How we pack fish on flake ice

Most of our orders travel across Kochi between 10 am and 1 pm, the hottest part of the day. Keeping fish cold from our counter to your kitchen is half the job, and here is how we do it.

We use flake ice, made in thin soft flakes, not the large blocks you see at harbours. Flake ice wraps closely around the fish, cools it faster, and does not bruise the flesh or crush delicate prawns the way block ice can. Our machine at the back of the shop makes about 600 kg a day, from filtered water.

Each order is first wrapped in food-grade plastic, so the fish does not sit in melting water, which makes it soft and washes out flavour. The packet goes into an insulated box lined with a 3 cm bed of flake ice, with more ice packed on top and down the sides. As a rule, we use about the same weight of ice as fish. Crabs travel separately in a ventilated basket with damp sacking, because they must stay alive and need air, not ice.

The boxes are loaded into vans with closed backs, and each driver covers one area, so no box spends more than about two hours on the road. Drivers hand the box over and wait while you open it, if you wish. When it arrives, take the fish out of the ice, rinse it, and cook it the same day or refrigerate it at once. Keep the insulated box; we collect it on your next order.