It's wise to wash ingredients like produce before cooking to get rid of dirt and germs, but washing certain other ingredients is a bad idea. Foods like raw meat and poultry can spread harmful bacteria all over your food and kitchen if you rinse them under water, and raw fish is no different.

Raw fish can carry harmful bacteria like salmonella, listeria, and clostridium, and a study by the US Food and Drug Administration revealed that nearly 10% of imported seafood and 3% of domestic seafood tested positive for salmonella. Rinsing the fish will only spread these germs all over your prep area.

Instead of washing your seafood, you should remove the bacteria from raw fish by cooking it to the proper temperature, which is 145 degrees F, says the USDA. To properly prepare it for cooking, simply pat the fish dry with a paper towel so that it will sear properly and won't get tough or mushy.