Temperature, period and storage conditions of shrimp (raw, boiled, frozen)

Seafood poisoning is one of the most severe types. We are waiting for the opportunity to enjoy the delicacies. Only instead of pleasure we end up in a hospital bed. To prevent this from happening, it is important to consume only fresh, high-quality products with a normal shelf life.

We'll tell you how long shrimp can be stored in the freezer, refrigerator, or at room conditions. At the same time, we will select suitable packaging and adjust the temperature regime. The first bells are signs of damage.

How to choose

When purchasing these crustaceans, you should pay attention to the general appearance of the shell. It should be evenly colored, without dark spots. The tails of crustaceans should be tucked. If the tails are straight, this may indicate that the shrimp died long before they were frozen. The yellow tint of the meat also does not indicate their freshness. Therefore, it is better not to buy such a product.

Unfortunately, since the early 70s of the last century, there have been a large number of shrimp farms in Indonesia, China, Vietnam, etc. On these farms, in pursuit of super-profits, these crustaceans are grown in cramped conditions. In this case, many crustaceans die, and the rest are in the same water and are maintained with the help of antibiotics, fungicides, organophosphates, etc. Such shrimp are simply dangerous to health, as they contain a large amount of toxic chemicals. Therefore, if you are not confident in the quality of the product, it is better not to buy it at all.

To avoid poisoning, you should not eat shrimp with the following symptoms:

• black head (an indicator of a serious illness of the crustacean);
• the presence of snow and ice in the packaging (probably the product was defrosted during transportation);
• unpleasant pungent odor.

A fresh, high-quality product should have the smell of the sea.

Peeled shrimp, despite their higher price, have a shorter shelf life than unpeeled shrimp. This also needs to be taken into account when purchasing them.

How to tell if seafood has gone bad

You should not try shrimp before purchasing. The taste of freshly frozen or boiled in this way is almost impossible to determine - solid ice. You should be guided by smell and appearance. Signs of damage:

1. Soft shell - easily pressed through with the slightest pressure.
2. When defrosting, the carcass disintegrates.
3. Dark spots appeared under the shell. Even one or two indicate the beginning of damage. It is advisable to look at the carcass in the light - then the inclusions are easier to notice.
4. An uneven pale pink tint of boiled or glazed carcasses, a white coating on the shell is a sign that the rules of freezing or storage were not followed.

Attention! One of the signs of loss of presentation is a blackened head. But the green head of freshly frozen or chilled shrimp indicates quality and naturalness. In their natural habitat, crustaceans feed on plankton, so this color is natural.

Yellowish stripes and pigment spots on chilled crustaceans are not signs of spoilage. But it is not recommended to buy them. This is a sign of age, and the meat of adult shrimp is tasteless - tough or flabby.

But the main indicator of quality is aroma. Tasty and fresh products smell of breeze, sea, algae and fish, while spoiled ones have an ammonia hue. Frozen shrimp should be slightly thawed before judging. If you are unable to purchase quality products, you should abandon the preparation.

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How long can shrimp be stored?

Fresh shrimp can be stored for no more than 3 days. Frozen, they will stay fresh for about 2 months. Although it is believed that the maximum shelf life of shrimp in the freezer is 4 months. It should be understood that after two months of storage in the freezer, the taste of these crustaceans significantly decreases. The meat becomes tough and tasteless. It is best to store shrimp in the freezer if they are wrapped in foil. This will extend their shelf life by 1 - 2 months.

Important! After just 2-3 months of storage in the freezer, crustacean meat will lose its taste and nutritional value.

• After defrosting, crustaceans can be stored on the refrigerator shelf for no more than 2 days.
• The shelf life of boiled shrimp is no more than 3 days in the refrigerator.

How to prepare fish for storage in the freezer?

Only fresh product that has been previously cleaned, gutted and washed can be frozen. Before placing the fish in the freezer, it is recommended to store it in the refrigerator, preferably on a bed of ice. Be sure to get rid of the scales on the carcass and gut it. And there are several reasons for this:

• firstly, after defrosting, the fish will become softer and it will be more difficult to clean it;
• secondly, the insides contribute to the rancidity of tissues, which negatively affects the taste of the prepared dish;
• thirdly, it is recommended to immediately divide fresh fish into fillets and steaks, and then freeze them in portions.

The manipulations listed above will save time on cutting the carcass and wisely use the space in the freezer.

Storage conditions

• Fresh shrimp should be stored in the refrigerator at a temperature of +2°C -+6°C for 3 days. When these crustaceans need to be preserved longer, they are frozen.
• Shrimp should be stored in the freezer at a temperature of at least -20°C. In such conditions they will be able to maintain their quality for up to 4 months.
• You can increase the shelf life in the refrigerator by placing crustaceans with seaweed and crushed ice in a colander. You can store shrimp this way for 4-5 days, provided they are placed on the top shelf of the refrigerator. Ice needs to be replaced as it melts.

How to Preserve Boiled Shrimp

Intoxication is caused not only by expired products, but also by the reagents with which they are treated to improve their presentation. You should not purchase ready-made shrimp with a shelf life of more than 90-120 days, even if they are beautiful and bright. It is unknown what they were soaked in during pre-sale preparation.

Products in the marinade should be eaten within 24 hours. Even if they look fresh, the process of decomposition has already begun in the tissues. Aromatic seasonings will make it difficult to determine by taste whether the crustaceans have begun to spoil.

Chilled

Not only storage temperature affects the shelf life of shrimp, but also the type of packaging.

1. The weighed product is wrapped in wax paper or foil. You cannot keep crustaceans in a plastic bag: they will quickly deteriorate.
2. Storing boiled shrimp in the refrigerator is almost the same as storing a fresh-frozen product. They differ only in the duration. You can keep boiled crustaceans on the refrigerator shelf for no more than 3 days.
3. Crustaceans have a specific smell. Therefore, they are kept in the refrigerator separately from other foods so that they do not absorb it.
4. To store this product, it is better to choose a cooler place in the refrigerator.

You can store shrimp in the refrigerator for a maximum of 5 days.

Criteria for choosing fresh fish

Not only its appearance and consistency are important, but also its smell. In the store, fresh fish carcasses should be on ice.

Appearance

What to look for when choosing a product:

• fresh fish does not bend, but elastically retains its straight shape;
• its scales are moist, shiny, undamaged, and adhere firmly to the skin;
• the eyes are clean, transparent, without a veil, not sunken;
• if large carcasses are sold in parts, they should not be reddened from blood residues and, especially, bruises.

Gills

For most popular types of fish, they should be red; for stale products, they should be gray, white, light brown, and the mouth should be closed.

Smell

The fresh product does not emit an unpleasant odor. A strong characteristic “aroma” is evidence of improper temperature conditions during transportation or storage.

Storage without refrigeration

At room temperature, fresh shrimp can spoil very quickly, in just a few hours.

But if there is a need to keep them without refrigeration, it is better to place the crustaceans in salt water. This will extend their freshness for another 2-3 hours.

To keep already chilled shrimp warm for as long as possible, they are wrapped in several layers of foil and put in the coolest place in the apartment, which is closed from sunlight.

Boiled shrimp are stored at room temperature for 2 – 4 hours. On average, these crustaceans will remain fresh for up to 5 hours without refrigeration.

Those crustaceans that lost their appetizing appearance during storage, and instead acquired an unpleasant odor and a light coating, most likely have spoiled. This product should not be eaten under any circumstances. Seafood poisoning is considered one of the most serious.

Signs of product spoilage

Factors indicating that the product is spoiled:

• yellow tint of meat - low-quality seafood;
• pungent, repulsive odor;
• straightened tails indicate that the crustaceans died before freezing;
• a black head and a deformed shell indicate that the shrimp was sick during life;
• snow and pieces of ice in packaging - non-compliance with transportation rules.

Fresh invertebrates exude the aroma of the sea. Shrimp is a perishable product, the storage of which should be given special attention. The main thing is to choose a quality product when purchasing.

General storage table

How long shrimp can be stored is a very important question. It is worth carefully monitoring the condition of seafood that you eat, so that you don’t end up in the hospital due to improper storage.

Tips for storing in the refrigerator

In order for the dish to remain fresh, you need to know how to store sushi in the refrigerator. The basic rules are quite simple.

1. If you are preparing a dish at home, choose only fresh ingredients for it, and buy lightly salted or smoked fish, but it is advisable to avoid frozen fish, because it is not known how long it lay in the refrigerator before the buyer found it.
2. Most rolls are prepared and served cold, but there is a type that is served hot; they cannot be stored and must be eaten immediately after cooking, otherwise they will lose their taste.
3. If you order Asian food at home, it is delivered in plastic boxes. The delicacy cannot be stored in such boxes, because the rice may become weathered and the dish will lose its taste.
4. If after a meal you have a few rolls left, they must be carefully placed on a plate and wrapped in cling film: it will prevent the rice from chapping and extend the shelf life of the dish.
5. When you order a product at home, check the tray in front of the courier and determine whether the product was brought to you fresh. If the rolls are fresh, the rice will be white and the filling will not be dry (it is very easy to visually distinguish fresh rolls from stale ones, just look at their appearance).
6. If you bought packaged sushi in a supermarket and do not want to eat it right away, check the expiration date of the product and open the tray immediately before eating it.
7. The product should only be kept in a cool place.

These tips will help preserve the taste of Japanese delicacies throughout their shelf life.

Do not store this dish for a long time (no more than a day), because it contains seafood and, if spoiled, can lead to serious poisoning of the body.

27 Jul 2022 edypravilno 1047