Author: Joe Fowler
Time for reading: ~2
minutes
Last Updated:
January 27, 2026
Fish is one of the most favorite products on our tables, and there are even fans who prefer this product to any meat.
Fish is one of the most favorite products on our tables, and there are even fans who prefer this product to any meat. Unfortunately, we do not live in a seaside area, and often we have to buy not fresh fish, but frozen.
Fish is a perishable product, and often unscrupulous sellers, using this, slip not the highest quality products. Under the ice crust and in the "oak" state, it is very difficult to recognize how good the product is, and sometimes you can buy fish of very poor quality. Another disadvantage of frozen fish is that if frozen and stored improperly, the beneficial properties “float away” along with the ice. Re-freezing turns even the most expensive and delicious fish into a useless and even harmful product.
We share 5 rules for choosing frozen fish.
Rule number one tells us that the first thing to pay attention to is the packaging. It must be airtight and transparent. The package must indicate the place where the fish was caught and packaged. It will be important to clarify the composition, in fact, there should be only water and fish, but you can often see in the composition of the additive, for example, polyphosphate, which retains moisture.
Rule number two: if you see that the carcasses of the fish are stuck to each other, you can safely pass by. This is the first sign that the fish was re-frozen, and the quality is no longer even worth talking about.
Another indicator of the quality of fish can be called ice. Look closely, if the ice is in cracks and bumps, refuse to buy, this is a sign that the product has been frozen and thawed several times. And if the ice is yellowish or cloudy, then this is an exact sign that the fish was frozen already stale.
An important rule when choosing a frozen fish is the type in which the fish is frozen: it is better to buy a whole carcass, not a fillet. At best, the fillet may turn out to be a “fake”, and instead of cod, they will slip you tilapia. At worst: quite often in the fillet, the bones are not removed manually, and the fish is simply poured with a chemical composition that corrodes the bones.
Follow these simple rules, and you will always have delicious fish of excellent quality on your table.