Fresh vs. Frozen Fish at the "Fresh" Fish counter in the supermarket?!
Fresh vs. Frozen Fish at the "Fresh" Fish counter in the supermarket?
I am a bit confused on this. In the past years all the big supermarkets around here (NE Ohio) have added fresh fish counters. But, the fish is usually frozen when they first put it out, so what makes it any fresher then just buying it streight out of the freezer?
Answers:
Presumably, the grocery store has followed sanitation procedures in properly thawing the fish (which you might not do at home), but other than that, there is no difference whether you buy it frozen and thaw it yourself or buy it fresh/previously frozen from the case. Always look for the magic words "previously frozen" to indicate which items are legitimately "fresh" and which ones are thawed for you. Also, many grocery stores list the points of origin for their seafood. If it came from Vietnam or Thailand, it's previously frozen. Don't be afraid to ask the store fish monger what day something came in or where something came from!
As a former employer of mine once said, "Friends don't let friends eat frozen fish!"