Salmon

Atlantic Salmon - Photo: Pixnio

Salmon is the common name for the several species of fish from the Salmonidae family. Their flesh is generally red, but there are some white-fleshed wild salmon. 

There are several species of salmon, divided into Atlantic and Pacific Ocean species.  The two groups are as follows:

Atlantic Ocean species

• Atlantic Salmon is the species after which all the others are named.
• Land locked Salmon
• Salmon Trutta is another Atlantic species, also known as trout

Pacific Ocean species

• Sockeye salmon is known locally as "red salmon" or "blueback salmon."
• Chinook Salmon is also known locally as king, tyee, spring Salmon, quinnat, tule, or blackmouth salmon.
• Coho Salmon or silver Salmon
• Cherry Salmon

Salmon is a popular source of food and is the most popular among all consumed fish. This could be due to the fact that salmon is one of nature’s healthiest foods as it contains well-balanced, easily digestible protein (known as polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA)), omega-3 fatty acids, potassium, vitamin D, the B vitamins, and phosphorus. Salmon is also extremely healthy, as they contain a lower level of cholesterol than previously thought. Of course, another factor that makes salmon the most popular fish

is its delicious taste and the various ways it can be prepared.

Omega-3 fatty acids are the oil found naturally in fish, and salmon has a higher quantity of this acid compared to other fish.  This plus the other essential nutrients and its exquisite flavor make salmon the most popular fish. Eating a balanced amount of salmon can potentially reduce heart disease, relieve rheumatoid arthritis, promote healthy brain function, fight colitis and cancer, and control blood triglyceride levels.

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Salmon - An Affordable Luxury

Salmon Dish Food - Photo: Pixabay

Salmon is one of the most versatile fish we can buy, and despite its longstanding reputation as a luxury fish, is nowadays surprisingly affordable.

Salmon is available in both farmed and wild varieties, and while the wild salmon has the edge in terms of both flavour and texture, the quality of the farmed fish has improved greatly over the years and is now a fish that makes thoroughly respectable eating. The comparative rarity of wild salmon, which is only available for half the year between February and August, is at least as responsible as quality for the higher prices it commands compared to its farmed cousins.

Most of the wild salmon you can buy will be from the Atlantic Ocean, both off the shores of North America and Northern Europe, with Scotland being an especially famed source of the fish. Salmon can also be found in the Pacific, although these fish tend to find their way into cans rather than the wet fish counter of your local fishmonger.

An enduring image of wild salmon is of a sleek silver arch of fish leaping up weirs and waterfalls, and this arises because they are born in freshwater, but spend most of their lives in the sea after migrating while young. They will stay in the sea for between one and four years, before returning to the very same river they were born in to spawn, which is usually their last act before expiring from the exhaustion of the journey upstream.

Farmed salmon, in contrast, spend their entire lives in lochs or river estuaries, swimming in net cages, sometimes at densities higher than is healthy for the fish. Fish farming has gathered something of a bad reputation over the years, and it's true that salmon farms once showed a similar disregard for animal welfare that you'd find in most industrialized farming operations. In recent years, though, public opinion has forced a rethink, and standards have widely improved - you can even find organic farmed fish these days.

When you come to buy salmon, the usual rules for buying fish apply. Make sure you can see a whole fish so that you can get an idea of how fresh it is - the pre-wrapped anonymous fillets packaged in a 'protective atmosphere' you find in many supermarkets is a gamble at best. A fresh fish will have bulging eyes rather than sunken ones, will feel firm to the touch, and should not smell 'fishy' as this indicates that it is past its best.

Depending on how many you are feeding, you can buy a steak which is cut from the shoulder of the fish, a fillet from nearer the tail end, or even a whole fish. Tail end fillets possibly offer the best eating, as they are more or less free of bones apart from the pin bones which can easily be removed during preparation. Steaks, however, are a more meaty cut and are perhaps more suited to cooking methods such as a barbecue or grill.

Whichever cut you buy, you can be assured that your health will benefit - as an oily fish, salmon is high in Omega 3, which has been shown to be of use in preventing heart problems and is widely believed to be helpful for brain and nervous system development and operation.

Enjoy your salmon!

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Alaska Wild Salmon Are A Real Catch

Picture: pxhere

Alaska is famous for its wild salmon. The flavor of Alaskan salmon depends upon fat content and the environment in which it matured. Alaska's pure waters and the abundance of natural food give Alaska salmon unparalleled flavor.

Although salmon are caught in Alaska's pristine waters year-round, fishing season in Anchorage and Southcentral Alaska really heats up in late May, when the prized king salmon returns home to spawn in the area's glacier-fed, freshwater streams.

The remaining four varieties of Pacific salmon-sockeye, coho, chum and pink-are also found in the general area.

Many anglers are now trying to catch what's known as a "grand slam"-all five species of salmon. Some say an easy way to remember which kind is which is to match them up with the fingers on your hand.

• Thumb-Chum salmon (Dog). The best fishing for this fish is mid-July to late August. Chum salmon have a firm texture, tempting orange-pink color and delicate flavor that makes it a perfect fish for smoking. The average weight is eight pounds and they can grow to be 25 to 27 inches long.

• Pointer finger-Sockeye salmon (Red). Most available late May to early June or mid-July, sockeye salmon are the second most abundant Alaskan salmon species. This species turns from a silvery color to a bright red body and green head as they begin the journey upriver to spawn. Their average weight is six pounds and they can grow to almost three feet in length.

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• Middle finger-King salmon (Chinook). The best fishing for king salmon is mid-June to mid- July. The largest species of salmon in Alaska, they are prized for their color, high oil content, firm texture, and succulent taste. Average weight is approximately 20 pounds and length ranges from 30 to 40 inches.

• Ring finger-Silver salmon (Coho). With its orange-red flesh, firm texture and delicate flavor, cohos are very popular among locals. The best fishing for them is found in early August to mid-September. Cohos are the second largest of the species, with average weights of 12 pounds, and range from 25 to 35 inches in length.

• Pinky finger-Pink salmon (Humpy). At the height of their run, millions of pinks swim up the freshwater rivers and streams to spawning grounds. Pinks are the smallest and most abundant of the species and average about two to three pounds. The best fishing for pinks takes place in mid-July to late August.