Many have learned how to cook sushi and rolls at home. But the question is: how long is sushi good, and can it be prepared for future use? This largely depends on the components of the product.
On the menu of restaurants and bars, you can find items that are exotic in terms of traditional recipes. But we’ll stick with the classics.
What sushi is made of?
Initially, sushi originated as a way to preserve fish, but today it is a perishable product. They practically do not use long-term storage products, with the exception of rice and sauces.
The dish is based on rice and fish, two staples on the Japanese menu. However, it was not the Japanese who invented sushi, but their continental neighbors from South Asia.
Salted fish was transferred between layers of boiled rice for storage and transportation. And only in the 15th century, fish began to be consumed in conjunction with a rice “fur coat”.
And at the beginning of the 20th century, with the light hand of a Japanese experimental chef, sushi began to be cooked with raw fish.
Sushi is a piece of fish on a bun of rice. Note that rolls are a type of sushi that is most widespread in the Western world. To prepare sushi, only rice, fish, and seafood are used. Also, along with fish, any filling can be wrapped in rolls. Rolls can be meat, vegetarian, or even fruit.
When preparing these dishes, the main thing is not to forget the main postulate – only selected ingredients should be used. And the cook needs to preserve their useful properties and taste. Accordingly, no “second freshness” in products, in this case, is allowed.
How Long Is Sushi Good?
The best taste of sushi and rolls is kept for three hours. Stored at room temperature (that is, not to be eaten immediately upon serving) can also be kept for three hours and always in a cool, dark place.
In the refrigerator, Japanese delicacies can be stored for no more than a day. This is the critical and longest possible shelf life for rolls and sushi, provided that you are sure of their freshness and quality of preparation.
If you used fresh fish in cooking, it is strongly not recommended to store such sushi and rolls in the refrigerator. They must be eaten immediately. In the classic recipe, it is customary to cook sushi one at a time, and then immediately eat it. This is what happens in any Japanese sushi bar – the master at the counter takes the order, immediately prepares it, and passes it on to the guest.
When preparing these dishes at home, do not prepare rice for them for future use, the very next day it will lose its irreplaceable properties and will be completely unusable either for cooking or for consumption. If it becomes necessary to prepare the rolls at home in advance, say five to six hours before serving, then store them uncut in the refrigerator. Place semi-finished sausages in a regular compartment and cut one hour before serving.
If you were “greedy” in a restaurant and could not cope with the ordered set in one sitting, then the waiter will pack the leftovers with you in a plastic container. At home, be sure to transfer the products from this container, it is not intended for storage, only for transportation. Do the same in the case of ordering delivery of Japanese dishes from specialized restaurants.
How to store it in the refrigerator?
The storage method in the refrigerator is very simple. Carefully transfer the sushi and rolls to a flat dish and cover them with cling film. This will prolong the shelf life and keep their pleasant taste.
Be sure to specify the cooking time if you buy them in stores and restaurants, and count the expiration date from this date. It would be useful to note that any company selling sushi must be certified. Specialized outlets are usually equipped with special showcase refrigerators that ensure the freshness of dishes and the humidity necessary to maintain palatability. But even in such showcases-refrigerators, the shelf life should not exceed three hours.
In accordance with it, the shelf life of sushi and rolls in the refrigerator at a temperature of 2 to 6 degrees is no more than 18 hours.
Is freezing allowed?
It is strongly not recommended to store these dishes in the freezer. After that, they can and should only be thrown away. If stored incorrectly, sushi and rolls can be dangerous due to the development of the bacterial activity. In addition, due to the raw fish that is included in the composition, sushi is a potential source of helminth infection.
In our country, due to the remoteness of most of the territories from the sea, sushi and rolls are prepared from seafood that has undergone a deep freezing process, or from salted, smoked fish that do not pose a risk of infection with parasites.
At home, when preparing sushi and rolls, it is recommended to use fish that has already been processed. But if you like the classic version with raw fish, then buy sea fish and defrost it at room temperature. Do not refreeze fish. The same applies to seafood – octopus, shrimp, mussels, squid, and other seafood delicacies.
Memo on storage periods
- maximum shelf life in the refrigerator – 24 hours;
- optimal – 18 hours;
- at room temperature, sushi and rolls are stored for no more than 3 hours;
- sushi and rolls prepared only with fish and seafood that have undergone processing (freezing, salting, smoking, heat treatment) are subject to storage.
- It should be remembered that sushi and rolls have the best taste immediately after preparation. Do not take risks and use them after the expiration of the specified periods.
Separately, it is useful to know how long boiled rice is stored in the refrigerator, if you have prepared more of this ingredient for sushi and rolls than you needed.