# Salmon cans **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 31, 2000, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salmon-cans/47861 "2000-12-31T03:47:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Booker57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Booker57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Booker57)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2000, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salmon-cans/47861/1 "2000-12-31T03:47:03Z")
Why are they tapered? Big on the top no less. Simple question. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2000, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salmon-cans/47861/2 "2000-12-31T04:43:11Z")
Do you have a brand or a clearer description? All the cans of salmon I have seen look just like the cans for green beans or anything else–a normal cylinder with a little bit of lateral fluting to make them rigid. As a WAG, a can that was wider at the top than at the bottom would allow the contents to fall out in one lump without any of it sticking to the sides of the can. ---
**Author:** ![peace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@peace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peace)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2000, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salmon-cans/47861/3 "2000-12-31T05:02:21Z")
How big is your can, Booker? Are there different can sizes? All weird? Peace ---
**Author:** ![Sue\_Duhnym](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@Sue\_Duhnym](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sue_Duhnym)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2000, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salmon-cans/47861/4 "2000-12-31T08:55:38Z")
Why does canned salmon come with bones and skin? It’s f-ing disgusting! ---
**Author:** ![jb\_farley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9d8465/32.png) [@jb\_farley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jb_farley)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2000, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salmon-cans/47861/5 "2000-12-31T09:18:06Z")
stick with the kippered herring. Tastes great, nice on a cracker, uncooked, and best of all, in a normal can. jb ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2000, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salmon-cans/47861/6 "2000-12-31T12:02:39Z")
Over here John West salmon is canned just like that, even the larger cans are tapered, by about 25%. They are quite distinctive, a few of the supermarket copycat brands do the same. When you look at the brands that do not taper but have the same weight of contents they look smaller to me, perhaps its an optical illusion and its used as a marketing ploy but you would think that this would then be used on other canned goods. ---
**Author:** ![Shiva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@Shiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shiva)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2000, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salmon-cans/47861/7 "2000-12-31T15:01:53Z")
A Semi-WAG, but it’s probably to make packing easier. I’ll bet you dollars to doughnuts that they’re hand packed. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2000, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salmon-cans/47861/8 "2000-12-31T18:44:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sue Duhnym \* > \*\*Why does canned salmon come with bones and skin? > > It’s f-ing disgusting! \*\* The bones are quite soft and are edible. They are an excellent source of calcium. I suppose they leave them in because they too much trouble to remove. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2000, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salmon-cans/47861/9 "2000-12-31T18:56:39Z")
So is this an overseas canned-salmon thing? All the American canned salmon I’ve ever seen is in regular cylindrical cans, like **Tom~** said. My WAG as to why canned salmon comes with bones and skin is because it’s too expensive for the cannery to hire people to skin and fillet them, and anyway it’s fairly easy for the consumer to pull out the skin and bones. If they had to factor in the cost of having the fish skinned and filleted, you wouldn’t have cheap canned salmon; it would only be featured as $4.98 a pound frozen fillets. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2000, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salmon-cans/47861/10 "2000-12-31T19:14:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tomndebb \* > \*\*… All the cans of salmon I have seen look just like the cans for green beans or anything else–a normal cylinder with a little bit of lateral fluting to make them rigid. Funny, my can is white porcelain and bowl-shaped. 🙂 Here in NJ all the canned salmon is in the tapered cans, and I’ve always wondered why. I have never purchased canned salmon, btw, but I have pondered the cans on many occasions. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2000, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salmon-cans/47861/11 "2000-12-31T19:15:45Z")
urgh. pardon the bolding in the above! ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2000, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salmon-cans/47861/12 "2000-12-31T19:22:13Z")
{Canned Salmon Hijack!} Canned salmon was a staple in many African-American households well up into the 1960s, when the prices began to rise drastically. The fact that canned salmon was inexpensive accounts for the numerous salmon croquette and salmon-and-egg recipes that are plentiful in African-American cooking and are never prepared with fresh salmon. – Jessica B. Harris; THE WELCOME TABLE: AFRICAN-AMERICAN HERITAGE COOKING, Simon & Schuster, 1995 {/Canned Salmon Hijack!} ---
**Author:** ![IBBen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/85f322/32.png) [@IBBen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IBBen)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2000, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salmon-cans/47861/13 "2000-12-31T19:48:34Z")
I am a dispatcher for a freight company based in Seattle,WA. and move many loads of canned salmon, mostly to the East coast (we eat our salmon fresh here in the Northwest) The salmon is packed in gigantic sweatshops…errr canneries in Alaska and shipped to Seattle in plain cans. What is funny is that the cans are generic until they reach Seattle. When they get here, they are all labeled with the brand names you are familiar with. I work daily with the companies in Seattle who label the cans of salmon, I will ask next week and see if anybody has any ideas. Are there any particular brand names you are curious about? Odds are I am putting them on your grocery shelves. On occasion, I have sampled canned salmon and I gotta ask: What the hell? I ship millions of pounds of canned salmon to the east coast. What are you doing with it? Do you mix it with mayonaisse and eat it like a tuna fish sandwich? Canned salmon casserole anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2000, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salmon-cans/47861/14 "2000-12-31T19:58:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by IBBen \* > **What are you doing with it?** SALMON CAKES (or CROQUETTES, depending on shape chosen) 1 16 oz. can pink salmon 2 tblsp minced onion 2 eggs 1/4 cup yellow cornmeal S&P 2 tblsp bacon fat (or olive oil) Remove bones and skin from salmon, place the meat in a mixing bowl, and break it up with a fork. Add onion, eggs, cornmeal, salt and pepper to taste, and mix well. Form into cakes or ovals. Heat the fat in a skillet, add the salmon cakes, and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes on each side. Serve hot. – Harris; ibid. ---
**Author:** ![Whammo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Whammo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whammo)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2000, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salmon-cans/47861/15 "2000-12-31T20:03:04Z")
My dad used to make those Ike… good with ketchup. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![activgurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@activgurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/activgurl)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2000, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salmon-cans/47861/16 "2000-12-31T23:15:15Z")
Ship Ahoy salmon comes in small cans, blue labels, funny shape, no bones OR skin. Great stuff on toast, and remember to share with the house kitties. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2001, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salmon-cans/47861/17 "2001-01-01T01:02:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ukulele Ike \* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by IBBen \* > > **What are you doing with it?** > > SALMON CAKES (or CROQUETTES, depending on shape chosen) > > 1 16 oz. can _ **pink salmon** _ > 2 tblsp minced onion > 2 eggs > 1/4 cup yellow cornmeal > S&P > 2 tblsp bacon fat (or olive oil) > > Remove bones and skin from salmon, place the meat in a mixing bowl, and break it up with a fork. Add onion, eggs, cornmeal, salt and pepper to taste, and mix well. Form into cakes or ovals. Heat the fat in a skillet, add the salmon cakes, and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes on each side. Serve hot. > > – Harris; ibid. **Great Googely-Moogely Ike!! Don’t eat the pink salmon! It’s EEE-vil!!** Here in Alaska, nobody eats the Pinks, or “humpies” as we call them, except maybe the sled dogs. Any true salmon connoisseur knows that the best salmon is Alaskan Red Salmon (known elswhere as Sockeye). Also acceptable are King (aka Chinook) and maybe Silvers (aka Coho). Chums (aka Dogs) and Pinks are pet food. Don’t be fooled by the recently marketed “Keta” salmon either. It’s Chums imported from South American fish farms; don’t get me started on those Frankenfish! There is also a lot of cheap, and to my taste, crappy farmed Atlantic salmon from Scotland and Norway floating around; it should be avoided as well. Stick to Alaskan Red (or Sockeye); mmm-salmony! Oh yeah, the cans. The tapered ones are more than likely from a small cannery that buys its cans pre-fabbed, rather than making them onsite like a mega-cannery. They are tapered so when new and empty, they will fit inside each other for compact shipping to Alaska from Outside. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2001, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salmon-cans/47861/18 "2001-01-01T01:11:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by IBBen \* > \*\* > What are you doing with it? > \*\* I will occasionally make salmon chowder with it. But since I leave the bones in, nobody else will eat it. All the more for me. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![IBBen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/85f322/32.png) [@IBBen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IBBen)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2001, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salmon-cans/47861/19 "2001-01-01T01:59:07Z")
**Fear Itself** The last time I checked, it costs around $5200.00 to move a 48’ container from Seattle to Anchorage. I imagine one might spend a couple thousand bucks shipping from Anchorage to remote canneries. Makes sense that density becomes a factor on a non-revenue producing shipment of empty cans. **Bibliophage** : Salmon chowder sounds pretty good. I’ll bet the Crouettes are pretty tasty as well. Thanks for elightening me, I have always wondered what you East Coasters do with your canned salmon. ---
**Author:** ![Shiva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@Shiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shiva)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2001, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salmon-cans/47861/20 "2001-01-01T03:21:22Z")
[IBBen\*\*, don’t be fooled. Liberal doses of ketchup are _needed_ to even choke down a forkfull of my Moms Canned Salmon Loaf. Gaaah. The things you can do to ruin a noble fish. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salmon-cans/47861.md?page=2)