General awareness of what constitutes healthy food and what constitutes junk food is on the rise, and if we are to compare it to the general awareness of the issue of only a decade or two ago, the increase is really quite amazing. Study upon study has been published in recent years detailing-with scientific exactitude-what the good and the bad are in the average diet, and how to maximize the former and minimize the latter. A conclusion that has been present in virtually all of these studies: consuming more seafood, effectively incorporating it into our regular diets is one of the most significant changes we can make. Of the varieties of seafood being touted as particularly beneficial to our health are those with low levels of artificial contaminants, like wild Alaska salmon.
The great thing about salmon caught in the wild and teeming waters off the coast of Alaska is that the ecosystems they occupy are still relatively free of pollutants-unlike the open waters being prowled by other fisheries, or the waters of artificial fish farms (especially the latter!). Wild Alaska salmon, just like the vast majority of fish caught in the pristine Alaskan waters, has negligible or directly nonexistent levels of PCBs, mercury, and other contaminants that are particularly common in fish raised and harvested in fish farms which, unfortunately, are providing a lot of the fish that we find in our supermarkets and seafood stores. That is why it is so important to check the label on any seafood product to make sure that it was caught in the wild.
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Anybody interested in eating healthy foods knows about the benefits of wild Alaska salmon, but it’s not only the health-nuts out there that are big on this exceptional food source. With the Alaskan fishing industry making salmon a common item in supermarkets and seafood markets all across the country, even regular old food lovers (yes, even the ones that could care less about health benefits) know of and are obsessed with wild Alaska salmon. The mere sight of fresh, wild salmon is enough to make it an unforgettable memory, such is its appeal. Once the flavor and texture have been tried out for the first time, any person is virtually guaranteed to become a lifelong addict to salmon. With that in mind, it’s important to have plenty of ideas for wild salmon recipes, so that one can enjoy this unique fish in a thousand and one different incarnations.
A key bit of information for any person learning how to cook and treat salmon in general, is the fact that salmon is better a little raw on the inside than totally cooked through. It isn’t a coincidence that salmon is one of the most popular species of fish for preparing sushi; as long as the meat is fresh (and better so if it’s wild) and has been caught and treated properly on the vessel it was caught by, you can rest assured that raw salmon is simply spectacular. But not a lot of people are turned on by the idea of raw meat, so most wild salmon recipes obviously include cooking the fish.
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As overfishing has become increasingly problematic and wild fish populations less sufficient to feed the growing human population, the world has become more and more dependent on aquaculture, or fish farming. In fact, today, one out of every four fish consumed worldwide was raised on a farm. While, overall, fish farming adds to global fish resources and helps to balance out the effects of overfishing, for multiple reasons that are both nutritious and environmental, wild-caught fish are far superior to their farm-raised cousins. Therefore, you should always look for wild-caught options, like wild-caught Alaska salmon, when shopping for fish to cook for your family.
From a nutritional standpoint, it is important to note that, despite being fattier than wild fish, farmed fish provide less protein and usable Omega-3 fatty acids, which are beneficial to the heart. Wild-caught Alaska salmon, for example has a 20% higher protein content and 20% lower fat content than their farm-raised counterparts (which are higher in harmful, pro-inflammatory Omega-6 fatty acids). Furthermore, due to feedlot conditions, which include dousing them in antibiotics and exposing them to concentrated pesticides, farm-raised fish contain contaminants and cancer-causing toxins that their wild relatives do not. Farm-raised salmon are also dyed with artificial coloring to match the pinkish tone of wild-caught salmon; otherwise, their flesh would appear an unappetizing gray color.
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