How to find the right Fresh Herring AI guide

What the AI looks for in Fresh Herring

Freshness window

Cook or cure within a day of arrival; the fish should arrive at refrigerator temperature or colder. Herring is small and very oily, so it turns rancid and fishy faster than lean white fish.

Visual and smell check

Look for clear, convex eyes, red gills, firm flesh and a clean sea smell. Reject sunken cloudy eyes or any ammonia odor. These are the most reliable signs that an oily fish is still fresh.

Intended use

For pickling or soused herring, buy whole or butterflied fish. Raw preparations should use fish previously frozen to parasite-killing standards. Herring can carry parasites, and many cured-herring recipes do not cook the fish.

Species and origin

Check whether the fish is Atlantic or Pacific herring and where it was caught. Atlantic and Pacific herring differ in size and fat, and both are sold under the same name.