What is wrong with farmed fish?

The main concerns are the catching of small fish to use in feed, the use of chemicals, pollution, and the problem of farmed fish escaping and breeding with wild fish or passing on disease. Responsible farms are now making efforts to work with environmental agencies, while the RSPCA’s Freedom Food accreditation scheme prioritises fish welfare.

Should we eat wild smoked salmon?

Wild Atlantic salmon might be the ultimate, but over the past 30 years the population of wild fish returning from the sea to fresh water has fallen more than 50 per cent, and even in Ireland, where stocks have been less threatened, producers like the Kinvara and Ummera smokehouses have switched to organic farmed salmon. If we want to eat wild Atlantic salmon we need to re-establish it as an occasional treat and avoid fish from depleted stocks, or go for less threatened wild Pacific salmon from Alaska, certified by the Marine Stewardship Council.

Is organic better?

A contentious issue. Critics say the nature of the sea makes controls unrealistic, standards aren’t wide-reaching enough, or the real focus should be the state of wild stocks. Supporters applaud any scheme prioritising welfare and sustainability.

Is all salmon smoked the same way?

Most smoked salmon is “cold smoked”, at a temperature which allows the pores to open sufficiently to absorb the smoke but doesn’t cook the fish. Smoking time varies, as does the wood used, from oak, beech or applewood to chippings from whisky barrels. The lighter the smoke, the more the flavour of the fish comes through, whereas whisky barrels or peat add a rich, distinctive flavour. To skimp on the smoking process, large-scale producers often use smoke-flavoured sprays. Some traditional smokehouses also “hot smoke” salmon. At Loch Fyne, they call this Bradan Rost (Gaelic for “roasted salmon”). The heat is cranked up after the initial smoking, so that the fish cooks, becoming firm and flaky yet moist, and can be cut into wedges.

WHERE TO BUY

Bleiker’s
01423 711411
www.bleikers.co.uk

Forman & Field
020-8221 3939
www.formanandfield.com

Loch Fyne, Ummera Irish Smokehouse
00353 2346644
www.ummera.com

Kinvara
00353 91637489
www.kinvarasmokedsalmon.com

Inverawe
01866 822446
www.smoked-salmon.co.uk

Readers’ queries

Where can I buy proper, old-fashioned jellies for serving with cold turkey and ham?

Christine Huddleston’s award-winning jellies include English wine, port wine, ginger wine, mulled wine and muscat.
From £3.95 for 227g.
01525 261868
www.mrshuddleston.com

If you have a food query, e-mail
food.detective@thetimes.co.uk

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