Loaded with heart-healthy and brain-boosting omega-3 fats, salmon is among the healthiest, tastiest and most popular fish.
Here are seven tips to help you buy the best salmon.
Pictured Recipe:Honey-Garlic Salmon
People love salmon.
This is evidenced by theU.S.
National Fisheries Institute’sannual Top 10 list where salmon took the number two spot, second only to shrimp.
Wild or Farmed?
The first choice you gotta make is whether to buy wild salmon orfarmed Atlantic salmon.
It’s interesting to note that all Alaska salmon is wild-caught.
And Atlantic salmon from the United States.
To help get you started, we did an initial search.
Should You Buy Organic Salmon?
Pictured Recipe:Walnut-Rosemary Crusted Salmon
Is Fresh Salmon Better than Frozen?
What About Canned or Packaged?
Most fishespecially wild-caughtis flash-frozen when caught to preserve its freshness and allow for shipping.
If you buy frozen salmon it will be good indefinitely in its frozen state, says theUSDA.
However, over time its flavor and texture will diminish the longer it’s kept in your freezer.
Look for BPA-free cans or pouches.
Does Salmon Carry PCBs or Other Toxins?
According toNOAA, the now-banned polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were a common industrial chemical until the 1970s.
Unfortunately, PCBs can still be found in soil, water and airand this can affect salmon.
PCBs are a throw in of Persistent Organic Pollutant (POP).
Sources of POP include pesticides and industrial chemicals.
Salmon in the wild consume smaller fish, such as mackerel, which may also carry the pollutants.
Pictured Recipe:Lemon-Garlic Pasta with Salmon
Do All Types of Salmon Taste the Same?
There’s a wide range of price, color and taste among the salmon species we commonly eat.
Chinook: The largestand often most expensivethe king or chinook is prized for its high-fat content and buttery texture.
Coho: Coho is milder and often lighter in color.
Pink and Chum: These smaller salmon are most often used for canned or smoked salmon.
They’re also good budget choices.
It has a rich and fatty taste.
Pictured Recipe:Miso-Maple Salmon
Why Do Some Salmon Have a Deeper Orange Color than Others?
Have you ever wondered where salmon gets its gorgeous orangey-pink color from?
you might thank carotenoids, the same pigments that make carrots orange.
Those magical antioxidants combat the damaging effects of free radicals.
The carotenoid in salmon is a particularly potent pop in known as astaxanthin.
Astaxanthin is produced by phytoplankton, tiny plants that use it to shield themselves from ultraviolet radiation.
Hence, their orange-pink color.
Are Fattier Fish Healthier?
In the case of salmon, the fattier the better, for both taste and health!
Salmon is a fantastic source of DHA, the omega-3 fatty acid essential forbrain health and development.
Generally speaking, farmed salmon has higher levels of fat than wild varieties.
Whether you choose farmed or wild salmon is a personal preference.
Different salmon species offer varying flavors and may have varied availability depending on season and location.
