Fun facts about Salmon:

• Why is the word s-a-l-m-o-n often (properly) pronounced with no “l” sound?
  • It was brought into Middle English via the Norman conquest as ‘samoun’ with no L. Later Latin scholars saw fit to honor the Latin ‘salmonis’. Since then, it’s just been pretty spotty as to whether anyone pronounces the L or not.
• How big do salmon grow?
  • Chinook or king salmon can grow to well over 100 pounds.
• Is it true that salmon return the same stream/river in which they were spawned to mate as an adult?
  • Yes, and they do it by smell.

What makes salmon such a nutrient-dense food?

1. Omega-3 fatty acids: a 6 ounce serving of salmon can provide 2 whole grams of long-chain omega-3s! Remember that omega-3 fatty acids protect against many forms of cardiovascular disease, enhance metabolism, and improve hormone balance and cell signaling, lowering inflammatory potential in the process.
2. Available, high-quality protein: all essential amino acids, plus taurine, are included. Fish protein is the most easily digested of all non-vegetable protein. A 3.5 to 4 ounce serving of grilled Atlantic salmon provides 39 grams of protein!
3. Vitamins and minerals: salmon is a good source of vitamin A, niacin (B3) and other B complex vitamins, selenium, potassium, and magnesium. Salmon also has a high level of Vitamin D. A Boston University study found that wild salmon (unspecified species) had 988 IU of vitamin D per 3.5 oz serving. Farmed salmon was found to have only 25% of that level (245 IU). By comparison, the next best vitamin D fish source is ahi tuna at about 404 IU.

What to remember when purchasing salmon:

Wild salmon is often superior to farmed salmon. Most farm-raised salmon, as opposed to wild-caught, are fed fish “chow” containing cheaper vegetable oils rather than fish oils. This feeding practice results in farmed salmon flesh NOT containing nearly the amounts of LC omega-3 fats that wild salmon contains. Salmon love water that is ~55 degrees F, and they need their body fats to be liquid oils to maintain metabolic activity.

Farmed salmon also contain more PCBs than most other foods. The PCB contamination of salmon is not considered in purchased fish, only in caught fish! So, farmed salmon escape this protective guideline. The EPA sets health guidance levels for PCBs in wild-caught salmon, and its standards, which were updated in 1999 to reflect the most recent peer-reviewed science, are 500 times more protective than the PCB limits applied by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to commercially-sold fish. The FDA has not updated its PCB health limit for commercial seafood since it was originally issued in 1984.

(See Dr. Kara Fitzgerald's post on farm-raised salmon.)

Recipes to Try:

GINGER SALMON

1. 4 salmon fillets
2. 6 tablespoons soy sauce
3. 1/4 cup honey
4. 1/3 cup orange juice
5. 1 onion
6. 1 clove garlic
7. Chop the onion and garlic finely. Combine honey, orange juice, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and onion in a large bowl. Put the fillets into the bowl and marinate for about 1 hour. Turn fillets a few times during marinating. Remove salmon steaks from marinade. Put on grill. Grill for 20 minutes on both sides. At the end of cooking, apply additional marinade.

SALMON CROQUETTES

1. 12 ounce can of salmon, drained
2. 1 egg
3. 1/2 - 1 tsp mustard
4. 1/2 - 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
5. 1/2 - 1 tsp dill
6. 1/4 cup organic yellow cornmeal
7. Fresh lemon juice
8. Hot sauce
9. Pick the bones out of a 12 ounce drained can of salmon. Add a beaten egg, 1/2 to 1 tsp each of mustard, Worcestershire and dill. Add 1/4 cup organic yellow cornmeal, fresh lemon juice, and a dash of hot sauce. Combine well. Form into patties and sauté in olive or canola oil on both sides until lightly browned. Serve with green peas and sliced tomatoes with fresh lemon to squeeze. Or with a baked sweet potato, or coleslaw or a big piece of key lime pie!

¹ Anderson HA, Falk C, Hanrahan L, et al. Profiles of Great Lakes critical pollutants: a sentinel analysis of human blood and urine. The Great Lakes Consortium. Environ Health Perspect. May 1998;106(5):279-289.