Jews and Salmon

[Lamar Mundane]

I was reading the current issue of Bon Apetit and in an article about Hannukah meals, a salmon dish is featured. Smoked salmon (lox) with bagels and cream cheese is a traditional (or should I say stereotypical) Jewish breakfast/brunch dish.

I'm curious about how salmon became a part of Jewish cuisine. Is it an American thing or did it come from the old country(ies)? In the U.S., the good stuff comes from the pacific northwest, not a center of Jewish culture. There is Atlantic Salmon, but I was under the impression that it's habitat was a little further north than New York, up in the Canadian maritime provinces. In Europe, salmon is found in Scotland and Scandinavia, and although the fish goes up rivers to spawn, I don't think it makes it to the centers of Jewish settlements. Maybe in Russia.

Anyway, does anyone know the scoop on this? Why salmon? It can't be just because it is easy to prepare Kosher.

[toadspittle]

Lox as we know it appears to have been invented in America:

Smoked salmon comes in a variety of forms, with the most popular being lox. Lox, first appearing in English in 1941, comes from the Yiddish laks, and originated in New York. It was unknown amongst European Jews, and is still rare in Europe.

Lox is cured in salt brine, and preferably is made of Pacific salmon. Of course, the most popular menu item is thin slices of lox on a bagel with cream cheese.

http://homecooking.about.com/od/food...monhistory.htm


Not sure why American Jews in NY seized on salmon in the first place to popularize over other types of fish, but for whatever reason, you don't see other types of salt-brined fish in anywhere near as much quantity in the US.

[Gfactor]

Lox and smoked salmon became Jewish through an accident of migration. When European immigrants came to New York, they brought traditions of smoking and salting fish. But the stuff did not take off until the arrival of Eastern European Jews in the late 19th and early 20th century.

In the United States, the opening of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869 connected the waters of the Pacific Northwest, which were teeming with wild salmon, with New York fishmongers. Barrels filled with hundreds of pounds of salmon interleaved with salt were transported east. The salt drew water from the flesh of the fish, creating a briny bath that preserved the salmon for up to a year without refrigeration.

At the same time, the market for lox was exploding. Eastern European immigrants would have appreciated lox both for its price — 9 cents for a quarter-pound in the 1920's and 30's — and for its convenience. It was easy to handle — and pareve, making it acceptable with milk or meat. It fast became a staple.

"Think about it in terms of tenements, the crowded conditions and absence of cooking facilities," said James Shenton, professor emeritus at Columbia University, whose specialty is immigrant history. "Lox had the advantage of not requiring the effort that would have made life more complicated than it was."

http://www.acmesmokedfish.com/retail...mesPrimer.html

http://www.finesalmon.com/Salmon_Foo...ory_of_Lox.asp

http://www.pbs.org/mpt/jewishcooking...son1/111h.html

[toadspittle]

Much better post by Gfactor.

[Ike Witt]

Last Friday, I went to a play called 'Jewtopia'. One of the characters said "We like salmon. Nobody is really sure why."

OTOH, my sister assures me that fish is considered meat with regards to kosher laws, but the cite provided by GFactor claims it is pareve. It seems to me that I ran into this problem in the thread about whether jello is kosher or not.

[Anne Neville]

Originally Posted by adam yax

my sister assures me that fish is considered meat with regards to kosher laws

I keep kosher. She's wrong. Fish is neither meat nor dairy- it's parve.

Eggs aren't meat according to the kosher laws either, for the record. They're also parve.

Originally Posted by Lamar Mundane

Anyway, does anyone know the scoop on this? Why salmon? It can't be just because it is easy to prepare Kosher.

There is a reason why salmon might be part of a Hanukkah menu that does have to do with keeping kosher, though. Latkes are the essential part of a Hanukkah meal (for Ashkenazim, at least), and a lot of people like sour cream with their latkes. That rules out meat or poultry at a Hanukkah dinner if you keep kosher, because you can't have either of those with sour cream. Salmon is a popular and widely available kosher fish that a lot of people think of as appropriate for a festive meal.

[Gfactor]

Originally Posted by adam yax

OTOH, my sister assures me that fish is considered meat with regards to kosher laws, but the cite provided by GFactor claims it is pareve. It seems to me that I ran into this problem in the thread about whether jello is kosher or not.

Fish, eggs, fruits, vegetables and grains can be eaten with either meat or dairy. (According to some views, fish may not be eaten with meat).

http://www.jewfaq.org/kashrut.htm

For example, Jell-O brand gelatin puts a K on its product, even though every reliable Orthodox authority agrees that Jell-O is not kosher.

http://www.jewfaq.org/kashrut.htm
http://ohr.edu/ask_db/ask_main.php/127/Q1/

[Voyager]

Originally Posted by toadspittle

Not sure why American Jews in NY seized on salmon in the first place to popularize over other types of fish, but for whatever reason, you don't see other types of salt-brined fish in anywhere near as much quantity in the US.

When I was a kid when we got appetizing, we got lox and also sable , plus whitefish. Sable and whitefish seem to be pretty rare outside of New York, but the deli in the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City has a mean whitefish salad. (And good pastrami.) Whitefish is kind of a pain to eat, and I guess smoked salmon has more general appeal. I had some really good smoked salmon in the Netherlands. No bagels though.

BTW, among my crowd Nova lox (made from Atlantic salmon) is much preferred to lox made from Pacific Northwest salmon. I think I can tell the difference, and buy Nova wherever possible.

[DaphneBlack]

Now I'm hungry

[Hari Seldon]

Originally Posted by Voyager

When I was a kid when we got appetizing, we got lox and also sable , plus whitefish. Sable and whitefish seem to be pretty rare outside of New York, but the deli in the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City has a mean whitefish salad. (And good pastrami.) Whitefish is kind of a pain to eat, and I guess smoked salmon has more general appeal. I had some really good smoked salmon in the Netherlands. No bagels though.

BTW, among my crowd Nova lox (made from Atlantic salmon) is much preferred to lox made from Pacific Northwest salmon. I think I can tell the difference, and buy Nova wherever possible.

Both sable and whitefish (not to mention lox) were also quite common in Philly. But pastrami never made the trip (corn beef did).

And I find regular lox much more flavorful than Nova (which, under the name smoked salmon or saumon fume) is the only thing known here in Montreal. When I am in NY, I get real lox, although I probably shouldn't on account of the salt.

[Anchuldigs]

fish is pareve. However, most Sephardic jews do not eat fish with dairy. Therefore, no lox and cream-cheese bagels for Sphardim.
Many Jews also refrain from eating fish with meat.

[samclem]

Just as an informational point, there are multiple ads in the Lincoln, Nebraska paper from 1920 selling "Salmon(lox)" in and around 1920. So

[Lamar Mundane]

Thanks for the answers to that out-of-left-field question. I am certain to be a hit at parties now, armed with the answer.

As a reward, here are some pictures I saw today.

http://nancykayshapiro.livejournal.c...l?thread=54321

And I think samclem got murdered midpost.