Fresh, it's the word that precedes EVERYTHING in a seafood market. There just isn't any assuming when it comes to fish or it's shellfish cousins. If it doesn't say fresh, then it's not, or so the customer thinks. But even then, the written word must be questioned. The "fresh haddock" tag is looked at and then the customer makes eye contact "is the haddock fresh?" Of course I always answer with a smile and an up beat "it is." And of course I'm most always thinking "no dumb ass it's rotten today, that's what I"m in the fish business for." I understand they feel they must ask, but in all seriousness if you want to know how fresh the fish is at your market - don't ask this idiotic question, ask to smell it, look at it up close. But unless you wash your hands, please keep your grubby paws off the fish, or I will make you buy it.
Other frequently asked questions we hear: "what is the freshest thing in the case?" or "when did the haddock come in?" People, just because something came in to our market on a certain day doesn't make it any fresher . . . I"ve seen Scottish salmon, flown over from Scotland fish farms fresher than local haddock. It all depends on how the fish was taken care of. The salmon in Scotland are fished from the pens and shipped over night to Mass. then trucked up to the wholesalers; sometimes the deep sea fishermen don't get to shore for a few days, the fish is packed on ice but it is still a few days . . . it has to be off loaded and then trucked out or to a filleting company and then us. I've definitely come to understand the public has no real knowledge about seafood and it's freshness, at all.
Fresh somehow doesn't equate with "the last one." The "last one" never sells. One tub of crab left, one piece of haddock, one oyster, one seaweed salad, one smoked mussel. If left, it will sit there. People get funny about it, they make a negative connotation in their head "it must be old." Warning flags are popping up all over it "ROTTEN" . . . there's only one . . . nope, can't do it . . . "is that your last piece?" "oh, I guess I'll take the sword instead, is it fresh?" So when a customer buys the last 2lbs of flounder and that one last piece puts it over to 2.13lbs and they go "oh that's too much you can put that one piece back" I, instead say "do you mind if I add this? I won't charge you for it, but it's the last one." MOST people smile and accept graciously. Then, there are the ones whose uneasy button was just pushed. "oh no, I couldn't do that, it's more than I need." It's one fricken bite, maybe two, really. SO then I have to explain the last piece won't sell, etc. Then they get all "well go ahead, but I'll pay for it" and we do the stupid "oh no no" dance . . . which I always win in the end 'cause I'm the one accepting the money.
I had a guy last year from Florida wound up about the "FRESH LOBSTER" . . . "I'd like to get some of those fresh lobsters packed to go. I'm heading to Florida and am going to throw them in the back of my truck and bring them to my friends." Well . . . . lobsters last approximately 24 hours outside of the water . . . "you planning on getting to Florida in 24 hours?" I ask. Blank stare. I think I chuckled. How about the woman who wanted to buy salmon for her dinner party on Saturday . . . on Tuesday. "It will be fine on Saturday won't it?" Um, no . . . straight forward, NO! And my personal favorite: we have a mousy woman who comes in randomly and always asks "what came in today?" and then ask "is it fresh?" she doesn't have a sense of humor and drives us a little crazy. So one day, my other half replies to her "what came in today?" . . . "nothing, it all came in last week" and chuckled. She wasn't impressed and gave him a blank stare. Didn't we laugh our asses off.
