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Salmon as food

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Salmon is a very popular food fish found in many parts of the world.

Salmon Fish
Salmon Fish

It is known as an oily fish because it has a high amount of healthy fats. These fats include omega-3 fatty acids and DHA or EPA. The fish is also a great source of protein for people. For every 100 grams of raw salmon, you get 142 calories. It also provides many vitamins and minerals like B12, selenium, and phosphorus.

Édouard Manet - Stilleben mit Lachs
Édouard Manet - Stilleben mit Lachs

This makes it a very nutritious meal for many cultures.

The color of salmon is one of its most famous features. Most salmon flesh looks bright orange or red. This color comes from natural pigments called carotenoids. Wild salmon get these pigments by eating tiny shellfish like krill.

Gravad lax
Gravad lax

In wild fish, these levels can reach up to 25 mg/kg. Fish producers often use a tool called a Roche Colour Card to measure pinkness. They try to reach a value of 16 on this scale. Sometimes, pigments are added to the food of farmed salmon to keep the color bright.

People have found many ways to prepare and enjoy salmon throughout history. In Japan, people enjoy salmon sashimi, which is sliced raw fish.

Salmon sashimi Yuichiro Haga
Salmon sashimi Yuichiro Haga

Before refrigerators were common, people in Japan did not eat raw salmon. It only became popular in the late 1980s with parasite-free salmon from Norway. Other traditions use different methods like smoking or curing. For example, Nordic cultures make gravlax by curing salmon in salt, sugar, and dill.

Lohikeitto
Lohikeitto

This is often served as a tasty appetizer.

There are many specific dishes that use salmon in unique ways. In Finland, people eat Lohikeitto, which is a creamy soup with potatoes and leeks.

Lohikeitto
Lohikeitto

In Hawaii, a dish called Lomi salmon uses diced salted salmon with tomatoes and onions.

Lomi lomi salmon
Lomi lomi salmon

Some people enjoy lox, which is thinly sliced cured salmon. In North America, lox is a favorite topping for bagels with cream cheese.

Bagels'n'Lox
Bagels'n'Lox

In Alaska, you might even find a salmon burger. These are fishcakes made to look like beef hamburgers.

Salmon production is a huge part of the global food market.

Smoked Salmon
Smoked Salmon

Norway is a very important place for this industry. It produces more than 50% of the world's salmon. Some salmon are caught in the wild, while others are raised on farms. Most Atlantic salmon in the world market are farmed. However, many Pacific salmon are still caught in the wild. Canned salmon in the United States is usually wild-caught from the Pacific Ocean.

Salmon-Ruibe
Salmon-Ruibe

This shows how much the world relies on this amazing fish.

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🖼️ Images & Media (13)
File:Sashimi - Maguro Restaurant, Bangna, Bangkok (44856596864).jpg
Sashimi - Maguro Restaurant, Bangna,...
File:Édouard Manet - Stilleben mit Lachs.jpg
Édouard Manet - Stilleben mit Lachs.jpg
File:Salmon Fish.JPG
Salmon Fish.JPG
File:Gravad lax.jpg
Gravad lax.jpg
File:Lohikeitto.jpg
Lohikeitto.jpg
File:Lomi lomi salmon.jpg
Lomi lomi salmon.jpg
File:Bagels'n'Lox.jpg
Bagels'n'Lox.jpg
File:Salmon-Ruibe.jpg
Salmon-Ruibe.jpg
File:Bulkie roll spicy salmon burger.jpg
Bulkie roll spicy salmon burger.jpg
File:Aqua Blue - Appetizer.jpg
Aqua Blue - Appetizer.jpg
File:Smoked Salmon.jpg
Smoked Salmon.jpg
File:Salmon sashimi Yuichiro Haga.jpeg
Salmon sashimi Yuichiro Haga.jpeg

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