Buying
wholesale seafood online is quick and easy but there are risks involved.
Buying anything in a wholesale quantity means you’re going to
get a lot of it. Consequently, if you receive an inferior product, you’re
stuck with a lot of inferior product. Generally, wholesale seafood refers
to an amount of ten pounds or more. The biggest problem with ordering
seafood online, wholesale or otherwise is that it doesn’t allow
you to personally inspect the product.
It’s not likely you’ll get stuck with something you didn’t
want, but quality may be another story. When it comes to seafood, freshness
is tantamount to quality. Most seafood, particularly wholesale amounts
are shipped frozen. The true freshness of the food will only be revealed
after it has thawed. Anyone buying food on the Internet would be wise
to look for a site with some kind of satisfaction guarantee.
Even after it has been frozen, shipped and thawed, fish should display
certain characteristics associated with freshness. Different fish exude
different odors, but no matter what the species it should smell clean
and fresh when raw. Even an untrained nose should know when something
isn’t quite right. Coloration of the flesh is another good indicator.
There should be a solid, even hue throughout. Depending on the variety,
meat should appear as clear white, red, pink or orange. If scales have
not been removed they should also be brightly colored and firmly attached
to the meat. When you touch the fish, it should bounce back. If your
finger leaves a dent in the fish, or if it is too tough to even respond
something is awry. Scales or skin should be very moist, almost to the
point of being slippery. The flesh should also have a moist look and
feel. A similar inspection can be made to determine freshness of other
types of seafood as well.
Most often wholesale seafood will already be divided into some kind
of portions. This makes preparation less of a mess and cooking a snap.
Crab meat will often be extracted, shrimp will be cleaned and fish will
be cut into filets or steaks. If this is not the case and you have procured
whole fish, there are a couple more signs of freshness to check for.
For example, gills should be bright red, clean and moist. The eyes should
appear clear and bright.
Buying smaller quantities of seafood is a good practice to assure
fresh, quality fish. This is especially true if you’re in the
market for shellfish. Lobsters, crabs, oysters and other varieties
can be bought and shipped to your door still alive. Nothing says fresh
like a live sea creature. Generally speaking, live animals are not
available in wholesale quantities. They have to be shipped in specially
designed packaging, and putting too many of them together in a delivery
truck is a recipe for disaster.