In the past, purchasing salmon fish was easy. You could get fresh-fished salmon nearly everywhere, prices weren’t that high, and warnings about water pollution or overfishing was unheard of.
Today, things have changed. Fifty percent of the salmon fish you purchase today comes from an artificial farm or fishpond. Prices have skyrocketed, and regulatory rules are coming up to control fishing and pollution.
To help you purchase the best salmon fish next time, here are some seven tips that should help you buy the best salmon:
1. What Type of Salmon?
There are six species of salmon fish in North America, which vary in color, price, and taste, but you shouldn’t give a damn on any because they are all good for human consumption.
The biggest salmon is called king or sometimes referred to as chinook. It’s rich in fat content, butter texture, and omega-3s.
Then there is sockeye, which is much oily and with a deep-red flesh. It has a better flavor, which makes it suitable for grilling. On the other hand, coho is light in color and milder.
Finally, there’s pink and chum. These two are smaller and can either be used in smoking or canning. In most cases, you’ll come across Atlantic salmon, which is farmed fish, though, it’s not recommended because it ’s endangered in the wild.
2. Should You Buy Fresh or Frozen or Canned?
Most fish you’ll come across in the market today are flash-frozen. This is to ensure that they don’t go bad during shipment. When salmon is properly defrosted, it can stay good for up to four months without going bad. Therefore, canned salmon is economical and an excellent choice for you.
3. Should You Buy Farmed or Wild Salmon?
It’s recommended to choose wild salmon fish over farmed salmon fish. Groups like the Environmental Defense Fund and Seafood Watch have discouraged the consumption of farmed salmon fish for a couple of reasons.
Most fish farmers use crowded pens, which can easily make salmon fish be infected with parasites. This is one of the obvious reasons why Alaska had to ban the rearing of fish in farms.
However, salmon farmers have started negotiations with the environmental groups so that they can improve their fish rearing practices. One such site that is committed to helping Salmon farmer is the GlobalSalmonInitiative.org.
4. Should You Buy Fattier Fish?
Wondering whether or not you should consider buying fattier salmon fish? The answer is yes. Salmon is the source of DHA, omega-3 fatty acid that’s good for your brain development.
DHA is contained in the salmon’s fat, mostly in its belly. 4-ounce of salmon can provide you with up to 2,400 mg of omega-3s. Bigger species like the king or those with longer journeys have more fat as well as omega-3s.
And the truth is that farmed salmon fish are fattier as compared to wild salmon fish. This is because they are provided with a diet that contains vegetable oils and grains, which have high omega-6 fats.
5. Is Orange Salmon Good For Human Consumption?
Have you heard of carotenoids? These are pigments that make carrots appear orange. They aid in damaging the effects of free radicals.
The carotenoid that’s found in salmon fish is a potent antioxidant called astaxanthin. Astaxanthin helps in the prevention of heart diseases, inflammation, cancer, general aging, eye diseases, and many other complications.
Astaxanthin is found from phytoplankton. Phytoplankton is a tiny plant that use astaxanthin to protect themselves from ultraviolet radiation.
6. Know the Prices
You have probably been wondering why you didn’t meet this point the first. Of course, you need to know the most important aspects of buying salmon fish before you make the purchasing decision.
Salmon should cost around 700 Indian Rupees. The best salmon fish being the Alaska salmon or the wild Canadian.
If you come across cheap salmon, then you should know that’s from a farm. This is because farms don’t care about what they feed fish or the risks they expose the salmon in the marine environment.
7. Before You Buy, Make Sure to Ask When the Fish Was Caught
Usually, customers want to hear that the fish they want to buy was caught the same day they are making the purchase. But what you shouldn’t really concerned about is when the fish was caught and shipped to wherever you are.
For example, you can buy a salmon fish that’s five days old, but it was got directly from the source the following day after it was caught.
Likewise, a fish that just arrived in your best supermarket ‘today’ could have spent a couple of days being transported.
Over to You
Back then, salmon fish was easy to buy, not until the environmental groups came up with stringent rules. That’s why you should be picky when it comes to purchasing salmon fish. The seven tips provided above should help you buy the best salmon fish next time you go to buy salmon.
Great tips for buying salmon.