Pink Salmon

Name: Pink salmon, also called humpback salmon or humpy (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) — the smallest and most abundant of the Pacific salmon, with pale pink, lean, mild-flavoured flesh. Males develop a hump on their backs when they spawn. Most is canned or frozen.

Description

Pink salmon have a fixed two-year life cycle, which means that, in a given river, they return to spawn only in odd or even years, and are caught in huge numbers off Alaska, British Columbia, Russia and Japan. They make up a large share of the Pacific salmon catch, and are usually canned, smoked or sold frozen, rather than as fresh high-end fillets.

Pink salmon has a lower fat content and a milder, softer flesh than sockeye, chinook or Atlantic salmon, and is generally cheaper. It is well suited to canning, fishcakes, chowders and dishes where it is flaked.

Main nutrition value

Pink salmon is an oily fish, and a rich source of the long-chain omega-3 fats EPA and DHA, vitamin D, vitamin B12, selenium and protein. It is lower in fat and omega-3 than richer salmon species, but still a good source, and low in mercury.

How best to be consumed

Pink salmon is mild, and works well in flaked dishes.

1. Bake or poach fresh fillets gently, since the lean flesh dries out quickly, with butter, lemon and herbs.
2. Flake into salmon patties, pasta, chowder, sandwiches and salads.
3. Use canned pink salmon, which is the most convenient form, for quick meals.
4. Smoke or cure it, or use frozen fillets.
5. Cook to 63°C, or until just opaque, and no longer.

Overconsumption could cause…

Pink salmon is healthy in food amounts.

1. Fish allergy, which can be severe and is usually lifelong, so anyone allergic must avoid fish and check labels, including fish in sauces and dressings.
2. Gout flare-ups in people with gout, since fish and shellfish are moderately high in purines.
3. Environmental contaminants such as PCBs and dioxins, which build up in the fat of oily fish, so eating a variety of fish and trimming skin and fat can help, and the benefits of oily fish generally outweigh the risks for most people.
4. Food poisoning and parasites (such as anisakis worms) from raw or undercooked fish, so use fish sold as suitable for raw eating, freeze it first, and take extra care in pregnancy and with weak immunity.
5. High salt (sodium), which can raise blood pressure over time, especially in cured, smoked or canned fish. This applies to canned and smoked pink salmon.

GroupsOily FishFinfishHigh proteinLow sodiumRich in omega-3Rich in seleniumRich in vitamin B12Rich in vitamin DFresh

Related foodsSalmonSockeye SalmonAnchoviesSpanish MackerelRainbow TroutFresh Tuna

Wikipedia — Pink salmon, used for origin, naming and history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_salmon