Farming fish is dated back to the Romans and Assyrians who farmed them in ponds. Chinese have used their rice fields for the same purpose in the rainy season, when the fields were flooded. Fish and shellfish were known to be not just a survival food or a tasty meal but also a source of economic power throughout history. Techniques for preserving fish were developed, like smoking or salting much of which are still part of traditional cuisines to this day.
In the last decades, health benefits of fish meat consumption became the reason for its expansion all over the world. Salmon received praise for being a nutritional marvel. Sustainability is one of the most important issues when it comes to fish consumption. Salmon is an anadromous fish – it is born in fresh water but spends most of it’s life in salty sea water before it swims back to its birthplace in order to spawn. Olfactory memory is said to be responsible for the salmon’s homing mechanism. The location in different oceans around the globe generates a number of varieties in salmon families, so “Oncorhynchus” genus are located in the Pacific, and the “Salmo” genus in the Atlantic. One species in the Atlantic is known to migrate and five others in the Pacific: “Chinook” (king), “Coho” (silver), “Sockeye” (red), chum and pink.
A lot of nutrients can be found in shellfish and fish. Salmon, for example has an abundance of high quality proteins, minerals and vitamins (vitamin B12, potassium, selenium) and also omega-3 fatty acids. Those natural fats, more exactly docosahexanoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) have a beneficial role for a healthy brain and heart functionality. They are considered essential fatty acids because the human body can not synthesize it on its own, therefore it must be obtained from the diet. Consuming oily fish like salmon, sardines, herring, mackerel, and fresh tuna three times a week optimizes your body’s supply of healthy fats. Consuming fish meat reduces heart disease, a fact which was noticed in 1970 in Arctic Greenland on Eskimos that have a diet consisting in marine animals mostly. They had a very low heart disease rate. Moreover, modern science sustains that consuming fish also lowers the risk of many types of cancer, and a variety of chronic diseases like Alzheimer, diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis.
Salmon can be purchased in all kind of forms: fresh, frozen, canned, smoked or fillets. Fresh salmon eyes should be clear and bright, not sunken or cloudy, the skin should be moist and smooth. If not consumed in a couple of days, the meat should be frozen. Although freezing fish is not the most recommended preservation technique, you can always keep fish in the freezer for a few weeks. The best way to consume fish, including salmon, is fresh, regardless of whether you cook it, make sushi with it or eat it smoked. Smoked salmon is one of the best alternatives, since smoked fish tends to preserve better.