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• Compared to other meats, the muscle tissue of most fish is relatively weak, making it an easy mark for bacteria living on the surface of the fish or those in the air. To inhibit bacterial growth, it’s a good idea to rinse a fish off in lightly salted water before it is stored. This will destroy any surface bacteria and inhibit more from growing. About 1 teaspoon of salt in 1 cup of water will help keep fish fresher without altering its flavor.

• Keep fish cold. It is best to keep fish under refrigeration packed in ice, but this is good only if the fish is in a perfo-rated container so that water from the melting ice can drip away. The perforated container could be a large colander or a vegetable grill tray. Never store fish directly in water. If you don’t have a perforated container, wrap the fish loosely in a plastic bag and place it over ice. Change the ice as needed. Even with these precautions, fish should be used within one to two days of purchase.

• It is never preferable to freeze fish. Freezing breaks down the tissue of all foods, and if that tissue was weak to begin with, as it is in fish, the damage can be drastic. However, if you must freeze fish, make sure it is as fresh as possible. An old fish will not become fresher in the freezer. Clean it well and wrap it tightly in plastic and then in a layer of paper or foil. Freeze the fish quickly; the faster it freezes solid, the less damage will be done. In fact, if you know before you buy it that you will have to freeze a fish, either delay buying it or buy it already frozen. Commercially frozen fish are processed immediately after they are caught, and they are flash frozen to a solid state, so the results will be better than those you can achieve at home.

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02. Shellfish

Unlike fish that swim, shellfish don’t have an internal skeleton, and consequently they don’t move around much. There are two main groups: crustaceans and mollusks. Crustaceans include lobsters, crabs, crayfish, and shrimp. Mollusks are made up of single-shelled animals like abalone; double-shelled animals like mussels, clams, oysters, and scallops; and animals that have internalized their shells, namely squid and octopus.

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CRUSTA CEANS

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Crustaceans are part of the largest phylum or group, Arthropoda, which includes most insects. Like insects, crustaceans have segmented exoskeletons that protect and support their muscles and organs, as well as several appendages adapted to swimming, walking, and hunting. Crustaceans are composed of two sections. The head, or cephalothorax, is forward and corresponds to our head and torso; the tail, or abdomen, is usually the larger part, composed of a strong, meaty muscle used for swimming. The exception to this structure is the crab, which has a large cephalothorax, but because it doesn’t swim, its abdomen consists of a thin plate that tucks under the thorax.

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CRUSTACEAN BODY STRUCTURES

1. Shrimp

a. Cephalothorax (head)

b. Abdomen (tail)

2. Crab

a. Cephalothorax (head)

b. Abdomen (tail)

3. Lobster

a. Cephalothorax (head)

b. Abdomen (tail)

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In order for crustaceans to grow, they must periodically molt or shed their shells. To make the transition, the animal forms a tough cuticle over its body, crawls from its shell, and pumps itself up with water (up to twice its original body weight) to stretch the cuticle to its maximum size. Gradually, the cuticle mineralizes and hardens, forming a new shell with enough room for growth.

Molting means that the flesh of wild crustaceans varies seasonally, with large, dense muscles right before molting and meat that is more than half water immediately afterward. In general, crustaceans are considered inedible once they’ve shed their shells, except for soft-shell crabs, which are watched carefully and removed from the water as soon as they shed their shells, to ensure that the new cuticle does not have a chance to harden.

Crustaceans are highly perishable, spoiling within hours of death. For that reason, lobsters and crabs are always