Tips For Safety Storing Sushi In The Fridge

Sushi is a Japanese delicacy made of raw fish, vinegared rice, seaweed sheets, and vegetables. Regarding healthy eating, sushi is an excellent choice for lunch or dinner, as it is high in nutrients and proteins. While most foods may be plated artistically, sushi is a true definition of art. Most chefs take considerable pride in serving, presenting beautiful rolls and decorative garnishes that complement sushi’s look and taste.

Refrigerate the sushi for less than 30 minutes after its preparation. Sushi lasts up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. Sushi that has gone bad has a dull look and a foul odor. Risks of eating spoiled sushi include Salmonella food poisoning, Bacillus Cereus infection, and listeriosis.

Sushi presents a great way to experience Japanese culture. Whether using your hands or chopsticks, eating sushi is fun. However, even though sushi can undoubtedly be part of a healthy meal plan, there’s a specific way to prepare and store sushi to avoid health issues.

How Long Does Sushi Last in the Fridge?

The concept of non-contact delivery of sushi rolls

To ensure that your sushi dish retains its freshness and is safe to consume, it’s best not to keep it in for more than 24 hours in the refrigerator. In addition, when handling foods containing raw fish, improper handling can cause foodborne illness.

What is the Best Way to Store Sushi?

Enjoy your sushi while it’s fresh. However, if you have too much than you can consume in a sitting, here are a few steps on the best way to store sushi:

  1. Refrigerate the sushi for less than 30 minutes after its preparation. Spoiled sushi has profound health implications.
  1. Wet two kitchen towels, squeeze out excess water, and spread one towel flat over your plate. Place the sushi on the damp towel, and cover it with another damp towel.
    • Use plastic wrap to wrap the whole thing, and keep it in an airtight container (on Amazon) in your fridge. This will affect the texture of seaweed but will keep the rice from becoming stiff.
  1. A temperature of +6 to +8 ° C is adequate for sushi conservation.

How to Tell if Sushi Has Gone Bad

Here are ways to tell if your sushi has gone bad:

Odor

One way to tell if your sushi has gone bad is the smell. While fish is sushi’s main ingredient, sushi shouldn’t smell too funky. Even if it was prepared using frozen fish instead of fresh ones, sushi shouldn’t smell fishy as long as it’s handled well.

That dish is not fresh if you get a strong ammonia-like scent when sushi is served.

Hard and Crumbly Rice

If the rice is unrefrigerated, it gives sushi a dull look. Good quality sushi should have soft rice that springs back when squeezed.

Don’t consume sushi that looks crumbly. Remember also sushi rice must remain white, and if the rice is brown or any other color, discard the sushi.

Discolored Fish

If the fish is discolored, that sushi is bad. A fish with dark patches means it’s no longer fresh. Fresh fish has a consistent color and translucent appearance.

Another way to tell if the sushi is fit for consumption is by touching the fish, and sushi is probably not safe for consumption if the fish is slimy.

You can also press the fish with your finger to see if it leaves marks or indentations on your finger. Again, if the fish is not fresh, it will leave marks on your finger.

How to tell a Bad Sushi Restaurant?

Here are signs of a lousy sushi restaurant

Does the Restaurant Serve Everything?

If the restaurant isn’t focused on serving sushi, most likely, they’re not dedicated to cooking the best quality. Preparing sushi is an intricate art, and sushi restaurants take pride in their creations.

As a rule of thumb, don’t order sushi if you’re not in a sushi restaurant. If a restaurant serves fried chicken, pizza, or pasta, they are probably not giving sushi the attention it deserves.

Avoid Sushi Restaurants that Smell a lot like Seafood

If you find a sushi restaurant that smells like fish, look for another restaurant. Fish is sushi’s main ingredient, but sushi shouldn’t smell like fish.

According to sushi chefs, a reliable sushi restaurant should smell like cucumber or watermelon, and a restaurant that smells much like fish indicates a hygiene issue.

Don’t be Tempted by Eat-All-You-Can Offers

While enjoying unlimited sushi for a reasonably low price is tempting, this may be a bad idea. Delicious sushi must be prepared from the best-quality ingredients, and good fish is expensive.

So, if a restaurant offers you churns of tons of this delicacy at a low price, it may mean it’s not prepared with care.

What are the Ingredients?

Sushi that sticks to the Japanese tradition of simplicity and freshness is the best. However, if a sushi place serves rolls filled with other unfamiliar ingredients, they may be trying something new.

Japanese sushi is made with raw fish, vinegared rice, seaweed sheets, and vegetables.

What are the Risks of Eating Spoiled Sushi?

Girl takes sushi chopsticks

Raw fish, sushi’s main ingredient, is prone to contamination, primarily if not appropriately handled. In addition, according to FDA, raw fish offers a breeding ground for parasites, viruses, and bacteria.

Here are the possible health implications of eating bad sushi:

Salmonella Food Poisoning

If you eat improperly prepared fish, you can get a salmonella infection. Salmonella infection symptoms include stomach cramps and diarrhea.

You may not develop the symptoms if you have a robust immune system. However, some people may experience severe symptoms for many weeks.

Scombroid Food Poisoning

Scombroid Food Poisoning results from consuming fish that was not well refrigerated. When fish begins to decay, it produces excess histamine that can cause anaphylaxis or severe allergic reaction.

Symptoms of Scombroid poisoning include facial flushing, dizziness, rashes, or a burning sensation in the mouth.

Listeriosis

Listeria is a pathogenic bacteria found in fish (both raw and smoked). It can cause a severe gut infection that may result in abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting.

In addition, listeriosis can be hazardous to immunocompromised persons, pregnant women, children, and the elderly.

Bacillus Cereus Infection

Sometimes, an infection may result from other sushi ingredients, such as spoiled rice and vegetables. For example, Bacillus Cereus infection results from eating rice and sitting at room temperature for an extended period.

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