How To Select A Fish and Estimate Its Cooking Time

There's nothing worse than overripe fish. Here's how to avoid it, and how to estimate how long you should cook what you buy.

Trust your senses, first of all smell: A fresh fish won't smell fishy.

Look at the scales. They should be bright, and colorful. If the fish looks dull it's old.

Touch the fish. It should feel firm, not soft, and your fingertip shouldn't leave an impression.

The brightly colored fish here are dentici, dentex in English, while the skinned fish are anglerfish, which are often sold this way because of their appearance when whole.