Frozen Food You Can Count on

By Allie Moxley

Alaska’s seafood is known for its freshness. It comes from some of the coldest, cleanest, and most pristine waters in the world. It is harvested under strict standards aimed at preserving a sustainable supply of fish for years to come, and as such the harvested fish are continually of superior quality. It might strike you as something of an oxymoron, then, to refer to “Frozen Alaska Seafood,” but the frozen seafood from Alaska has a freshness that would surprise you and lends itself to a wide variety of cooking styles and cuisines anytime, anywhere.

When thinking about Alaska’s fish, we have to re-learn our conceptions of “frozen.” Frozen is not a dirty word in the Alaskan fish industry, because it is a practical necessity. The amount of fish caught in Alaskan waters is staggering—over 2.5 million metric tons per year—and that fish is transported not only to businesses and homes within Alaska, but around the world. As such, ensuring that the fresh flavor of a recently harvested fish can be enjoyed across time and space is an important task. While the fish will not get more tasty out of water, Alaskan fish processors have a golden reputation to maintain and thus take extraordinary efforts to make sure that it does not get less tasty.

Just as Alaska is a leader in sustainable harvesting of fish, it is a leader in methods and practices for preserving that fish. To that end, the Alaskan fish industry practices a process of “fresh-freezing” Using state-of-the art technology and best practices developed over decades of sustainable harvesting, fish processors chill the fish right out of the water, preserving the flavor and texture that comes from a natural life-cycle in delicately maintained waters. After the quick chilling process, the fish are carefully handled and frozen within hours of harvest. “Glazing” is a process of dipping the fish in a solution of water and sugar, and then freezing to “seal” in the freshness while maintaining taste, texture, and color in advance of the packaging and shipping stage.

The same care and consideration that goes into harvesting Alaska’s seafood go into preserving it for enjoyable and healthy consumption. Knowing this, make sure that when you shop for frozen fish, you go home happy with fresh-frozen Alaska seafood.

There are plenty of different ways to prepare Alaskan seafood. The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute has great instructional videos to show you just how to create the perfect dish.

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