Why fish spoils so fast

Why does fish go bad so quickly - and what can you do about it?

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘁𝘆-𝗴𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘁𝘆:

𝗢𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 (𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲) 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀:

𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿-𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰:
Brian Himelbloom, Associate Professor (retired) at the Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks

MinuteFood is created by Kate Yoshida & Arcadi Garcia, and produced by Neptune Studios LLC.

[NominalJoe]

The fact that fridge temperature is basically the same environment for the fish (and everything on it) is such a revelation, I can't believe I didn't realize it before. Thank you!

[naga]

As a chemistry and biology teacher, I have to give you a BIG THANK YOU for answering a question that I never even realized I should've been asking. It all makes so much sense now, like why fish are so full of unsaturated fats as opposed to land dwellers. Your channel is awesome, and the simple act of listing your sources makes it a great food science learning resource, if only to just raise interest! Please keep up the good work, I'm definitely going to show this to my students!

[burgersnchips]

The fact the fish-counter at the supermarket always stinks is why I always buy frozen fish. You're buying a food item that has already started decomposition, even if those smell chemicals are technically non-harmful. Having it frozen doesn't affect the flavour or texture and you proved that by advocating for freezing it in your fridge with that convoluted method.

[HeroDarkStorn]

I was always told, living in sea-less country, that logistics is the primary reason for fish spoiling faster than other meat.
Though eventually I learned that we get corn from America, wheats from Africa, pork from Spain while actually having few local "sea fish" sources (grown in factory-like things), the theory was quite weak even before watching this video, but only now everything clicks logically. So thank you for putting it all together!

[MadMadCommando]

Modern flash freezing is amazing at preserving fresh tastes and textures. I think most meat and fish for sale should be sold frozen to reduce food waste. Maybe you could do a video advocating for giving frozen food a better name?

[starfish]

As a chemical engineers whom has worked in QA within the Food Industry for nearly 5 years, I knew most of this based on deduction, but not to this depth of analysis. Great job, thank you.

[Phlegethon]

I didn't even know you can keep your fish in your fridge, I thought everyone just put fresh fish in the freezer immediately.

[TheoEvian]

This explains a lot why the Japanese care about freshness of fish so much they eat it raw right after filleting (sashimi) or after slightly heat-rendering it (tataki). They just don't want it to turn bad. This is also why you can buy living crabs or scallops in Japanese supermarkets (even though smaller fish shops are probably better if you know where to find them, I was probably in too big of a city and too lazy to do so) - not only they taste better fresh, they last longer too!

[satansamael]

The spoilage factors can be controlled to “dry age” fish at home reasonably easily by freezing it. This works for cold water fish more since you aren’t shutting down all the microbes all the way allowing for the aging process to happen. The freezing in this case makes it easier to control the flavor profile because the age flavor accumulates slowly enough to select for certain flavors.
Also, even though biologically fishes are cold blooded, culinarily speaking, there’re fishes that are considered warm blooded(eg. tuna, swordfish, marlin etc). The reason why it’s considered warm blooded is the ability to spontaneously generate warmth for quick bursts of energy. Those fishes are ok for the fridge but not exactly as long as other meats.

[rogerszmodis]

I only buy fish that is still frozen. Many suppliers can process and freeze the fish right on the boat and if not that they do it at the docks. And even the fresh fish at the store was frozen at some point in the supply chain. More accurately it’s pre-thawed, not fresh. Unless you live right at the shore you probably don’t ever get fresh fish.

[Agnsticus]

- EDIT: Nevermind, it is based on PLA with bamboo fibers.

So as far as I know, anything made from bamboo needs glue to get the smaller bamboo into shape. Now, coffee cups made from bamboo are known to migrate those harmful glues into the coffee. How is that prevented in these bamboo dishes?

[chiranths]

Love all your vids. pls continue the great work

[thezanzibarbarian]

Here's something you might be interested in with regard to fish.
30+ years ago I used to do fly fishing for Trout. I'd catch my limit of three fish, take them home and my mum (RIP) would cook them that evening. The Trout tasted wonderful.
My father (RIP) was a marine biologist. Now he told me something decades ago that I remember to this date and refers to freshly caught and cooked fish.
_"When a fish is caught and out of the water, within 24 hours most of the sugars in it's muscles have started to turn into starch. Freezing it just slows that process down. It won't stop it. So the fresher the fish, the better it tastes."_

[samsadowitz]

As a professional in the seafood field looking at these comments...


MY TIME HAS COME!!!

[arifhossain]

so in summary...
to keep fish fresher, popsicle them.

[antonventer]

Hi
I earned my PhD in Food Chemistry recently and would love to consult or write for your channel. You have great content and I love your videos. Not many youtube channels go into Food Science. So thank you very much!

[UnDeaDCyBorg]

Dunno why this was recommended (ok, I actually have a decent idea), but I'll jump on the heap of people writing they never really asked this question, and are still glad to have it asnwered.
In hindsight, it's kind of obvious, actually.
Unexpectedly educational.

[jaamacdagaale]

i love fish and Chemistry and this channel has both explained. thanks

[loyomks]

I wanted to get better at cooking by learning the processes behind food and cooking so, I found minute food.

[goyoroth]

Really interesting topic that anticipated my every question from whether warmer water fish spoil slower to the segue into the plates at the end! Rarely has an ad been more suited to content.