Lox: Is there anything it can't do? Well, yes, at least one thing.

[Alex]

Here's a fun read for those of us who are interested in both food and etymology.

 

Quote

"One of my favorite words is lox,” says Gregory Guy, a professor of linguistics at New York University. There is hardly a more quintessential New York food than a lox bagel—a century-old popular appetizing store, Russ & Daughters, calls it “The Classic.” But Guy, who has lived in the city for the past 18 years, is passionate about lox for a different reason. “The pronunciation in the Proto-Indo-European was probably ‘lox,’ and that’s exactly how it is pronounced in modern English,” he says. “Then, it meant salmon, and now it specifically means ‘smoked salmon.’ It’s really cool that that word hasn’t changed its pronunciation at all in 8,000 years and still refers to a particular fish.”

 

[liuzhou]

Very misleading title. "The English Word That Hasn’t Changed in Sound or Meaning in 8,000 Years". English is only around 2,000 years old. Also, there is no mention of the word 'lox' appearing in print in English unti as recently as 1941!

 

There is also evidence that it was also prononced 'lax' in the past.

[Katie Meadow]

The Vikings made some pretty good lox. If they had managed to make it as far as Lithuania they might have learned how to make a decent bagel.

[haresfur]

I thought lox was cured, not smoked. Or is that too pedantic?

[weinoo]

3 hours ago, haresfur said:

I thought lox was cured, not smoked. Or is that too pedantic?

 

Right...in my book, lox (or, more correctly, belly lox, sometimes called salty lox) is cured and not smoked. Like gravalax. Smoked salmon (nova for those who know it by this term) is cold smoked.   And kippered salmon is hot smoked.

 

Too pedantic for eG? NEVER!

 

At Russ, if you ask for "lox," they may even ask you if you know what it is. 

Edited November 16, 2020 by weinoo (log)

[Margaret Pilgrim]

6 hours ago, haresfur said:

I thought lox was cured, not smoked. Or is that too pedantic?

 

2 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

Right...in my book, lox (or, more correctly, belly lox, sometimes called salty lox) is cured and not smoked. Like gravalax. Smoked salmon (nova for those who know it by this term) is cold smoked.   And kippered salmon is hot smoked.

 

Too pedantic for eG? NEVER!

 

At Russ, if you ask for "lox," they may even ask you if you know what it is. 

 

Absolutely important to make these distinctions.    I can tolerate and enjoy salmon as ceviche and the loxes but find that any of the smoked versions cause me digestive distress.  

[Eatmywords]

I thought 'lox' was just a bastardized shortening of 'gravlax', a Scandinavian word w upon googling Germanic before that:

 

"Etymology. The word gravlax comes from the Scandinavian word gräva/grave ("to dig"; modern sense "to cure (fish)") which goes back to the Proto-Germanic *grabą, *grabō ("hole in the ground; ditch, trench; grave") and the Indo-European root *ghrebh- "to dig, to scratch, to scrape", and lax/laks, "salmon".

[haresfur]

8 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

Right...in my book, lox (or, more correctly, belly lox, sometimes called salty lox) is cured and not smoked. Like gravalax. Smoked salmon (nova for those who know it by this term) is cold smoked.   And kippered salmon is hot smoked.

 

Too pedantic for eG? NEVER!

 

At Russ, if you ask for "lox," they may even ask you if you know what it is. 

 

I had totally forgotten, "nova." Thanks for the reminder. Although we just say, "smoked salmon" in Australia and no one seems to identify cold vs. hot except by looking at it.

[Naftal]

It may be cultural. I prefer Nova, but then I love smoked Sable too

[kayb]

I have in my freezer three 8-oz packages of hot-smoked salmon, which a local charity smokes and sells every fall. Any thoughts of recipes? I'm familiar with its use with pasta in a cream sauce, and I've used it in salads. Found a recipe for it in a salad with quinoa and brown rice that looked interesting. Obviously in a cheese spread. Other ideas?

[heidih]

We like it (hot smoked) served with a Vietnamese style herb/lettuce plate. So rolled up with greenery of choice and a dollop of horseradish mayo or sour cream, Horseradish is essential.  Thin slivers of cucumber (preferably a Persian style) add a nice note. Sit around, munch, listen to music and laugh at our younger selves..

[chromedome]

2 hours ago, kayb said:

I have in my freezer three 8-oz packages of hot-smoked salmon, which a local charity smokes and sells every fall. Any thoughts of recipes? I'm familiar with its use with pasta in a cream sauce, and I've used it in salads. Found a recipe for it in a salad with quinoa and brown rice that looked interesting. Obviously in a cheese spread. Other ideas?

Makes a good dip.

Not that anyone's entertaining much, at the moment...

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, chromedome said:

Makes a good dip.

Not that anyone's entertaining much, at the moment...

 

Yeah - with frozen/defrosted hot smoked, that's as good as it's going to get. Dip or spread - cream cheese, mayo, sour cream, yogurt, chives, dill, lemon, etc. etc. s

[Katie Meadow]

5 hours ago, kayb said:

I have in my freezer three 8-oz packages of hot-smoked salmon, which a local charity smokes and sells every fall. Any thoughts of recipes? I'm familiar with its use with pasta in a cream sauce, and I've used it in salads. Found a recipe for it in a salad with quinoa and brown rice that looked interesting. Obviously in a cheese spread. Other ideas?

Hot smoked salmon was something I didn't really get exposed to until I moved to the west coast. The Pacific North West, often small roadside stands, makes hot smoked salmon (and other hot smoked fish like Black Cod) one of the great treats of a road trip along the coast. Often it doesn't last longer than the destination. When it's good it's nice and moist and flakes easily. 

 

But one of my favorite uses of hot smoked fish is in kedgeree, that Indian-colonial cultural mix of rice, fish, and sometimes chopped hard-cooked egg, often lightly curried. Recipes often specify smoked haddock, but we don't get that around here, and salmon is perfect. Very comforting dish!

 

I also like hot smoked salmon in some kind of fried fish cakes, with potatoes and other ingredients. Variations are numerous. Or, if I'm really lazy, I do nothing with it, just pick away at it as an appetizer on dark rye or crackers or all be itself. It could also be good in a breakfast quiche or pie. 

[kayb]

Thanks, all. I'd bookmarked a kedgeree recipe as a potential. Also some fish cakes that are a combo of poached and smoked salmon. We shall see.

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, kayb said:

Thanks, all. I'd bookmarked a kedgeree recipe as a potential. Also some fish cakes that are a combo of poached and smoked salmon. We shall see.

That works; I'll even use a can of salmon to make fish cakes.

[AlaMoi]

I've found one thing Nova won't do . . . come apart.

 

did eggs Benedict for breakfast today - slab of Nova on the muffin.

 

it comes in a vacuum pack - and getting the slices apart is some kind of trick!

anyone got a trick for that?  colder / warmer . . . .

 

this AM I simply gave up and used a biscuit cutter for the diameter of the muffin....

[weinoo]

50 minutes ago, AlaMoi said:

it comes in a vacuum pack - and getting the slices apart is some kind of trick!

anyone got a trick for that?  colder / warmer . . .

 

Removing a vacuum pack from the fridge for 30 minutes ahead of time allows the slices to separate more easily.

 

Don't have that much experience with salmon this way...moreso with different types of jamón. 

[Duvel]

7 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

Removing a vacuum pack from the fridge for 30 minutes ahead of time allows the slices to separate more easily.

 

Don't have that much experience with salmon this way...moreso with different types of jamón. 

Yes, room temperature is your friend for any sliced product that is glued together by solidified fat ...

[AlaMoi]

not so lotta' fat in cured salmon.

 

[Anna N]

2 minutes ago, AlaMoi said:

not so lotta' fat in cured salmon.

 

I would have thought otherwise. 

[AlaMoi]

nope.  salmon is very low fat.

[weinoo]

Any time I open a package of sliced smoked salmon, nova, Gaspé, whatever you want to call the smoked product (but not lox), and whether that product has been hand sliced at Russ & Daughters or commercially vacuum packed, it's loaded with oil.

 

As a matter of fact, perusing most of the cold-smoked products on this page, the fat content in the various salmon products seems to be anywhere from 30 - 50%.

[Alex]

3 hours ago, AlaMoi said:

nope.  salmon is very low fat.

 

But...but...Omega-3s. I'm devastated.

[heidih]

Fat content varies by type and diet   https://www.nutritionadvance.com/types-of-salmon/