 They should have, clear, full eyes that

often protruding. As the fish loses

freshness , the eyes become cloudy,
pink, and sunken.
 The gills should be bright red or pink.
 Avoid fish with dull-colored gills that
are gray, brown, or green. Fresh fish
should be free of loose or sloughing
slime.
 The flesh should be firm yet elastic,
springing back when pressed gently
with the finger. With time, the flesh
becomes soft and slips away from
the bone.
 The skin of a fresh, whole fish should
be shiny with scales that adhere
tightly.
 Characteristiccolors and markings
start to fade as soon as a fish leaves
the water but the skin should still
have a bright, shiny appearance.
 Fillets
and steaks should have firm,
elastic flesh and a fresh-cut, moist
appearance, with no browning
around the edges. Fillets separate if
they are left too long in the case.
 The flesh should be almost
translucent – as if you can almost see
through it.
 There should be a little evidence of
bruising or reddening of the flesh
from the retention blood
 Prepackaged steaks and fillets
should contain a minimum of liquid.
Fish fillets stored in liquid deteriorate
quickly.
 Fillets should be neat with firm flesh.
 They
should be firm and closely
packed together.

 White fish should have a white

translucent color with no
discoloration.
 Live clams, oysters, or mussels should
have shells that look moist and are tightly
closed. If the shells gape slightly, have
your retailer tap them. If the shells do not
close or are cracked, do not purchase
them.
 The bottom shell of an oyster should be
well cupped – a sign that the oyster
inside is plump and well formed.
 The "neck" or "snout" of soft-shelled
clams should show movement.
 The meats of fresh-shucked clams,
oysters, or mussels should be plump
and covered with their liquor.
 Their liquor should be clear or slightly
opalescent (slightly milky or light
gray) and free of shell or grit.
 There should be no strong odor.
 Fresh scallop meats have a firm
texture and a distinctly sweet odor.
 A sour or iodine smell indicates
spoilage.
 Smaller bay and calico scallops are
usually creamy white, although there
may be some normal light tan or pink
coloration.
 Larger
sea scallops are also
generally creamy white, although
they may show some normal light
orange or pink color.
 Fresh crabs and lobsters should show
leg movement, and the tail of
lobsters should curl tightly
underneath the body and not hang
down when the lobster is picked up.
 Lobsters and crabs will not be very
active if they have been
refrigerated, but they should move
at least a little bit.
 Cooked lobsters or crabs in the shell
should be bright red and have no
disagreeable odor.
 Picked lobster meat will be snowy
white with red tints, while crab meat
is white with red or brown tints,
depending on the species or the
section of the body it was picked
from.
 Cooked, picked lobster or crab meat
should have good color and no
disagreeable odor.
 Meat should be firm and have a mild
odor.
 The shells of most varieties are
translucent with a grayish green,
pinkish tan, or light pink tint.
 The shells should not have blackened
edges or black spots – this is a sign of
quality loss.
 Cooked shrimp meat should be firm
and have no disagreeable odor.
 The color of the meat should be
white with red or pink tints.
 Tiger shrimp have bluish colored
shells with black lines between the
segments of the shell (these are not
black spots).
 Eyes that are clear and full, and the
skin should be untorn and the meat
very firm.
 The skin of fresh squid is cream
colored with reddish brown spots.
 As squid ages, the skin turns pinkish
and the flesh will yellow.
 Should have a glossy
appearance.
 Flesh should feel firm and not
sticky.
 Has a pleasant, smoky smell.
 Fishshould be frozen hard with no
signs of thawing.
 There should be no damage to
packaging.
 There should be no dull, white, dry
patches which may indicate freezer
burn.
A fish that is taken
from the water and
sold as is.
Afish with its viscera
removed.
A fish that has been
scaled and the
viscera, gills, and fins
removed.
Adressed fish with its
head removed.
Across section of a
dressed fish
The lengthwise piece
of flesh cut away from
the backbone.
Is the two single fillets
from a dressed fish that
are held together by the
uncut back or belly of
the fish.
The process of covering
an item with water to
form a protective
coating of ice before the
item is frozen.
Availablecanned,
smoked, salted, or
pickled.
sold while the fish is inside
of the water.
Examples:
Dalag(mudfish),
Hito(catfish), at Tilapia
Cut achieved by
removing the head and
insides of the fish,
including its rib bones.
Essentially all that will be
left are its fillets attached
to the skin.
When opened and
placed flat, the two fillets
will still be attached in
the center and will take
the shape of a butterfly
with its wings spread.
These are roundish cuts
from the head of larger
mature fish and are the
small pockets of flesh found
just bellow each eye hailed
by many as one of the
tastiest parts of the fish.
 single-serving cross-section
portion sliced straight through
the backbone of a whole,
dressed, round fish.
 Slightly thinner than steak,
usually around 12 mm / ½ inch
thick, and most often cut from
the section between the head
of the body
Whole fish of any size which
have been scaled, gutted
and had its gills and fins
removed
Sometimes the head is
removed and its tail is left
intact
Is the meat cut from the
side if the fish.
Can be seasoned,
marinated, baked fried,
and sauted
Narrow strips up to 10 cm/4
inches long x 1cm/ ½ inch
wide x 1 cm/ 1/2 – inch thick
which are cut from a fillet.
Best with being coated with
breadcrumbs before being
deep fried
 Located above the spine, This
thick flavorful cut is best
grilled, but can also be
breaded, baked or sauted for
a delicious meal.
 Season loins well and cook
them with desired texture, like
steaks
Small to medium sized
usually single serving whole
fish which have been
scaled, gutted, and its fins,
head, and tail removed to
fit into a frying pan
Boneless portion taken from
fillets or larger flat fish which
can be serve 1-2 people
depending on how large
the fish is.
Large fish such as
tuna,swordfish,salmon,cod
and mahi-mahi cut
perpendicularly to the spine
and may include the bones
cut into steaks which can
be grilled,pan-fried ,broiled
or baked.
Sometimes called fillet
steaks , these are boneless
single-serving portions cut
from larger fillets of both
round and flat fish.
Generally large all-in-one
pieces consisting of the
part of the fish nearest to
the tail fin in a solid piece
which always include the
bone.
Portions cut through the
bone of a whole flat fish
usually into single
Portion size also called
steaks.
Whole fish of any size
caught with nothing done
to them whatsoever.
Before being sold, the wings
are usually
Removed and sometimes
skinned.
Wings from larger
specimens have to be
Furthercut down into
portions as these
Fish can reach very large
sizes.
1. Stop when you have an inch or two (25
to 50 mm) of fillet released.
2. Change your grip on the fillet to a
secure grip on the tab of fish skin you
created with the first cut
3. Firmly hold the knife still and at a fixed
angle.
4. Wriggle the skin from side to side while
pulling backwards on the tab of fish skin.
5. Continue this motion through the fillet.
Even though the skin is creased under
the tension it has no effect where the
filet knife is separating the fish skin from
the flesh.
6. Gentle strokes of a knife angled towards
the gut cavity will reveal the position and
lay of the fine bones. Follow this line,
cutting completely through, to release
the top part of the fillet.
7. The line of fine bones stops around two
thirds of the way the fillet. At this point
put the knife on other side of the line of
bones is well under the bones around the
gut cavity.
8. Separate the two and reinsert the knife
at an angle suitable to cut the flesh from
the underside of the gut bones. Keep
9. The fillet is now deboned. Fish
heads and back bones are
put inside to be washed for
making fish stock.
1. Scale the fish. You can use a fish scaling
tool (concentric tooth rings) on some
fish and a very coarse stainless steel
scouring pad for others. For a few dish
the back of your kitchen will do fine.
2. Make a cut from the vent forward into
the jaw. Make the cut shallow from the
inside out because you do not want to
cut into the innards. When you get to
 the bottom (pelvic) fins use your kitchen
shears from that point forward.
3. Now reach up into the fish and warp
your fingers around the innards and pull
them down and out. For many fish they
will all pull out easily but for others you
will need to use your kitchen shears to
cut the esophagus.
4. Scrape out anything left inside and
break through the swim bladder (if
present) so you can see the backbone.
Note that many fish are going to be a
whole lot messier than this very fresh
bass.
5. Unless you intended to simply discard
the whole head, open the gill slots and
pull out the gill arches.
 For some fish these are soft and pull out
easily but for many you will have to cut
them lose at the top and bottom ends
with your kitchen shears and/or pull them
out with the pliers.
 For most fish you can remove the gills
through the gills slots and push them out
through the bottom cavity.
 For a few fish your only access is by
removing the bottom jaw.
6. Above and behind the gills you will find the
heart and other blood works. There is
always a “ blood line” right below the
backbone, and is many fish you have to
remove the swim bladder or tough
membranes to get to it. Scrape everything
out and rinse with cold water and you
should have a nice empty fish. There should
nothing blocking the opening between the
body cavity and the head and the spine
should be exposed.
Equipment:
Mosquito forceps, straight
Cutting board
Sharp knife
Utility Tray
Basin
1. With a sharp knife or kitchen scissors, trim
the fins and tail of the bangus.
2. Split the bangus on the dorsal side from
the tail to the head by running the edge
of knife along thre backbone.
3. Lay the fish open like butterfly fillet.
Remove the gills and innards. Wash fish
in running water to remove blood.
4. Remove the backbone by laying fish flat on
the cutting board with the of the blade
along the backbone from the head to tail.
5. To totally debone the bangus, pull out the
rib with the aid of a forceps, bones. Make a
superficial slit along the dent of the dorsal
muscles and pull the intermuscular spines
embedded between the muscles from
head to the tail. Remove spines in the
ventral side in the same manner.
 Remove filamentous Y-shaped spines
along the lateral lines, i.e., the junction of
the dorsal and ventral muscles. The
diagram below will help you know the
exact locations of the spines.
6. Gently wash deboned bangus in running
water. Drain. Cut in 4-6 slices.
 Means removing the shell to leave the soft,
edible flesh of the mollusk or crustacean.
While shellfish can be cooked with their
shells intact, some dishes require the shell to
be removed. Shellfish open their shells when
cooked. Removing a mollusk is simple. You
can use your hand or small knife to pull the
mollusk from its attachment. Oysters must
have their shells opened before being
served raw. Scallops may have their shells
remo
1. Clean the outside of the oysters under
running water to remove any loose grit
or barnacles. Rub the shell with your
finger or use a brush if you have one for
this purpose.
2. Hold oyster cup side down and hinge
pointed towards you.
3. Insert oyster knife at hinge slowly but
firmly and push the knife between shells.
Use a slight side to side rocking
movement with your knife as you push in.
4. Work tip of knife into the oyster (about ½
inch).
5. Twist the knife handle to pop the oyster
open.
6. Push the knife into the oyster and slice
the muscle from the top shell.
7. Open the top shell.
8. Cut the muscle from the bottom cup
and turn the meat.