After learning about flash frozen seafood, I may never buy fresh seafood again unless I’m at the coast.

Unless you purchase fresh seafood from a coastal market, the “fresh” fish you’re getting may actually be several days old. Fishing boats generally stay out for a few days at a time. So if the particular fish you purchase was one of the first caught, it will be a couple of days old by the time it gets to the processor, then even older by the time it is shipped to your town and put in your local grocer’s freezer.

Flash frozen fish, however, are frozen within 2 hours of the catch. It is a process that takes about 3 seconds and is done on the fishing vessel at sea. So, the fish are caught, gutted ∨ filleted, & frozen all on board. The idea is to instantly freeze all the water in the flesh of the fish so that the “fresh” texture, flavor, and aroma are preserved.

A flash frozen fish should have a somewhat shiny appearance, be rock hard, and have no white freezer burn marks on it.