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Salmon Sushi

Salmon / Salmon Trout

White Fish & Salmon

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Order Salmoniformes, Family Salmonidae, Subfamily Salmoninae

Generally, the seven species of the genus Oncorhynchus plus Atlantic salmon are referred to as salmon. They include anadromous types that migrate from sea to river, and freshwater-resident types. The history of eating salmon raw in Japan is relatively short, and most sushi and sashimi salmon comes from farmed fish raised in Norway or Chile.

In the past, "sake" in Japan referred only to chum salmon, but the influx of imported salmon from Norway popularized the name "salmon," and today fish belonging to the genera Oncorhynchus and Salmo within the family Salmonidae are commonly called either salmon or sake.

Fish in the family Salmonidae, including salmon and trout, are generally known for their habit of migrating to the sea and returning to rivers, but some species spend their entire lives in freshwater. Also, while salmon is often thought to be a red-fleshed fish due to its reddish-colored flesh, this color actually comes from pigments in the shells of crustaceans such as shrimp and crab in their diet, and it is classified as a white-fleshed fish.

Surprisingly, salmon sushi did not appear until around 1980. Norway is credited with popularizing salmon sushi. Norway, where salmon farming and raw consumption were already established, marketed salmon as a sushi topping to Japan, where raw salmon was not eaten due to parasites in chum salmon. Its adoption by conveyor belt sushi restaurants is said to be what sparked its widespread popularity.

Today, most salmon consumed raw as sushi toppings and sashimi are salmon trout (ocean-raised rainbow trout), Atlantic salmon, and Chinook salmon (king salmon) farmed in Norway and Chile. These are either frozen beforehand or raised in parasite-free farming environments, making them safe to eat raw.

Salmon Is the World Champion of Sushi Toppings

Salmon sushi is popular across all ages in Japan, but it is especially dominant overseas, where it far surpasses tuna in popularity, earning an unshakeable position as the king of sushi toppings globally.

Salmon sushi has a pleasant softness with rich fat and sweetness, and its harmony with vinegared rice makes it delicious as raw nigiri, but it is also excellent when torched or combined with sliced onion, mayonnaise, avocado, cheese, and other ingredients.

Around the world, there are creative salmon rolls and various inventive salmon sushi creations, and this versatility is one of the great advantages of a truly global sushi topping.
The world-standard salmon maki sushi The world-standard salmon maki sushi

The Ambiguous Relationship Between Salmon, Sake, and Trout

Fish in the family Salmonidae can be classified into trout (Japanese: masu), which spend their entire lives in freshwater, and salmon (Japanese: sake), which migrate to the sea. However, the names actually used do not always match this classification. Furthermore, in Japan, only chum salmon (shirozake) was historically called "sake," while sockeye salmon and coho salmon were called "benimasu" and "ginmasu" respectively. Additionally, Chinook salmon is still called "masunosuke" in Japanese, making the relationship between sake, salmon, and trout quite ambiguous.

The name "salmon" itself derives from the scientific family name Salmonidae, which comes from the Latin word for "leap." Academically, salmon refers to seven species of the genus Oncorhynchus: chum salmon, sockeye salmon, coho salmon, pink salmon, cherry salmon (sakuramasu), rainbow trout (nijimasu), and Chinook salmon (masunosuke). Beyond these, there is also Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) from the genus Salmo.
Moreover, rainbow trout within the genus Oncorhynchus is classified as a trout, and it comes in two versions: the small freshwater-only rainbow trout and the large ocean-farmed salmon trout (which literally translates to "salmon-trout"!), making things quite complicated.

The confusion arising from mixing academic naming with branding purposes, combined with Japan-specific naming conventions, means this ambiguous three-way relationship is likely to continue for some time.

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