Storage rules for fresh, dried, salted and smoked fish. How long can I store the product in the refrigerator?

Fish is one of the most important ingredients in the diet of modern humans. To enjoy its taste, get all the elements necessary for life and not become a victim of food poisoning, you need to know how to store fish at home. In modern stores, the product can be found in fresh, frozen, salted, dried and smoked form, canned food and semi-finished products are made from it. When processing and storing fish, you can be guided by the recommendations on the label. But subject to a number of conditions, it is possible to extend standard periods or reduce the risk of premature product spoilage, which often happens with food components processed industrially.

Storage rules for fresh fish

A freshly caught product with a clean smell, freshly removed from the ice in a special refrigerator, is best prepared immediately. If it doesn’t work out within a couple of hours, the question arises of how to save the fish until cooking, and not ruin its texture.

Ideally, the component should go through the following stages of preparation:

1. The carcass must be cleaned and gutted, washed thoroughly under running cold water. At the same time, it must be washed not only outside but also inside until the liquid becomes clean.
2. We take paper towels and blot the ingredient inside and out.
3. Place it in a clean, dry bowl, cover with cling film or a tightly fitting lid. We put on the middle shelf in the refrigerator or to where the temperature ranges from 0º to + 3ºС.
4. If the storage of fish is expected to take at least 24 hours, it is necessary to treat it with large table salt. This component can be replaced with lemon juice, in which case the meat will be pickled additionally and will become softer.

Even with all of the above conditions, storing fresh fish in the refrigerator for more than two days is extremely dangerous. If all the deadlines have passed, then you need to make sure once again the freshness of the product and freeze it by first wrapping it in a plastic bag.

Tip

If there is a lot of fresh fish and in any case you need to freeze it, there is no point in pre-cleaning the carcasses. You can gut them, rinse and dry thoroughly, wrap in polyethylene and put on ice in the freezer. Scales partially protect the fibers and after cooking the dish will be very tender.

In the freezer, the fish retains its qualities up to several months. It is better to defrost it in the refrigerator, in extreme cases, at room temperature. Exposure to heat and water, especially hot, is highly undesirable. Repeated freezing is excluded, this increases the risk of spoilage of the product and impairs its taste.

Uncleaned carcasses and fillets are stored separately, otherwise the bacteria from the scales will move to unprotected meat, accelerating its damage. Fish and dairy products in the refrigerator should be placed away from each other, otherwise their smells will mix.

Storing smoked fish?

Smoked fish, subjected to the cold processing method, retains its qualities for 10 days, if wrapped in parchment paper before placing it in the cold. Hot smoked product can be kept in the refrigerator for no more than three days. At the same time, you must take into account how many days or hours the product has already lain on the counter in the store.

Not everyone knows that it is allowed to freeze smoked fish, then its shelf life is extended to three months.There is another unusual approach - they prepare salt water, soak a clean cloth in it and wrap the product in it. In this case, it will lie on the middle shelf in the refrigerator for at least a month. Fish fillets can be stored for no more than a week. After cutting it into pieces, the period is reduced to three days.

Regardless of how you decide to store the fish, you need to regularly inspect the product for discoloration, mold, and odor deterioration.

How to store dried and salted fish?

Properly processed stockfish can be stored for a long time, salt acts as a reliable natural preservative. The product is wrapped in parchment or laid out in a glass jar with a lid. In this form, it can lie in the refrigerator or in a dry, cold, dark place for a whole year. But we must not forget that climatic conditions can make adjustments in these terms. Residents of areas with very hot climates are better off not taking risks and use a freezer to store dried products.

Tip

Before storing fish in a newspaper, you should think about the critical level of lead content in printing pages. Even if it seems that the surface of the fish is so dry that it cannot absorb anything, the risk of accumulation of industrial poisons in the fibers is very high.

Often there are disputes about how much salt fish can be stored. It all depends on the environment and the amount of salt used in the preparation.

• Lightly salted salmon of industrial or home salting is stored for no more than three days.
• Vacuum-packed product can last up to a month.
• Herring in a weak or concentrated brine can be stored for two to four weeks. The higher the salt level, the longer the time.
• Fatty mackerel is treated in a special way, so salted fish is stored for about 10 days.
• Any fish treated with concentrated saline is allowed to keep in the refrigerator for up to a month without the need for freezing. Products of medium salinity and marinades are stored for no more than two weeks. Lightly salted fish will begin to deteriorate in a week.
• The carcasses, cut into pieces, can be kept in the cold for up to three months, but first they need to be poured with vegetable oil.

You need to clearly know how much and how it is allowed to store salted fish. This is not the case when you should be based on your own feelings. The strong smell of brine is able to interrupt the first signs of spoilage of the product, which as a result will result in food poisoning. Even if the product looks attractive, it does not differ in taste or smell from fresh, it is better to throw it away if the recommended deadlines have already passed.

Refrigerated principles for ready-made fish dishes

The question of how to preserve fish, which was subjected not only to primary, but also to heat treatment, is no less relevant among housewives. As it turns out, few people adhere to the recommended parameters. The finished dish can indeed be stored for some time at room temperature, but this figure should not exceed a couple of hours. Even from the festive table, if the product did not quickly disperse, you need to remove it after the specified time. It is allowed to keep prepared fish in the refrigerator for no more than two days.

With the development of the popularity of Japanese cuisine, many began to prepare sushi and rolls at home. In this case, only a few know exactly how much you can store blanks and the final product. Ideally, sushi cases are used for this. But even in them uncut blanks can be kept no more than a day. Non-eaten ready-made rolls should not be stored at all, especially if raw fish was used in their preparation.