Salmon

Also known asSalmo salar · 三文鱼 · 鲑鱼

Name: Salmon — a group of oily, silvery fish of the family Salmonidae that migrate between fresh water and sea, including Atlantic salmon and five Pacific species (chinook or king, sockeye, coho, pink and chum). Pages for Atlantic, pink and sockeye salmon cover specific types.

Description

Salmon is among the best-known and most valued fish, important in the cultures of many Indigenous peoples of the Pacific North-west, and in the cooking of Scandinavia, Scotland, Japan, North America and Russia. Its life cycle is remarkable: it hatches in a river, migrates to the sea to feed, then returns, often to the very stream where it was born, to spawn, and many species die afterwards.

Wild salmon, mainly Pacific species from Alaska, is a seasonal, sustainably managed catch, while farmed salmon, mainly Atlantic, supplies most of the market. Salmon is cooked, cured as gravlax, smoked, canned and eaten raw as sushi and sashimi.

Main nutrition value

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 among the most widely recommended oily fish, and is low in mercury.

How best to be consumed

Salmon is versatile, and quick to cook.

1. Bake, roast, grill or pan-sear, skin on, for 4 to 6 minutes per side, until just opaque.
2. Cure with salt, sugar and dill for gravlax, or smoke it.
3. Poach gently, or flake into salads, pasta, fishcakes and chowder.
4. Eat raw only if it is sold as suitable for raw consumption, and has been frozen to kill parasites.
5. Most health authorities advise eating at least two portions of fish a week, one of them oily, with limits of up to four portions a week of oily fish for most people, and two for girls and women who may become pregnant.

Overconsumption could cause…

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. 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.
3. Gout flare-ups in people with gout, since fish and shellfish are moderately high in purines.
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. Smoked and cured salmon is high in salt, and cold-smoked salmon carries a Listeria risk for pregnant women and those with weak immunity.
6. Environmental concerns about some salmon farming.

GroupsOily FishFinfishHigh proteinLow sodiumRich in omega-3Rich in seleniumRich in vitamin B12Fresh

Made intoCanned Salmon

Related foodsSockeye SalmonAnchoviesPink SalmonSpanish MackerelRainbow TroutFresh Tuna

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