Why You Should Think Twice Before Buying Sushi At The Grocery Store

There is something truly wonderful about going out for sushi. Sitting at the bar, sipping sake or beer while watching the chefs prepare the sashimi and rolls is almost hypnotizing, and when that first bite hits your mouth it's hard to keep your eyes from rolling back into your head in pleasure.

Sushi is one of those kinds of foods that is incredibly difficult to prepare at home. It's a multi-step process that involves both cooked and raw ingredients. Not to mention safety issues preparing raw fish. So what's to be done when you're craving sushi, but don't have time to go sit down at your favorite sushi restaurant? Many people reply on grocery store sushi in a pinch and while it's not unsafe to eat, it's not the same quality as eating it in a restaurant. The next time you're craving sushi and have limited time you might be tempted to reach for that package in the store, but here's a reason you might want to reconsider grocery store sushi for dinner. 

There are several reasons why store-bought sushi isn't the same as in a restaurant and a lot of it has to do with the ingredients. According to Thrillist, the way that some sushi ingredients are made in a restaurant is impossible to do in a grocery store. They note that the rice at a sushi restaurant remains warm or room temperature before it is used to make sushi, when you buy sushi in a store the entire roll, or pieces are being refrigerated, which means the rice will likely be cold. The fish in a sushi restaurant is also warmed slightly when it's handled by sushi chefs' hands, which helps gently increase its flavor. Raw fish loses its flavor when chilled, so refrigerated pre-made sushi won't have the depth of flavor you'd encounter in a restaurant. Expert sushi chefs are also more likely to have trustworthy relationships with their suppliers (Thrillist explains) so they're less likely to get poorer quality fish.

The Grocery Store Guy notes that sushi purists prefer not to eat store-bought sushi because the magic of eating sushi is the ceremonial aspect of it. It's a meal that's meant to be enjoyed fresh after it has been prepared for you by an expert. So while grocery store sushi is perfectly safe to eat, it's just not as good as the real deal.