Is frozen fish fillets much better value than chilled?

dllive

All these years Ive been buying cod fillets from the chilled cabinet in Aldi. Its about 2 fillets (250g) for about £3.20. Ive just realised they do frozen fillets (400g) for about half that! Is there any difference in quality? Or is it just easier for them to store frozen fish? Ive noticed its a lot cheaper with salmon and haddock fillets too! 

maman

Yes, much better value although the frozen can sometimes be odd shaped offcuts. So they taste just as good but look less uniform and if you're feeding more than one person then not so easy to portion up equally. 

LittleVoice

The frozen fish can be stocked in their freezer for longer and not have to be reduced in price to sell it as a Use By date approaches.

Fresh fish needs more care and may need to be Yellow Stickered.

Bacman

Frozen fish is better, as it is frozen soon after being processed, rather than being sent to the supermarket shelves. Frozen is cheaper due to less wastage for that reason. In saying that though, salmon tends to be thin and poor when frozen, yet good quality in packs unfrozen.

[Deleted User]

Frozen is usually fresher than so called fresh as it is freezed very quickly after being caught. Same for veg and meat.
I buy as much frozen produce over fresh as possible as it is cheaper, no waste and you never have to use it up until you are ready. 

dllive

Do you cook the fish straight from frozen or do you defrost it first? (I usually put my fish fillets in the over wrapped in foil)

KxMx

The frozen fish fillets from Iceland get cooked from frozen.
Several methods of cooking including the way you do it now. 

Farway

dllive said:

Do you cook the fish straight from frozen or do you defrost it first? (I usually put my fish fillets in the over wrapped in foil)

I tend to follow the pack guidelines, cooking similar method to you, just takes a tad longer that's all

MrsStepford

dllive said:

All these years Ive been buying cod fillets from the chilled cabinet in Aldi. Its about 2 fillets (250g) for about £3.20. Ive just realised they do frozen fillets (400g) for about half that! Is there any difference in quality? Or is it just easier for them to store frozen fish? Ive noticed its a lot cheaper with salmon and haddock fillets too! 

Much of the frozen fish is wild-caught fish, frozen at sea, so super-fresh, just like frozen peas. These days a lot of fresh fish on ice in supermarkets will be defrosted frozen, rather than fresh and it should have a little sign saying 'Previously Frozen' which means that consumers should not freeze it at home. 

In some supermarkets labelling will say 'sustainably fished' which usually means farmed. This is not as healthy, as it's usually fatty when it should be lean and has been treated with formaldehyde to eradicate parasites. You'll find previously-frozen foreign farmed fish like river cobbler and tilapia on ice in supermarkets. I asked the fishmonger in Sainsbury's once " What's wild ? and he replied: " None of it ". 

So freshly-frozen fish and seafood from named waters is a great buy, compared to the fish counter stuff. With regard to the individually packaged chilled fish and seafood, it should tell you where it was caught. If it doesn't and says it's '''sustainably fished, it's farmed. Also, look for 'suitable for home freezing' on the packaging. If it says ' unsuitable for home freezing' it will be because either: (a) it has been defrosted or (b) it's in a protective gas to stop it deteriorating. For the latter, it should say ' packaged in a protective atmosphere'. I used to think that meant people in factories wearing hairnets, but no, it means the package is filled with an inert gas. This is done with organic food too. They don't have to tell you what the gas is. 

I buy frozen fish and seafood from Iceland IF I'm sure it's wild. Also I grab wild salmon, frozen or fresh on offers. I'm buying canned wild fish now as well, canned in water or olive oil.  

p00hsticks

For those with a TV licence, watching this will probably convert you from 'fresh' to frozen .....

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07fw733

(The whole program from which the clip is taken is well worth a watch)

[Deleted User]

Frozen fish pie mix is much better than fresh. Every mix I have had from fresh has a smell and where there's the slightest smell there is no fresh fish.