How to choose a good hairtail

Selecting fresh and high-quality hairtail requires observing its appearance, odor, elasticity, and other characteristics, mainly including clear fish eyes, bright red gills, intact fish body, fresh odor, and fast rebound when pressed.

1. Clear Fish Eyes

Fresh hairtail has full and protruding eyeballs, transparent and clear corneas, and no turbidity or whitening phenomenon. If the fish eyes are sunken, the pupils turn gray or covered with white film, it indicates that they have been stored for a long time. After the death of hairtail, the eyeballs gradually become cloudy, which is one of the important criteria for judging freshness.

2. The gills of high-quality hairtail fish are bright red or dark red in color, without any mucus or odor. Opening the gill cover for observation, if the gill filaments appear dark and brown in color, adhered into clusters, or have a pungent fishy odor, it indicates that the hairtail has begun to decay and deteriorate. The color change of gills reflects freshness faster than that of the fish body.

3. Fish body intact

Fresh hairtail has a silver white shiny surface, tightly adhered scales without shedding, and intact abdomen without damage. If the surface of the fish turns yellow, silver powder falls off, or the abdomen ruptures, it may have undergone repeated freeze-thaw cycles or improper storage. Pay attention to checking whether the fish belly is intact, as damaged areas are prone to bacterial growth.

4. Fresh odor

Normal hairtail has a slight sea odor and no strong odor. If you smell pungent odors such as sourness or ammonia water, it indicates that proteins have decomposed to produce substances such as histamine. The appearance of a strange odor after thawing frozen hairtail often indicates that it was no longer fresh before freezing.

5. Fast rebound when pressed

Gently press the fish body with your fingers, and the fresh hairtail meat is firm and elastic. After pressing, it can quickly return to its original state. If there are obvious indentations left after pressing and the recovery is slow, it indicates that the muscle tissue is beginning to relax and deteriorate. The elastic changes in the belly of fish are the most sensitive and can be used as a key examination area.

After purchasing hairtail, it is recommended to process and consume it as soon as possible. It should be refrigerated for no more than two days, and frozen storage should be sealed to avoid repeated thawing. Before cooking, salt water can be used to soak and remove fishy odors. Steaming, braising, and other methods can maximize the retention of nutrients. People with spleen and stomach deficiency and cold should control their consumption, while those with allergies should try with caution. Choose regular supermarkets or seafood markets to purchase, and avoid choosing products with unknown sources or abnormally low prices.