The next 2 interesting questions and answers on salmon come from my dearest friend, Mina, and I will answer this in 2 parts:
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Hi Dr. Deena.
Thanks for your post and healthy eating and cooking tips. I enjoyed the recent recipe on salmon that you posted on Instagram. I was wondering why there is a difference between the color and appearance of wild and farm raised salmon?
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Thanks for the excellent question, Meens!
Firstly - its important to understand the life cycle of wild salmon..which is pretty amazing! I learned a lot about this when visiting the salmon hatcheries in Alaska. Salmon are so strong and resilient -- in their lifetime some have traveled thousands of miles to complete their life cycle!!
The life of a wild salmon is a tough one -- most are born in fresh water and swim their way to the ocean where they mature. Only 2% of salmon hatched will live to adulthood! The mature salmon spend 1-8 years in the ocean. Those not eaten in the ocean by predators will then migrate upstream (imagine how tiring that is!) back to the SAME exact body of fresh water where they were born to spawn (lay eggs)...only for the majority to die a few weeks later.
I tell this story for a few reasons:
1. It explains why wild salmon are so rare in the supermarkets -- there aren't enough resilient wild salmon out there to meet the hungry needs of our world population which is why salmon farms came to exist
2. It explains why both types of salmon look different:
wild salmon burn excess calories and are leaner than farm-raised salmon which is why their fat lines (the white stripes you see in the meat) are very thin. In farm-raised salmon the white stripes are thick.
3. Certain species of wild salmon have flesh that is bright red due its natural astaxanthin content. Astaxanthin is a type of carotenoid (an organic pigment) that comes from what wild salmon eat in the ocean: krill, plankton, shrimp, etc. Astaxanthin has anti-oxidant-like properties.
4. Wild salmon meat is also likely to be brighter due to its increased blood supply and need for more oxygen to sustain its energy demands during adulthood
See image below for demonstration of fat lines and color differences between farm-raised and wild salmon:
5. Its also important to realize that there are many different species of salmon - which is another reason they all look different. Most farmed salmon are Atlantic salmon. Most wild salmon are Pacific salmon. White king salmon is rare but the steaks are pure white. Check out the variety of color in salmon below:
I hope this information helps! Tomorrow I will discuss more on the differences between both types of salmon!
Please feel free to ask any questions ask/follow me on Twitter @Doctor_Deena or Instagram at live.laugh.love.be_healthy!
**PLEASE REMEMBER IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS ABOUT YOUR HEALTH AND/OR BEFORE STARTING OR STOPPING ANY TREATMENT OR ACTING UPON INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THE SITE, YOU SHOULD CONTACT YOUR OWN PHYSICIAN OR HEALTH-CARE PROVIDER*
******************************************************************************************
Hi Dr. Deena.
Thanks for your post and healthy eating and cooking tips. I enjoyed the recent recipe on salmon that you posted on Instagram. I was wondering why there is a difference between the color and appearance of wild and farm raised salmon?
******************************************************************************************
Thanks for the excellent question, Meens!
Firstly - its important to understand the life cycle of wild salmon..which is pretty amazing! I learned a lot about this when visiting the salmon hatcheries in Alaska. Salmon are so strong and resilient -- in their lifetime some have traveled thousands of miles to complete their life cycle!!
The life of a wild salmon is a tough one -- most are born in fresh water and swim their way to the ocean where they mature. Only 2% of salmon hatched will live to adulthood! The mature salmon spend 1-8 years in the ocean. Those not eaten in the ocean by predators will then migrate upstream (imagine how tiring that is!) back to the SAME exact body of fresh water where they were born to spawn (lay eggs)...only for the majority to die a few weeks later.
I tell this story for a few reasons:
1. It explains why wild salmon are so rare in the supermarkets -- there aren't enough resilient wild salmon out there to meet the hungry needs of our world population which is why salmon farms came to exist
2. It explains why both types of salmon look different:
wild salmon burn excess calories and are leaner than farm-raised salmon which is why their fat lines (the white stripes you see in the meat) are very thin. In farm-raised salmon the white stripes are thick.
3. Certain species of wild salmon have flesh that is bright red due its natural astaxanthin content. Astaxanthin is a type of carotenoid (an organic pigment) that comes from what wild salmon eat in the ocean: krill, plankton, shrimp, etc. Astaxanthin has anti-oxidant-like properties.
4. Wild salmon meat is also likely to be brighter due to its increased blood supply and need for more oxygen to sustain its energy demands during adulthood
See image below for demonstration of fat lines and color differences between farm-raised and wild salmon:
5. Its also important to realize that there are many different species of salmon - which is another reason they all look different. Most farmed salmon are Atlantic salmon. Most wild salmon are Pacific salmon. White king salmon is rare but the steaks are pure white. Check out the variety of color in salmon below:
I hope this information helps! Tomorrow I will discuss more on the differences between both types of salmon!
Please feel free to ask any questions ask/follow me on Twitter @Doctor_Deena or Instagram at live.laugh.love.be_healthy!
**PLEASE REMEMBER IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS ABOUT YOUR HEALTH AND/OR BEFORE STARTING OR STOPPING ANY TREATMENT OR ACTING UPON INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THE SITE, YOU SHOULD CONTACT YOUR OWN PHYSICIAN OR HEALTH-CARE PROVIDER*
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