Why is the fish meat red?

Fish is one of the meats we often eat in our lives, mainly providing our bodies with sufficient protein. Fish meat is tender and nutritious and has high nutritional value. Studies have shown that people with fish meat are healthier and live longer. However, sometimes we will find that the fish we buy is red. What is the reason? Many people are worried whether the fish has gone bad or for other reasons.

There may be two reasons.

One is that after being caught on the shore, the fish struggled too much, causing the muscles to swell, and then died quickly. The blood could not be dispersed, so the color of the meat turned red.

Second, the blood in the blood vessels of the fish meat is stored at low temperature before it is kept warm, and the blood vessels contract, causing the blood to be squeezed out of the blood vessels, so it turns red.

Don’t eat fish that is too red or too white. 9 tips for eating fish:

1. Do not eat fish that is too red or too white

Fish come in different varieties, such as red meat fish like tuna and white meat fish like hairtail. However, if the color of the fish is too bright red or bright white, it is likely due to the dye.

2. Choose the one that is "eight points big"

The size of the fish determines its taste and safety. If the fish is too small, it has not yet grown to maturity, the meat is not tender enough, and there will be a lot of fish bones. If the fish is too big, it means that the fish is old, the meat is rough, and a lot of harmful substances may have accumulated in the body.

Therefore, when buying fish, it is more appropriate to choose those that are about 80% large. For example, carp and Wuchang fish should be 1.5 jin, crucian carp 0.5 jin to 1 jin, and grass carp 4 to 5 jin.

3. Do not buy fish with cloudy and sunken eyes or gray gills.

When buying "fresh frozen fish", you should first observe its eyes and gills. The eyeballs of fresh fish are plump, the cornea is transparent and clear, and the gill filaments are distinct and bright red.

Secondly, the eyeballs of fresh fish are not full, the cornea is wrinkled and slightly turbid, sometimes the eyes are red due to bleeding, and the gills become dark gray-red or gray-purple.

The eyeballs of rotten fish are collapsed or shriveled, the cornea is wrinkled or cracked, and the gills are brown or grayish white.

4. Kill the fish and let it sit before eating

The quality of fish meat right after being slaughtered is not the best, because the fish meat will go through a "acid removal" process and needs to be left for a while to become more delicious.

Small fish such as grass carp and silver carp should be refrigerated immediately and cooked after 2 hours; large fish need to be refrigerated for more than 2 hours.

5. The color of the water in the water tank is not right, do not select

When buying live fish in the supermarket, look at the "water color". Because it reflects the quality of the water. If it is dark green or blue, it may be due to excessive algae, which means that the water has not been changed or the water tank has not been cleaned for a long time, which may affect the health of the fish. Fish in a tank with clear, flowing water are generally more lively.

6. Don’t buy if the price is too low

The price is ridiculously low, so you have to consider the source, quality, and safety of the fish. Eating spoiled fish can pose a great health risk.

7. Eat sashimi after freezing

There may be parasites in sashimi. Parasites have poor resistance to heat and low temperatures and can be killed after being frozen at minus 20°C for 24 hours. However, the ice cubes under the sashimi plates are completely ineffective in killing parasites.

Therefore, fish can only be eaten raw if you are confident enough about the source of the raw materials.

8. Try to steam it

Among all cooking methods, steaming is the healthiest. It uses a lower cooking temperature and less oil, which can well protect most of the nutrients in the fish from being destroyed.

When boiling or stewing, some of the nutrients in the fish may be lost in the soup.

Grilling has a high temperature and is prone to produce harmful substances. In addition, a lot of oil is used in grilling fish, which destroys the healthy low-fat characteristics of fish.

Deep-frying contains more oil and causes greater damage to the nutrition of fish, so it is not recommended.

9. Don’t eat pickled food

Aquatic products may contain more nitrite. During the drying or pickling process, some of the protein in them decomposes to produce amines, which combine with nitrite to form nitrosamines, which have a certain carcinogenic risk.