subpar selection, freezing and handling practices. Frozen after its peak freshness or repeatedly frozen-thawed can create texture and flavour issues in its final state.
However, when properly prepared and presented as frozen seafood can rival fresh fish in terms of taste and texture. When selecting a brand of frozen seafood that uses only premium ingredients to ensure consistently delicious products.
“My preconception of frozen seafood has always been that it tastes inferior to its fresh counterpart,” admits Oregon resident Kasey Richards. However, after sitting down to sample prepared seared scallops at a laboratory tasting event in Portland and tasting premium quality frozen from trusted brands, their beliefs were disproved! A Mashed poll found that one brand topped all shoppers who have purchased frozen fish.
Freshness
Frozen seafood offers shoppers an easy, reliable solution when searching for quality meals. It can be found anywhere from sushi restaurants and take-out stalls to Michelin-starred establishments; additionally, it is often the safest way to transport seafood species that are out of season or difficult to transport, such as some shrimp species.
Frozen seafood of exceptional quality should be flash-frozen shortly after harvest to maintain optimal quality and freshness. Flash freezing ensures this.
Rapid freezing helps protect cells from large ice crystals that would otherwise damage them and delay natural cellular degradation that occurs with age. Look for a mildly briny or oceanic aroma, clear eyes with red gills in whole fish, and firm and springy flesh in filets or portions and firm, springy flesh when purchasing filets and portions.
Premium quality frozen seafood offers many of the same health benefits as fresh, including omega-3 fatty acids and proteins. When purchasing frozen seafood from trusted sources, proper handling and freezing methods must be adhered to; look out for vacuum-sealed packages marked “frozen at sea” to be sure that you are getting quality frozen fare.
Safety
Seafood is highly perishable, so proper handling and storage at cold temperatures are essential in maintaining its freshness and flavour. Fresh seafood should have the smell of the ocean instead of ammonia or “fishy,” be firm when touched but won’t mush when compressed, have clear eyes with bright red gills on whole fish and should close tightly when tapped if shellfish.
Frozen seafood can be just as safe and delicious as fresh if it is flash-frozen at its peak quality. New methods of freezing quickly chill seafood down to subzero temperatures, locking in nutrients, moisture, and flavour for optimal performance.
Premium frozen seafood is also eco-friendly, reducing carbon emissions in comparison with fresh. Transporting and flying fresh seafood requires much energy that emits CO2, leaving behind a larger carbon footprint than freezing and transporting frozen goods – look out for packages displaying country of origin information as well as those featuring green logos for greater eco-friendliness!
Sustainability
At a supermarket’s seafood counter, fresh cod fillets, salmon strips, and tuna steaks lie bedded on ice and beckon customers – while behind those glass doors lies those same fish, packaged and sealed for customer’s consumption in vacuum-sealed packages, awaiting customers in the freezer.
When purchasing frozen seafood, look for companies with an open and transparent sustainability policy on their website that describes their specific plans to source X% of seafood according to set standards by year X. One excellent tool available to consumers to evaluate environmental ratings and certifications is Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program – however not all companies use this resource, and others might not publish such ratings themselves. Although finding high-quality options can sometimes be challenging, rest assured that it will be worth it. Nothing compares to the taste of premium quality frozen seafood.