What Does Raw Salmon Taste Like? Is It OK to Eat It Raw?
Salmon is well-known for its healthy properties and deliciousness. Many people tend to include this fish in their meals without any cooking. However, this has imposed an important question of whether it is safe to eat raw salmon. So, what does raw salmon taste like, and is it safe to consume it in this way?
Fresh raw salmon is characterized by a buttery taste, and it usually melts in your mouth quite quickly. However, you need to bear in mind that raw salmon may contain bacteria, parasites, and other toxins that can be harmful. So, always make sure that you eat raw salmon that has been properly stored.
If you want to learn the safe ways to eat raw salmon, you have come to the right place. In this article, I have written every important detail related to raw salmon, i.e. the taste you should expect, as well as the risks that this type of fish can impose on your health. You will also learn how to reduce the risks that a particular type of food can carry and whether or not you should avoid this kind of fish.
Is Raw Salmon Tasty?
Raw salmon is known for its buttery taste. However, you should also consider where this fish is taken out. For instance, if salmon is harvested from the wild, that means it will have a richer and creamier taste, while the one harvested from a fish pond will not have such high qualities.
Many people that don’t like fish don’t have any problems with salmon. This is because salmon doesn’t contain that distinctive, salty taste of the fish. It will rather remind you of salty butter that easily melts in your mouth. Just like a piece of butter.
There are a lot of dishes that include raw salmon as the main ingredient. For instance, sushi usually includes raw salmon, meaning that this meal would be accompanied by soy sauce, wasabi, cream cheese and rice. The most popular sushi with salmon is nigiri that includes only raw salmon on the rice block. Raw salmon also plays the main role in cold salads with dill and mustard. In these kinds of combinations, raw salmon can’t taste bad.
In other words, raw salmon is usually eaten in combination with something else, or as an appetizer. It is not common for people to eat raw salmon as their main dish. There are different kinds of meals in which you can include raw salmon, but you will have to combine it with particular flavors and additives.
Is Raw Salmon Chewy?
Salmon is known as a delicate fish with an extraordinary texture. When you eat raw salmon, you can taste the silky and smooth surface of this type of fish. If the salmon is cooked, it will usually be characterized by a light texture that easily melts in the mouth.
On the other hand, salmon that has not undergone any cooking process will be ropy and chewy. That does not mean that it will not melt in your mouth as the cooked one. However, it will take more time to be processed in your mouth before swallowing.
What Should Fresh Salmon Taste Like?
Salmon is one of the most delicious and most sophisticated types of fish out there. This is because salmon tastes like an explosion of many different flavors in your mouth. This is actually what everyone is looking for in food.
Even people who are not big fans of fish enjoy salmon because this fish truly has a unique taste that suits basically every taste. Fresh salmon does not really have the same fishy taste you expect in other types of fish or seafood. Salmon is full of flavors, and its texture is smooth and light.
Usually, people describe fresh salmon as something refreshing and chewy. When you eat fresh salmon, it naturally melts in your mouth, and that is everything you need from a fish, even though it is raw. Not many people prefer raw food. It is because they don’t know what does raw salmon taste like, but many of them can make an exception when it comes to salmon.
How Do You Know When Salmon Is Raw?
Salmon does not show really distinguishable features when cooked. Therefore, it is usually difficult to differentiate whether salmon is raw or has undergone a cooking process. However, there are small details that can help you with the question, of what does raw salmon look like. For instance, you will have to pay close attention to the color of the salmon and the smell.
Thus, when salmon is cooked it usually gets some kind of a light pinkish color, while the raw salmon is red. In other words, when salmon is raw, it has some kind of translucent color, and when cooked, this color changes into an opaque one.
Also, when cooked, you should expect that the salmon will be thicker and hardened, while the raw salmon is usually soft and smoother.
What Should Raw Salmon Smell Like?
Raw salmon usually smells fresh, and it is not characterized by really strong scents. If you can sense some strong fishy smells, then the salmon you intend to eat is probably gone bad. This is usually how you can determine whether your salmon has spoiled.
However, you should consider that even though salmon is a distinct type of fish, it is still fish, so you will definitely smell the scent of fishy food. This is completely normal, but make sure that the smell is not so strong and unbearable. If your nose cannot stand the smell, then you should probably give up the idea of eating that particular salmon.
What Happens If You Eat Raw Salmon?
Raw salmon is usually for those people who want to try what raw salmon taste like, and have an adventurous palate. Not everyone can stand the taste of raw fish. Therefore, not everyone will like this type of fish. Nonetheless, those who do can enjoy the uniqueness of raw salmon, especially in traditional dishes like Sashimi or a Nordic appetizer.
However, when you eat raw salmon, you face particular and potential risks. You might get many health benefits from it, but it can still be risky because of different factors that need to be considered when eating raw fish. In other words, you need to bear in mind that raw salmon is a bearer of parasites, bacteria, and other toxins and pathogens. [1]
Some of these parasites and bacteria are completely normal since they occur in a natural fish environment, i.e. they come from the water. However, some of the toxins appear on the raw salmon because the fish has not been stored properly. These kinds of bacteria and toxins are usually more dangerous than those that appear in the normal fish environment.
That is why it is usually safer to cook the salmon before eating since that way you kill all of the parasites and bacteria that might be inside the raw salmon.
On the other hand, if you really need to eat raw salmon, then you need to know how the fish was stored, i.e. whether the conditions in which the salmon was stored are healthy and safe.
To keep salmon fresh and safe, you will need to keep the salmon frozen, and you need to check for any discoloration, bruising, or smell. If you see that your salmon has an unusual color and look, and it smells kind of funny, then you should probably get rid of it, and not risk your health. Wasting food is not convenient, but risking your health because of food is not really smart.
There are a lot of benefits of eating raw salmon, and in particular, dishes can be really tasty. Some traditional dishes that include raw salmon as the main ingredient are delicious, so you should not miss out on trying them. However, if you are preparing the raw salmon, make sure that you have stored it properly to prevent yourself from eating any parasites or bacteria along the way.
