Squidfish Forums

what would you consider to be a quality squid? As a consumer what would I need to look for to determine if a squid is worth buying?

Hi and welcome to squidfish,

There is a fair bit of information on the FAO (FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS) website that might assist you (though some of it is a little old but still a good start). Here is an extract from the TORRY ADVISORY NOTE No. 77Handling and stowageSquid are not normally gutted at sea: they are simply washed and packed in ice. They are more susceptible to damage than gutted white fish if not handled carefully; crushing, scuffing or tearing of the skin, and burst ink sacs are indicative of rough handling. Squid are left ungutted because many markets, particularly overseas, prefer them whole; the ink and the tentacles are often used along with the flesh of the mantle when preparing squid for eating.Stowage in boxes is generally better than bulk stowage because there is less risk of crushing and bursting the ink sac. There should be at least 1 part of ice to 3 parts of squid by weight.Ungutted squid in ice keep in first class condition for up to8 days; after that time the flesh begins to redden, musty odours develop, and the squid become inedible in 13-14 days. Ungutted squid stowed in chilled seawater keep in first class condition for 6 days, and become inedible after 9days. The following scoring system can be used to assess the flavour of cooked squid after chilled storage of the raw material.



<TABLE> <TR valign="TOP"> <TD colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="TOP">Score </TD> <TD colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="TOP">Cooked flavour of squid </TD> <TD colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="TOP">Days in ice </TD> </TR> <TR valign="TOP"> <TD colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="TOP">10 </TD> <TD colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="TOP">fresh, characteristic of shellfish, sweet, meaty </TD> <TD colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="TOP">0-1 </TD> </TR> <TR valign="TOP"> <TD colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="TOP">9 </TD> <TD colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="TOP">slight loss of freshness, creamy, sweet, meaty, metallic </TD> <TD colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="TOP"> </TD> </TR> <TR valign="TOP"> <TD colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="TOP">8 </TD> <TD colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="TOP">slightly sweet, slightly meaty, creamy, milky </TD> <TD colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="TOP">6-8 </TD> </TR> <TR valign="TOP"> <TD colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="TOP">7 </TD> <TD colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="TOP">no sweetness, caramel </TD> <TD colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="TOP"> </TD> </TR> <TR valign="TOP"> <TD colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="TOP">6 </TD> <TD colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="TOP">neutral </TD> <TD colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="TOP">8-10 </TD> </TR> <TR valign="TOP"> <TD colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="TOP">5 </TD> <TD colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="TOP">slightly sour </TD> <TD colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="TOP"> </TD> </TR> <TR valign="TOP"> <TD colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="TOP">4 </TD> <TD colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="TOP">sour, musty, cabbage </TD> <TD colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="TOP"> </TD> </TR> <TR valign="TOP"> <TD colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="TOP">3 </TD> <TD colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="TOP">slightly bitter, overripe cheese, oily, slightsulphide </TD> <TD colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="TOP">13-14 </TD> </TR> <TR valign="TOP"> <TD colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="TOP">2 </TD> <TD colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="TOP">bitter, sulphide </TD> <TD colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="TOP"> </TD> </TR> <TR valign="TOP"> <TD colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="TOP">1 </TD> <TD colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="TOP">strongly bitter, putrid </TD> <TD colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="TOP"> </TD> </TR> </TABLE> <A name="Processing"></A> ProcessingWhole squid can be distributed chilled in ice or frozen. Squid for freezing should be of good quality, less than 7 days in ice and free from damage. They should be packed in cartons and frozen quickly. An air blast freezer is suitable; the cartons should be left open during freezing to keep freezing time short. Whole squid keep in good condition in cold storage at -30°C for 9 months or more. More detailed information on the freezing and cold storage of fish is given in Advisory Notes 27 and 28.The edible parts of squid are prepared in the following manner. The whole squid is washed, and the tentacles are cut off just in front of the eyes; these are retained, since they can be eaten once the suckers have been removed. The head is twisted and the mantle is squeezed whilst the head,pen and guts arc gently pulled out. The mantle can be left whole, with the gut cavity washed out, or it can be split and opened so that any remaining guts can be scraped or washed away.The skin on the mantle can be peeled or scraped off; blanching in hot water at 25-30°C for about 15 seconds makes the skin easier to remove. Machinery for heading, gutting, skinning and cutting squid is available.

I have found another terrific webpage from the California Seafood Council which provides photos of California Squid and shows how the quality of the squid deteriorates over time.



In the section titled "Judging Squid Freshness by Color", there is photos of californian squid 30 seconds after harvest, and then 5 minutes, 1 day, 3 days, 6 days, and then 10 days after harvest.



The article states that poor quality squid have a dark red or purple discoloration of the meat, and a strong off-odor.



Here is a link to the relevant page on the [url="http://ca-seafood.ucdavis.edu/squid/squidcol.htm"]California Seafood Council[/url] website.



This webpage also provides some fascinating information about squid skin and explains how it changes colour.

That last link is a ripper, it's good to know how squid are able to change color so quickly, and also what they look like after time on ice.....the 10 days old squid look a bit rough!

I found the following information relating specifically to grading of frozen arrow squid on the [url="http://www.frankmason.com.au/squid_sardines.php"]Frank Mason website[/url]. Frank Mason is a Wholesale Seafood Importer, Exporter based in Australia. The main message is that jigged squid will be better quality than trawled (i.e. netted) squid. Though I guess this fact is not advertised in fish shops.



What should I look out for in seafrozen arrow squid on offers?

[color="green"]Squid is fished by two main methods. Jig – which maintains the squid in pristine condition & Trawl – where the squid is prone to some damage and there can be some sand and other debris.



In both catching methods packing occurs in two styles. Whole - The squid is graded visually into U/200, 200/400, 400/600 & 600+ grams per squid. But it is not cleaned or sorted for damage or quality. Headed & Gutted - The squid is cleaned and sorted for quality & damage and then visually graded into U/100, 100/200, 200/300 & 300+ grams per squid.



The jig caught product is generally about 10% dearer and many consider it too expensive for reprocessing for the Australian domestic market. [/color]

Besides from grading squid by skin color are there any other market specifications to look at when buying squid, specifically as a buyer for a restaurant for example?

skipper <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/boat.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

If youre willing to drive to Point Lonsdale, Ive caught some cracker squid there. Pulling them up the pier can be a bit of a challenge though lol.