With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I know some of you are planning a homemade sushi dinner. Whether this is your first time or you’re a seasoned pro, making sushi at home can be simple, fun, and rewarding. I’ve written before on how to make sushi rolls and Adrianna recently did a post on temaki, but the question I get asked the most is some version of “how do I know if the fish at my store is safe to eat raw?”. The term “sushi-grade” is often tossed around to imply some level of freshness, but in the US, there’s no regulation around the use of the phrase, so it can be used to describe anything. That said, most stores aren’t in the business of getting their customers sick, so they usually reserve the label for their freshest fish. Unfortunately, just because it’s fresh doesn’t mean it’s safe to eat raw. Some fish, such as salmon, contain parasites that will make you sick unless they’ve been destroyed. Another potential problem is cross-contamination.

This happens when “sushi-grade” fish gets cut on the same cutting board or using the same knife or handled with the same gloves as non-sushi-grade fish. If your fishmonger is storing unwrapped sushi-grade fish in the same refrigerated case as non-sushi-grade fish, this should be a big red flag. For fish that contain parasites, the FDA provides guidance under their Parasite Destruction Guarantee. This states in part that fish intended to be consumed raw must be “frozen and stored at a temperature of -20°C (-4°F) or below for a minimum of 168 hours (7 days)”. Cross contamination is a bigger issue. Because most stores don’t sell a high enough volume of fish intended to be eaten raw, they don’t maintain a separate space for handling their “sushi-grade” fish. What’s worse, because tuna is such a large fish, most stores don’t deal with whole tuna, they buy them pre-filleted, which means you have to take into consideration not only the stores handling of the fish, but their supplier’s handling of the fish as well.

Ultimately, what it comes down to is how much you trust your fishmonger to understand the best practices for handling fish meant to be consumed raw, and how much they trust their suppliers to hold the same standards. sushi grade fish sonoma countyHere are a few things to remember when buying fish to ensure you have a safe and delicious sushi-dinner:jiro dreams of sushi chinese subtitles Observe and see for yourself whether they’re cutting their sushi-grade fish on the same cutting board as their other fish, without changing gloves or disinfecting their knife and board first.sushi conveyor belt illinois Ask whether they fillet the fish you’re looking to buy themselves, or if they’re getting them pre-filleted.watch jiro dreams of sushi online english subtitles

If you are buying salmon, ask if they can produce logs that show the times and temperatures that the fish was frozen.yo sushi franchise south africa If you can’t find a local place you can trust with raw fish, why not try filling your sushi with vegetables, cooked fish, or even meat. how do you get the sushi bar in the simpsons tapped outCalifornia Rolls and Caterpillar Rolls may not be traditional, but that doesn’t make them any less delicious!jiro dreams of sushi boringFor Marc, food is a life long journey of exploration, discovery and experimentation and he shares his escapades through his blog in the hopes that he inspires others to find their own culinary adventures.

Marc’s been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today, and has made multiple appearances on NPR and the Food Network. Sign up or log in to customize your list. Here's how it works: Anybody can ask a question The best answers are voted up and rise to the top Is it safe to consume raw fish purchased at the fish counter of a typical suburban grocery store? If not, do you have any tips for finding sushi grade fish. food-safety fish sushi salmon japanese-cuisine Not being aware of your location, some general tips: 1) Buy your fish from a fishmonger, and tell him/her what you are using it for. You want to do business with somebody who's business is selling fish and only selling fish. They are going to know what's been stored to eaten raw standards in a way that the just above minimum wage fish guy at your grocery store doesn't. 2) Don't buy it early. Buy it the day you mean to consume it or the day that you going to prep it.

This question can help walk you through that 3) Take a cooler to get your fish. You have to maintain the freshness, that means not allowing it raise in temperature anymore than you have to. I wouldn't trust anything from a grocery-store fish counter to be fit for raw consumption.I've never bought anything from them, but it looks like they're probably a good source if you want to buy online. If you're in the SF Bay Area, there are a number of places to buy it. I usually go to Tokyo Fish Market on San Pablo in Berkeley. Living far away from the ocean for much of my life- fishmongers and freshly caught fish are hard to come by. Luckily that doesn't matter that much. The freshest fish are the ones that are frozen on the boat they are caught on. Suburban grocery store fish counters can sell you frozen fish in small quantities. I buy tuna or salmon steaks in .5 pound portions. They make excellent and very fresh tasting sushi when thawed. It will keep indefinitely when solidly frozen but as soon as you thaw it the normal rules apply- use it that day or it won't be fresh anymore.

So don't order the fresh or the fresher fish. At Finney's, if you're wise, you'll say, "Fetch me the finest, French-fried freshest fish that Finney fries!" (Sorry, I couldn't help it- I've been reading to the kids.) I have used smoked salmon to make sushi rolls with success, I would not try it with nigiri as the difference would be extremely noticable. Depends on how authentic you want to be. I worked at so many sushi restaurant( luxury and not luxury ) and they used all a regular freezer , nothing too fancy. Allmost all fishes are not fresh .. They are allmost all frozen first . But Sometimes (rarely )from the aquarium , but not recommended. I've used "regular" salmon for sushi once or twice, but the advice I received was to either buy it frozen or freeze it yourself to kill off any parasites. Sign up or log in Sign up using Google Sign up using Email and Password Post as a guest By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.