Whats in your mush

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Dr B said:
Hey,

So when buying this stuff are we supposed to stay away from frozen/unfrozen? I mean I couldnt find anything that haddent been.
Also I didnt see any tiger prawns. I forgot what type of shrimp I got, but is any kind pretty good? They had farm raised and wild caught. I went with wild caught.
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Dr B, frozen is fine, you may want to drain off any excess water. Most shrimp would be good for the mush, although I wouldn't used cooked ones.
 
I use a slightly different recipe every time depending on waht the grocery store has in stock:

clams
scallops
shrimp
tuna
nori
cyclop-eeze
pressed garlic

I try to only make a few 'sheets' at a time so it doesn't get too old in the freezer.
 
Rocky Heap. I hope you're kidding about the razor clams. I wouldn't share them with my fish, My wife's lucky that I even share them with her. :lol:
 
iapjohn said:
I did want to ask Mike why thaw in RO I usually scoop a little tank water and thaw in that then rinse with some fresh.

Water is the universal solvent. Anything will dissolve in it (both bases and acids). RO/DI water is stripped and it will act like a magnet and suck the nasties out of other objects.

Fresh seafood is typically coated with various types of Phosphates on the ship and the dock. As a result, it is a real good idea to soak your food in RO/DI water. It acts like a magnet and sucks a lot of the P out of the tissues and off the surface.

By freezing the seafood before the soak, it converts organic phosphates from when the critter was alive to inorganic. Then the soak in RO/DI water will substantially lower the inorganic phosphate concentration in the food!

If you do a google on adding polyphosphates during seafood processing you will find a lot of articles. Here is one in plain english.

Polyphosphates and seafood

Here's a quote from another web page
Processors have often used phosphates, primarily sodium phosphates, to retain moisture in seafood. These agents are also sometimes used to help bind muscle protein, especially in minced products, improving texture and eating quality.

“ We need to use something to retain the color and texture of the product, or people won’t buy it,” says Richard Sante, president of crab importer Miami Crab Co. in Florida, which cans and pasteurizes blue crab. Miami Crab uses sodium acid pyrophosphate to preserve texture and keep the product from drying out.

Now, some manufacturers offer specialized blends of various phosphates with other ingredients (such as carrageenan and soy protein, which are both used to maintain fish texture). Blends allow processors to utilize the properties of several chemicals at once.

The phosphates are sold as dry powders or granules and may be added dry or dissolved in water for use as a dip, depending on the application.

Other ingredients have been found to promote seafood’s shelf life. One is sodium lactate, which extends shelf life slightly and is effective against Listeria.

“It depends on what the customer wants. Whatever they need can be mixed up or supplied for almost any specialized purpose they have,” says Evergreen’s Taylor.
 

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