The Worst Mistakes Everyone Makes With Ceviche

Particularly when the weather starts heating up and you're looking to incorporate a few quick and refreshing meals into your repertoire, ceviche can be a perfect option. It's light, fresh, and packed with flavor. Plus, you can customize it however you'd like, with your favorite additions and seafood choices in the mix.

Even better, ceviche is a dish that doesn't require any cooking — the acidity within the citrus juices you include, whether you go for lemon, lime, or something a bit more unusual, "denatures the proteins" within the fish you select and essentially "cooks" the fish for you (via The Guardian).

Though ceviche is a dish that doesn't require any cooking, there are still a few mistakes that you want to avoid making. The first, and most important, mistake to avoid is not keeping food safety in mind. Even though the citrus juices work their magic, you still want to ensure you're picking high-quality, fresh fish whenever you're consuming it raw (via Art of Catering). Furthermore, as Yahoo! News advises, you need to keep your fish cold both before slicing and after marinating. Some types of fish may be best for ceviche, too. 

When it's finally time to slice your fish and pull together your dish, there are a few other key mistakes to avoid. First, in order to get the best texture in every bite, you want to slice your fish against the grain. Second, you want to double-check that all the bones have been removed — they're definitely not something you want to bite into.

So you've selected very fresh fish, you've kept it cold, and you've sliced it all up perfectly. With the protein component of your ceviche chilled and ready to go, now all you need to do is mix in the citrus and any other flavorful ingredients, and you'll be enjoying a bowl of perfectly prepared ceviche in no time — there are just a few other mistakes you want to avoid during the process.

First of all, when you're squeezing all the citrus you need for your dish, resist the urge to get every single drop of juice from your lemons or limes. While you definitely want to get plenty of citrus flavor and juices into the dish in order to "cook" that fish, as Yahoo! News explains, by squeezing the citrus too hard, you may encourage the pith to release its essential oils. The extra fragrance may seem pleasant, but it will actually give your dish a bitter taste that's best avoided.

Finally, while longer is better for marinating many types of meat, you want to err on the side of caution with ceviche and avoid over marinating. Now, the timing will somewhat be a matter of preference. For example, Serious Eats demonstrated what the fish in ceviche might taste like marinated anywhere from one minute to two hours. However, in order to get the best texture, a general rule of thumb is to marinate it somewhere from 15 to 20 minutes, no longer. Now, go forth and enjoy some delicious ceviche.