By Sandi Masori
SAN DIEGO — Rosh Hashana is just around the corner, and many of our tables will have some sort of fish on them. Some Jews will place a fish head on the table to symbolize the “head of the year.” Otherwise, it’s likely that you’ll have some sort of fish representation.
As part of its Rosh Hashana marketing, Acme smoked fish company sent us some products to try.
We tried the Smoked Nova Salmon, Pastrami Smoked Salmon, the wild-caught Smoked Whitefish salad, and the wild-caught Herring in Cream Sauce. All of them are Kosher.
Poking around on Acme’s website I learned a few things:
Atlantic Salmon, which is what the Lox comes from, is usually farmed and produced in Norway, Canada, and Chile. Because of the high fat content (hello Omega 3s) the salmon can either be hot smoked or cold smoked.
What’s the difference between hot smoking and cold smoking? Well, Acme’s website helps us there too: hot smoking is the cooking and drying process where the fish has to get to at least 145 degrees for at least 30 minutes. All fish can be hot smoked. Cold smoking on the other hand is a low-heat drying and smoking process where the heat only gets to 90 degrees and can take up to 20 hours. By law only salmon, tuna, and sablefish (a variety of cod) can be cold smoked.
I also learned on their site that lox, as we usually call it, is non-smoked or cold-smoked and cured in brine often for several weeks. When it’s cold smoked it’s also referred to as Nova. The name “Nova” comes from Nova Scotia where much of the salmon comes from. Nova is cured in salt and then cold-smoked over a blend of hardwoods.
For the pastrami smoked salmon, the pastrami spices are added after curing and before cold-smoking.
Since we tasted it, I was also curious about the processes for the whitefish and herring. Again the website held all the answers for me. Whitefish is wild-caught in Canada and the Great Lakes. It’s a member of the trout/ salmon family (a distant cousin, but still mishpacha) and typically can weigh 2-4 pounds. The moist texture of the flesh makes it ideal for hot smoking.
Herring is also wild-caught in cold waters mostly on the east coast from the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Canada and the Gulf of Maine. Herring is the most plentiful fish in the world (wow, who knew?). Pickled herring is made from sliced herring fillets which are then marinated in vinegar with onions. Pickled herring in cream sauce is the same thing, but once the vinegar is drained, sour cream is added to the mix.
So, what were the results of our taste test? We were a group of five tasting it, all of us with various tolerances for fish. Some of us really like fish, and one of our group rarely eats it. I’ll give you my thoughts first and then the ratings and comments from my group.
Smoked Nova Salmon – I found it to be dryer than the lox we usually get at Costco, with less oil and a mild flavor. I really liked that it was dryer and less oily. I would get this again. I rated it 8.5 on a scale of 10.
Others in my group liked the subdued taste and mild flavor. The non-fish eater liked the non-fishy flavor and dryer texture and would eat it again. The others rated it from 6-8, with some preferring the mild flavor and dryness and some finding it too dry and preferring the stronger oilier version.
Pastrami Smoked Salmon – The pastrami lox had the same texture as the Nova salmon. I gave it a 7 though because I’m not a fan of pastrami spices (I don’t like them on pastrami either, preferring corned beef instead). The pastrami spice is definitely the dominant flavor, so if you like that spice, you will really like this lox. The non-fish eater did not try this one, but others in the group rated it from 6-8. The one who rated it an 8 noted that it was an interesting and novel combination of flavors. The one who gave it a 6 noted that he liked it on the bagel and cream cheese but didn’t see himself eating it straight from the package.
Whitefish Salad – I rated this one a 7. The texture was pleasant, not too chunky nor too smooth. It spread well on the cracker. I didn’t score it higher because the smoky flavor was very, very mild, and I prefer a heavier smokiness. One of our group compared it to Dutch cod paste. Another noted that the salted egg yolks in it (from the ingredient list on the jar) were a nice compliment that made it less fishy. Group scores ranged from 5.5- 7.
Herring in cream sauce- This was the star of the meal. We all agreed that we really liked it and would get it again. I rated it a 9, finding the filets to have a nice bite, good saltiness and creaminess, fishy but not too fishy of a flavor and slightly salty. It reminded us of Venetian sardines, which makes sense as they have a similar curing process. Our group all rated it an 8-9, including the non-fish eater who said “actually that’s pretty good.”
By now your mouth is probably watering and you’re wondering where you can get some for yourself. Well, you can order direct from the Acme Smoked Fish website or you can find these products at Costco, Ralph’s, Gelsons, or Whole Foods.
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Associate editor Sandi Masori is a food and theater reviewer for San Diego Jewish World.