NEW YORK, July 20 (JTA) — The following are tips to make sure the fish you serve at your Rosh Hashanah table is fresh and attractive:
• Purchase fish at kosher markets. Nonkosher purveyors may co-mingle crustaceans among fish with scales, rendering them treif.
• A fresh fish is not fishy and should actually smell sweet. Fish with the odor of cat food is too old to be sold.
• When preparing recipes calling for ground fish, ask the market to fillet and chop the fish.
• When buying boned fish, ask to see the fish before the purveyor fillets it. Look for clear eyes. Cloudy sunken eyes indicate a deteriorating fish.
• Raw fish is perishable and must be refrigerated. During preparation, do not leave it on counters any longer than necessary, especially on hot days.
• Wash utensils thoroughly after they touched raw fish.
• To insure success in recipes calling for a jellied broth, add a package of plain vegetable gelatin to simmering liquid.
• Serve fish on an attractive platter garnished with lettuce, parsley sprigs, steamed carrot slices or cherry tomatoes.
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