Seafood: When Is Frozen Better Than Fresh?
This Frozen Food Day (6th March) consider the benefits of choosing frozen seafood over fresh…
When is Frozen Better than Fresh?
There is nothing fresher than a freshly caught fish but when many of us don’t have direct access to a catch being landed on the shore, what is the best alternative?
Frozen produce is often associated with convenience food – what you might find in the supermarket freezer aisle. It’s an unfair assumption. The truth is there are many benefits to choosing frozen produce over fresh.
We have always favoured frozen seafood over fresh for our customers and here’s why you should consider a frozen catch:
Consider the Journey: From Shore To Door
The journey a fresh fish makes from sea to plate – being caught at sea, landed ashore, transported for processing, and finally distributed to the customer – can take days. A fresh fish can be days old by the time you see it to buy on the shelves.
Frozen products seal in freshness and flavour (particularly when Fresh-Frozen). Freezing also captures the vitamins and nutrients that will deteriorate over time in a fresh fish, prevents the rise in bacteria and helps maintain the overall quality and composition of the meat.
By choosing frozen, you are guaranteed the flavour, nutrition and quality of a freshly caught fish.
Convenience is King
Frozen fish has been processed and is ready for you to use! Our frozen seafood is filleted, de-boned and vac-packed meaning when it reaches you, most of the prep is done. You simply need to thaw and enjoy.
Choosing frozen also means you can stock up your freezer in advance with a variety of different fish and shellfish, leaving you ready to create a delicious seafood feast at a moment’s notice.
Check out our top tips for defrosting your seafood at the end of the blog.
Better for our Environment
For the sustainably-minded; we make great effort to source our seafood responsibly. It’s one of our key company values. Protecting our waters for future generations is important to us and we are proud to declare our haddock products MSC certified, meaning we pass the chain of sustainability on to you, our customers.
And in addition to our own frozen produce being sustainable, frozen products naturally have a smaller carbon footprint – they have a longer shelf life meaning so there is not the same urgency getting produce from shore to consumer before the seafood deteriorates. There is a positive environmental impact when we choose frozen over fresh.
Oh, and did we mention much of our packaging is fully recyclable; including the vac packs, cardboard boxes and dry ice.
Variety is the Spice of Life
Seafood is seasonal. There are times of year certain fish can be naturally of a lesser quality or simply unavailable. Frozen food stocks mean you can enjoy amazing fish and shellfish from Scottish waters all year round. That’s the beauty of a frozen larder.
Great Value
The cost of amazing fresh seafood is subject to supply and demand. We can only predict to a point what will be available at market each week and have no control over its value. Frozen seafood is far more stable in its price point and so savvy buyers may find at times they get more for their money choosing frozen!
So there you have it – frozen doesn’t mean it’s a lesser product and being fresh doesn’t automatically mean better quality.
That being said, our great location at the heart of Peterhead harbour, working with local vessels and producers means you can be sure your fresh seafood ordered from Amity Fish Co is as fresh as we can get it from our shore to your door!)
What’s your preference? Will you be making the switch to frozen?
Top Tips for Defrosting Your Catch
FISH
Place in refrigerator overnight OR for speed you can use the cold-water method – keeping the fish in it’s sealed vac pac, run under running cold water or place in bowl of cold water, changing the water until fully defrosted. This process can take anything from 15 minutes to an hour depending on the size of fish)
SHELLFISH (LOBSTER/LANGOUSTINE IN SHELL)
Skipper recommends a rapid defrost under cold running water as the shell protects the flesh!
PEELED LANGOUSTINE
Leave out at ambient temperatures or in a fridge.
IMPORTANT: Cook the seafood as soon as defrosted and keep frozen fish for no longer than 3 months. Do not refreeze defrosted seafood products.
