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"Superfreezing is a relatively new technology that was developed in the 1990’s that drops the core temperature of a 500 pound tuna to minus 70 degrees below zer
by tremendo 9y ago
"Superfreezing is a relatively new technology that was developed in the 1990’s that drops the core temperature of a 500 pound tuna to minus 70 degrees below zero."
Found this part interesting. I worked for a short while in fisheries in the mid to late 90s, and graded fish for Sushi. There/then fish was iced, not frozen, as soon as captured to slow their metabolism, reduce any after-effects of stress, a cut is made so they also bleed, and die faster and as peacefully as possible. They are kept long enough to allow for rigor mortis (I guess what this article refers to aging), so when it ends it results in soft, melts-in-your-mouth meat. But no, not frozen, not for the "No. 1" destined for best clients. Lesser (cheaper) restaurants yes, frozen, older, lower quality fish.
This article refers to the US, and yes most of it is far, far away from the coast, and only way is to freeze it to distribute it such long distances. Unless flown in, obviously making the product much more expensive. So sure, as title says "Most sushi fish isn't fresh". In the same way, most sushi isn't the best sushi. And in many cases it doesn't really matter, if you want a quick and still yummy meal.
For tuna you can readily tell, even if you haven't trained your sense of smell, by the color. Most tuna here in the US you can see it a matte pink, instead of deep, alive, blood-like red, and you know right away it's been frozen.
Anyway, it seems to me the article gives the idea that freshness doesn't matter at all for sushi. I disagree.
- exhilaration 9y agoMost tuna here in the US you can see it a matte pink, instead of deep, alive, blood-like red, and you know right away it's been frozen. I thought it was red because it's treated with carbon monoxide? http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/06/dining/tunas-red-glare-it-could-be-carbon-monoxide.html http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/06/dining/tunas-red-glare-it-...
- tremendo 9y agoLOL yes, it seems they've found a way to game it. There's still the smell test, I hope. The point still stands, it's easy to tell by the pink color when tuna has been frozen.
- mabramo 9y agoSome tuna actually is red, though. For example, yellow fin tuna. Caught one last month and when I got home my brother and I made sashimi... Meaning that we cut it into slices and ate it. It was so, so good. I still like it after it's been frozen, but it's no longer good for sashimi.
- jpatokal 9y agoFor tuna, the color reflects the fat content. Maguro/akami ("red flesh") is red & lean, and stays that way even if frozen. Chutoro is pink & fattier, while otoro is light pink & extremely fatty. (It was fed to cats in the olden das, before tastes changed and it became an expensive delicacy.) Brown tuna has oxidised and you should steer clear of it, but this is not a common sight these days. Also, essentially all commercially sold tuna has been flash-frozen, because it's caught in the deep ocean. That famous tuna auction in Tsukiji? All frozen, every last one. FWIW, I've had locally caught, non-frozen tuna a couple of times. It's good, but while the texture is different, it's just firmer, not necessarily better.