Semi-finished products from fish: types and composition. Storage of semi-finished fish products

At present, modern technological processes and industries engaged in the production of foodstuffs greatly facilitate the life of cooks and housewives. The time spent on cooking should be minimal, and the taste of the dish is ideal. Is not this the principle that you adhere to while preparing your dinner?

Semi-finished foods are food that make our cooking much easier, making the process more simple and quicker in time. Today we will talk about semi-finished fish.

They are one of the most demanded buyers of product groups. How are they produced, how should they be stored properly and what can be prepared from such semi-finished products in their own kitchen? Let's understand.

Fish semi-finished products

Any fish semi-finished product is a culinary "product", which is at the stage of intermediate readiness. Semifinished products from fish are basically carcasses specially cut, deprived of bones and inedible parts. Also to fish semi-finished products include the cutlet and kneady mass, small-sized and portioned products.

Simple and complex semi-finished fish products can be combined into one huge list. The main demand, of course, is fish, devoid of bones and divided into fillets, which is convenient to prepare. Cooking cutlets, dumplings, minced fish, zrazy, etc., are very much in demand by cooks.

Main advantages

As you know, any food product has its own culinary advantages and disadvantages, technological technological pluses and minuses. The same goes for semi-finished products.

• Plus for manufacturers - such products will always enjoy great food demand.
• Preparing complex semi-finished products from fish or meat significantly reduces the total cooking time, which is a big plus for busy housewives.
• Foods related to semi-finished products are always available regardless of the season.
• Culinary trends also have no effect on such products.
• For manufacturers, the great advantage of this product is that they are free to choose: to create an assortment of semi-finished products from fish of a complex or simpler type. Each manufacturer can choose for himself the technological process, which will bring only profit.

Defrosting of fish

The fish, which will later be used for preparing semi-finished products, is machined. Frozen fish are most often used for production. Before processing, it must be thawed. This is done in two ways. First, fish can be thawed in the air. Secondly, in special volumetric baths with water.

As a rule, defrosting in the air is used for fish in large briquettes. It is placed in the air, covered with a special protective film, in order to reduce the amount of fumes and leaky juice. Using polyethylene film helps to avoid weight loss, which will certainly accompany the process with this type of defrosting of fish.

Water is usually used for thawing individual fish carcasses. The fish is laid on special metal lattices in the form of baskets. The incoming water, washing the carcass, contributing to their defrosting, and then flows into the sewer pipe. The duration of the defrosting process will depend on the amount of fish (in kg). During the entire process, several times the temperature is measured. As soon as it is about -1 degrees, the bird is thawed - you can proceed to further work with it.

If you compare the two methods, the second manufacturers use an order of magnitude more often. First, the maximum amount of nutrients remains in the fish. Secondly, the process takes less time. And thirdly, when the product is thawed in air, the product loses up to ten percent of its mass, which in the case of water does not occur.

Treatment scheme

After the fish has been thawed, it is cleaned of scales, removes the fins, separates the head and removes all the insides. Once all these important activities have been completed, the fish carcasses are washed under running water and placed on special grills. Careful processing of fish is very important in production. Preparing semi-finished products in this case is much easier, faster and better.

Types of semi-finished products

Depending on how further semi-finished fish are to be used, they can all be divided into several groups.

• For cooking. Use whole fish or individual links (pieces). Portion pieces for cooking can be with or without bones. In order to prevent deformation during cooking, each fish slice is punctured or cut in several places.
• For stocking. As a rule, this method of cooking fish is most often used for large feasts and solemn banquets. The fish is allowed (warmed up) in water or in a sauce. Here, semi-finished fish are used in the form of whole carcases or individual pieces without skin and bones. Small incisions are also made on the skin.
• For frying. This is the basic preparation of semi-finished fish. Here, links, whole fish, portioned pieces, fillets without bones and skin can be used.
• Also to fish semi-finished products can be attributed and salted fish, as well as pickled separately pieces.

Breading

The preparation of semi-finished fish using breading guarantees not only a crispy crust and a pleasant crispy taste, but also the maximum preservation of all useful substances and juices.

The kind of breading the fish will directly depend on the type of frying. The most commonly used flour breading. For this, flour of the highest grade is used, most often, wheat flour. There is also red and white breading. Red - this is dried wheat bread, ground to the baked weight. White is black, as a rule, already stale bread, ground with the help of a sieve to the state of crushed peas.

There is also a special preparation of semi-finished products from meat, fish. Specialties are semi-finished products, crushed almonds, corn flakes and coconut chips are used for breading. In order for the breading to have a better grip on the product, the fish are dipped into the egg mixture beforehand. Eggs can be mixed with milk, water or be in pure form.

Types of panning of semi-finished products

Types of semi-finished fish can differ not only in the processing method, but also in the way of panning. There are simple and double way of breading.

Simple breading is most often used for conventional frying, to which semi-finished fish products are exposed. Portion chunks or a whole fish carcass season with salt, add ground pepper, roll in flour or breadcrumbs from biscuits. If a large batch of semi-finished products is prepared, the flour is mixed with salt and immediately the pieces are dropped in such a mixture so that the salinity is uniform.

Double breading is used in cases where further deep-frying takes place. Here, as a rule, two kinds of breading and egg composition are used. First, the pieces are crumbled in flour, then dipped in the egg mixture and after that the second time they fall off in a red or white breading.

Frying semi-finished products

In addition to those intended for conventional frying, semifinished products are found for deep frying, grating, spit, etc.

Fish for grilling (on the grill), as a rule, is taken whole. Also used portioned pieces, spared from bones and peels. Preliminary pieces can be marinated in lemon juice with the addition of spices, salt, red or black ground pepper, greens.

Semi-finished products from fish for roasting on a spit are links of sturgeon and other valuable species of fish. Portion pieces are cut (in order to preserve juiciness after cooking), salt, pepper, add spices and dried greens. In some cases marinated. Then they dress on skewers.

Klees and cutlets

In addition to fish semi-finished products is knitting and cutlet mass. Most often for cooking, a fish is used that contains a minimum number of bones. It can be grayling and pike, pikeperch and pink salmon, silver hake or catfish. To begin with, the fish is processed, the fillets are separated and the mass for cooking cutlets or dumplings is already prepared from it.

Cutlet mass can be used both for preparation of fish semi-finished products, and immediately be packed for sale. In the cutlet mass, products such as milk, chicken eggs, and wheat bread are also used.

What can I cook from it

• Cutlets.
• Zrazy.
• Meatballs.
• Fish rolls.
• Bottles.
• Fish bread.
• The body.

The kneading mass differs from the cutlet in that it produces a more loose and delicate structure when preparing it. Fish for this type of semi-finished product is passed through a special very small grate in a meat grinder. Also added is bread soaked in milk and a chicken raw egg. In more expensive versions of the gluten mass, instead of milk, high-quality cream is used.

The most popular types of fish semi-finished products

Fish semi-finished products are a very popular product on the modern food market. Since the fish contains a large number of substances useful for our body, vitamins, polyunsaturated fatty acids, etc., it will never remain outside the kitchen.

Especially popular are:

• Straight neat pieces of fish-cut fish or fish fillets.
• Special cutting of fish - gutted, rid of bones, skin, head and entrails of the bird.
• Chopped fish meat (cutlet semi-finished products).
• Semi-finished molded. This includes not only cutlets, zrazes and little bits, but also fish sticks.
• And, of course, everyone's favorite and most often used for picnics and holidays in nature are steaks. These are pieces of fish that have a thickness of one to three centimeters. They are very convenient for grilling.

Storage of semi-finished fish products

Many housewives are interested in such issues as storing semi-finished fish. Most people think that in the freezer you can store fish for any number of hours, days, months. Of course, no one disputes that fish semi-finished products will not be spoiled in any way, because they are covered with a thick layer of ice. But it should be understood that such a prolonged freezing will only lead to the fact that you will eat a completely fresh and vitamins-free product.

The longest shelf life of fish products in the freezer is six months. And fish fillets can be stored there only for three to four months, minced fish and even less - from two to three months. The smallest period of storage is fish dumplings - one month.

A whole fish carcass, freed from head and entrails, will last for five to six months. If you store fish semi-finished products at a temperature of 0 degrees, the shelf life will be only 24 hours. But remember: the faster you eat fresh fish product, the tastier and more useful it will be.

Tip 1: if you want to extend the shelf life of fish semi-finished products, you can slightly pour them before shipment to the freezer. Just remember this when you start to cook them. The second time you do not need to salt the dish.

Tip 2: as soon as you bring the fish product home, immediately remove it from the layer of polyethylene film into which it is packed. Under this "armor" semi-finished products are transported perfectly, but they are completely deprived of air access. Long-term storage in a plastic bag is also not recommended. It is better to purchase special "breathing" containers and place fish in them, and then send it to the refrigerator or freezer for storage.