TEACHING COMMON COMETENCIES IN HOME ECONOMICS (PREPARE AND COOK SEAFOOD)

1. PREPARE AND COOK SEAFOOD

2. TYPES OF SEAFOOD
The term seafood includes any of the cold-blooded animals living in water which are used as food by
human beings. Seafood may come from either fresh or salt water and may be classified as fish and
shellfish.
1.Vertebrate or finfish. Fishes with backbone.These are bangus, bisugo, tilapia, dalag, catfish and
other fresh water fish.The edible portion consists of the fleshy meat on either side of the vertebral
skeleton.
2. Shellfish. Fish with shell.These are classified into crustaceans, mollusks and cephalopods.
a. Crustaceans are shellfishes with hard shells over the back of the body and along the claws but
have softer shells covering the lower part of the body and legs. Ex. Crabs, lobster and shrimps.
b. Mollusks.There are two types of mollusks: the univalves with only one shell and bivalves with two
shells. Example of univalve is: kuhol while bivalves are clams (kabibi, tulya), oysters (talaba) and
mussels (tahong).
c. Cephalopods have reduced internal shell. Squid, cuttlefish and octopus belong to this
classification.

3. CHARACTERISTICS OF FRESH FISH
 1. Fresh fish has no foul odor.
 2.The eyes are clear, full and bright, not dull and sunken.
 3. Gills are bright red.
 4.The flesh is firm and elastic.
 5. Skin is shiny with scales intact.
 6. Fish is covered with a natural lime, the odor and amount of which are the
characteristics of the
 species.
 7. Abdomen and belly walls are intact and free from discoloration.

4. CHARACTERISTICS OF FRESH SHELLFISH
1. Fresh shellfish such as crabs, talangka, mussels, oysters, snails, lobsters and
shrimps, must be bought alive.
2. Fresh crabs should have firm joints that are stiff when bent, and they should be
heavy for their size.
3. Fresh lobsters should have dark brownish green color with orange specks and
bright eyes and should be heavy for their size.
4. Fresh oysters are difficult to open and the meat should have clear creamy color.
5. Live clams should have their shells tightly closed.
6. Fresh shrimps should have their head intact, their meat firm, and with no
objectionable odor.They are somewhat translucent and without black or orange
color.

5. MARKET FORMS OF FISH
1. Live Fish.There are fishes which can be marketed alive because they live long after catch.
Good
examples of these are dalag, hito and tilapia.
2.Whole or round fish. Most fresh fish is distributed in local market fish stalls as whole or
round fish.
Shortly after catch, fish is chilled in ice to prevent spoilage.
3. Drawn fish.This is a whole fish with the entrails removed. Preparation for cooking
involves scaling
and cutting as needed. Most fish in modern supermarkets are available in this form.
4. Dressed fish. Dressed fish has been scaled and eviscerated. Often the head, tail and fins
are also

6. 5. Fillets.These are two meaty sides of the fish cut from the backbone.The skin may not be
removed.
A fillet cut from side of the fish is called a single fillet. A butterfly fillet consists of two single
fillets held together by uncut flesh and skin in the belly portion of the fish.
6. Deboned.This is the form most convenient in the case of bangus.The deboned bangus is
sold frozen often times marinated and ready-to- cook.
7. Steaks.These are cross section slices of dressed large fishes. A portion of the backbone is
usually
the only in a fish steak. Steaks which are half to two thirds of an inch thick are usually best.
Steaks cut
away from visceral cavity are solid slices and are preferred by discriminating of consumers.
8. Sticks.These are fillets or steaks cut further into smaller uniform pieces like sticks.They
are usually breaded and frozen.
9. Flaked. Fish meat separated from the whole fish is called flaked fish. Labahita is
commonly made into flaked fish.

7. MARKET FORMS OF SHELLFISH
1. Live. Crabs, clams, mussels, oysters, snails and lobsters should be alive if
purchased in the shell
except for boiled crabs and lobsters. Ideally, shrimps should also be
marketed alive.
2.Whole. Most shrimps marketed locally are whole.
3. Shucked.These are bivalves or mollusks which have been removed from
the shell. Oysters, clams
and scallops may be sold in this form; Fresh shucked oysters have a
translucent appearance.They
become opaque with standing.

8. 4. Headless. Most shrimps, prawns and lobsters for exports are
marketed in headless form, the head
and thorax are removed.The head is removed mainly because it is the
main source of bacterial
spoilage during transport and also because it does not appeal to most
foreign palates.
5. Cooked Shellfish. Shrimps, crabs and lobsters may be cooked in the
shell prior to marketing.
6. Cooked Meat.The meat of shrimps, crabs and lobsters can be
marketed cooked, usually in cans.