On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 399
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Californiahalibut Paralichthyscalifornicus
TheEffectsofRigorMortisandTime
Wesometimeseatfishandshellfishvery
freshindeed,justminutesorhoursaftertheir
death,andbeforetheypassthroughthe
chemicalandphysicalchangesofrigormortis
(p.143).Thisstiffeningofthemusclesmay
beginimmediatelyafterdeathinafish
alreadydepletedbystruggling,ormanyhours
laterinafat-farmedsalmon.It“resolves”
afterafewhoursordayswhenthemuscle
fibersbegintoseparatefromeachotherand
fromtheconnective-tissuesheets.Fishand
shellfishcookedandeatenbeforerigorhasset
inarethereforesomewhatchewierthanthose
thathavepassedthroughrigor.SomeJapanese
enjoyslicesofrawfishthataresofreshthat
they’restilltwitching(ikizukuri);Norwegians
prizecodheldintanksatthemarketand
killedtoorderjustbeforecooking(blodfersk,
or“blood-fresh”);Chineserestaurantsoften
havetanksoflivefishattheready;theFrench
preparefreshlykilled“blue”trout;andmany
shellfisharecookedalive.
Ingeneral,delayingandextendingthe
periodofrigorwillslowtheeventual
deteriorationoftextureandflavor.Thiscan
bedonebyicingmostfishimmediatelyafter
harvest,beforerigorsetsin.However,early
icingcanactuallytoughensomefish—
sardine,mackerel,andwarm-waterfishsuch
astilapia—bydisruptingtheircontraction
controlsystem.Fisharegenerallyattheir
primejustwhenrigorhaspassed,perhaps8to
24hoursafterdeath,andbegintodeteriorate
soonafterthat.
RecognizingFreshFish
Nowadays,consumersoftenhavenoidea
whereagivenpieceoffishinthemarkethas
comefrom,whenandhowitwasharvested,
