It is great to have you once again; for this month we will consider the sources of proteins, what to look out for when buying any protein source and their health benefits in our food.
Today we want to look at the various sources of
proteins and the factors to consider when buying fish.
Many sources of proteins exists and can be added to our meals. Protein comes in two major forms that are
either from plants sources or animal sources. Proteins from plant sources are called incomplete protein and that of animals
are complete protein. Plant protein are said to be incomplete
because they may lack one or more essential amino acid to complement this, two
or more plant proteins are to be taken together (e.g. corn with beans or corn with
groundnut). Proteins from animal sources are said to be complete because all
the essential amino acids that are
needed by the body can be found in one particular meat at a time e.g. beef, mutton, fish etc.
For our discussion today we want to talk about our
protein source coming from fish. Fish can be
classified into white fish (contains
less than 1% fat), oily fish
(contains less than 25% fat) and shell
fish ( mollusc and crustaceans).
Now let look at what it takes to choose fish either in the fresh state or the frozen state.
Points to consider when purchasing fresh fish for food
 |
| Types of Fish |
- The store where the fish is purchased should not produce any off odours.
- Fresh fish should have bright, clear eyes without any dullness.
- The fish should appear clean without any dullness or discoloured patches.
- A fresh fish should have no pungent smell.
- The gills should possess a bright red colour. When the colour faded, the fish is old.
- The flesh of the fish should be firm to touch and resilient so that when it is pressed the indention should disappears.
- Buy only at the finest fish markets in order to have it really fresh.
- Shell fish are usually purchased live e.g. crabs lobsters etc or the shell closing tighter when touched.
- Frozen fish should be completely frozen without the flesh of the fish broken.
I know you have really enjoyed this discussion and be making sure your fish is fresh all the time as you match it with the above factors.In my next post we will
discuss the storage and the health benefit of adding fish to our meals. Please send
me comments on this post i will like to hear from you.
