Any Fish (Tuna) Experts on here ?

Buckster

Buckster

Buckster

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20 Aug 2006
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Bought some Tuna Steaks today - same as we have every week (once a week) - fresh - not frozen

when unpacked noticed they had a very very distinct pink (with a bit of irridescence) sheen to the surface (of both) - and same on rear side.

not seen anything like it - insome light angles was not so noticeable but others was very very noticeable indeed.

did some research on the internet and it implied that this could be a "rainbow sheen" which could show the fish is "off" or not preserved properly - Scromboid bacteria orsomething.

we decided to not risk it- but for future - anyone know whehter this is safe to eat or not please ?

this must be our 15th or so pack of fresh Tuna and I've not seen this effect at all before.
 
i wouldn't say it was off, but it's probably a sign it is no longer "fresh". tuna has to come a long distance to get to this country so it has probably been dead several days by the time it gets here.

Have you considered buying frozen tuna steaks? Or a fish steak that is more local to the british isles?
 
actually we used to eat frozen tuna steaks and its one of the few fish that for me - it doesn't work out so well - texture etc didn't seem as nice

we eat a lot of haddock, salmon, cod etc (wife is a pseudo vegetarian - I'm not so we have fish nearlly every meal - and I have meat at lunch in my sandwiches)

cheers
 
I think so - they were from one of the major supermarkets from memory - but they put me off because they had lots and lots of thick blood veins in them after cooking - didn't affect taste but was rather nasty

these "fresh" ones have been from Ocado and are really really nice indeed
 
Last tuna we bought had country of origin as the Maldives - quite a way to travel and had the sheen you describe. Hot pan, seared on both sides and no ill effects so far (two days later).

Off to Google what a pseudo vegetarian is. :p
 
Just don't buy fresh tuna, it's flown in and by the time it's got to us in the UK it's already 72 hours or so old. By fish standards that's not great. The majority of the 'fresh' tuna steaks in my local shop are so desaturated of colour they look totally grey. Remember that this is what tuna should look like...

rawtuna.jpg


The rainbow sheen will be an oily substance on the surface, nothing to worry about. Go pick up a few packs of beef in the supermarket and you'll probably see the same thing.

I tend to avoid frozen fish entirely unless it's processed like fish fingers or battered etc, but if I'm cooking just a fillet of fish, I'll usually just use it as an excuse to get my rod out and get what I truly know is fresh! Trout, mackerel, cod, pollock, you name it ;)
 
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