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The Sushi Economy
The centers of the sushi economy in the twenty-first century are sites of exchange and connection. Today, the places with the freshest fish -- and often, the telltale aroma that draws attention to such privileged locations -- are airport cargo hangars and refrigerated storage facilities located near highway interchanges.
That is from the splendid The Sushi Economy: Globalization and the Making of a Modern Delicacy, by Sasha Issenberg. Most people do not know how much sushi is shipped across borders, and how much the very "freshest" fish has in fact been frozen.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on April 9, 2007 at 07:27 AM in Books, Food and Drink | Permalink
Comments
Most fish used for sushi in the United States is frozen in order to kill any parasites it might be harboring. The exception is tuna, which is naturally less wormy than other fish.
Strictly speaking, "sushi" does not mean raw fish, but rather the special rice on which it is commonly served. "Sashimi" means the fish itself.
Posted by: Peter at Apr 9, 2007 9:18:20 AM
Hmm. I'd always heard that truly fresh fish has no "fishy" odor, in fact has no odor at all. The fishy odor comes from stale or spoiled fish. Another urban/coastal myth?
Posted by: Robert Speirs at Apr 9, 2007 9:50:27 AM
I spent 15 years in the restaurant business as a chef and please let me debunk the myth of fresh fish.
Most sashimi-grade fish IS frozen and that's a good thing. One of my first jobs was at an Alaskan seafood restaurant. The chef-owner was a former commercial fisherman from Alaska. He told me horror stories.
Frozen fish is taken from the water, gutted on the deck, and tossed into a blast freezer where it is frozen solid in about 5-8 seconds. It then is brought to market frozen, where it is oftentimes unfrozen for sale.
Fresh fish is caught, gutted, and thrown into bins of crushed ice which are replenished as needed. A typical fishing trip is about 6 weeks. The fixed costs are too high to go out for a single day at a time. So the "fresh" fish is sitting on ice, bruising and bathing in a mixture of melting ice and fish juice for up to 6 weeks. Sounds appetizing...add on a flight from locales such as Alaska and the New York diner is eating month and a half old fish that he paid a premium for as "fresh".
Obviously this is an extreme scenario, but shorten that time to a week and it remains as unappetizing.
Posted by: Tom at Apr 9, 2007 10:46:04 AM
I spent 15 years in the restaurant business as a chef and please let me debunk the myth of fresh fish.
Most sashimi-grade fish IS frozen and that's a good thing. One of my first jobs was at an Alaskan seafood restaurant. The chef-owner was a former commercial fisherman from Alaska. He told me horror stories.
Frozen fish is taken from the water, gutted on the deck, and tossed into a blast freezer where it is frozen solid in about 5-8 seconds. It then is brought to market frozen, where it is oftentimes unfrozen for sale.
Fresh fish is caught, gutted, and thrown into bins of crushed ice which are replenished as needed. A typical fishing trip is about 6 weeks. The fixed costs are too high to go out for a single day at a time. So the "fresh" fish is sitting on ice, bruising and bathing in a mixture of melting ice and fish juice for up to 6 weeks. Sounds appetizing...add on a flight from locales such as Alaska and the New York diner is eating month and a half old fish that he paid a premium for as "fresh".
Obviously this is an extreme scenario, but shorten that time to a week and it remains as unappetizing.
Also, yes Robert, fresh fish should have no fishy odor and a bright protruding eye. Also the gills will be bright pink, red or white. However some bottom feeders will smell stronger such as non farm raised catfish, steakfish, etc. Also freshwater fish and fish that live in muddy areas such as whiting smell more than saltwater fish. Bottom feeders, mud living fish and freshwater fish tend to taste a bit muddy as well.
Posted by: Tom at Apr 9, 2007 10:50:06 AM
What is "sushi"? Unknown to Indian blog readers.
If I write about "Idli","Vada" and "Sambar"without telling what they mean,then what will be your reaction?
Posted by: GVV at Apr 9, 2007 11:35:54 AM
My reaction would be "yummy"!
Posted by: Tyler Cowen at Apr 9, 2007 1:28:04 PM
The difference, GVV, is that you can find good sushi widely available in 20 countries (or more) around the globe. Idi and Vada, not so much...
Growing up along the Chesapeake Bay, eating fresh seafood was never an issue for me. Since moving to Montreal, it is one of the things I have come to miss. Sure, we have trout and lobster in summer, but the variety is so much less and shellfish (outside of Lobster) is atrocious.
Posted by: Shaun at Apr 9, 2007 3:55:30 PM
Well, the better than airport hangars and all that is next to a fresh fish market on the ocean,
with the best of all the world's largest fish market, in the original hometown of sushi and sashimi,
the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo. Although I have been told by some afficianados that there are
some places further into Tokyo that are even better, the best sushi I have ever had was in joints
right next to that market, early in the morning, right after the fish come off the boats, especially
the tuna.
Posted by: Barkley Rosser at Apr 9, 2007 4:44:28 PM
Stupid question: How do you keep fish fresh if you do not freeze them?
Posted by: Chewxy at Apr 10, 2007 6:51:20 AM
When I was staying at the Grand Hyatt in New Delhi, India, I stopped myself from ordering sushi. My rationale was "if I'm reluctant to eat raw fish in a land-locked (US) state, then why would I have it in a place where I'm afraid to drink the water?"
Perhaps I outsmarted myself?
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