Seafood will stay fresh longer if kept cold. When shopping for fresh seafood use a chiller bag/esky or you can ask your fishmonger to pack some ice with your purchase.
Fish, Crustaceans and Molluscs
- Scale, clean, gut and rinse, place in a plastic bag on a plate or tray or in a covered container.
- Use fish within 2-3 days.
- Live crustaceans and shells such as mussels should be consumed as soon as possible after purchase. Place in a container, cover with damp butcher's paper and keep in the warmest part of the refrigerator (optimum 5°C) eg the crisper.
Freezer Storage
- Fish
- All fish should be scaled, gutted, gilled and rinsed prior to freezing
- Place in an airtight freezer bag, label and date
- Fish can be frozen for up to 6 months (oily fish, fillets/cutlets 3 months) providing your freezer operates at -18°C or less
- Crustaceans and Molluscs
- Gut and clean squid, cuttlefish and octopus before freezing
- Place prawns unpeeled in a plastic container appropriate to the volume of prawns. Cover with water, seal and freeze. This forms a large block that insulates the prawns. Do not add salt as it draws out the moisture.
- Wrap in plastic, label, date and freeze for up to 3 months, providing your freezer operates at -18°C or less
- Gut and clean squid, cuttlefish and octopus before freezing
