How to Buy and Store Seafood

The first rule is to always buy seafood from a reputable fishmonger who is busy—that is, whose inventory turns over quickly. The simplest freshness test for any fish or shellfish you’re thinking of buying is to use your nose. Seafood should smell fresh and not fishy. Unfortunately, much of what we buy in the market today has been prepackaged in plastic, so the smell test doesn’t work in that case. Because of that, I generally avoid prepackaged raw seafood and suggest you do too. For seafood that isn’t prepackaged, it’s perfectly okay to ask the seller to let you sniff the seafood before buying. If they refuse, then go someplace else.