Perhaps you may have seen smoked salmon products at the frozen section of a supermarket such as NTUC Fairprice or at online marketplaces such as Pickme, you may have even eaten it as part of a sandwich or any other dish. Whatever your experience with smoked salmon may be, a question may linger in your mind about whether or not smoked salmon can be consumed immediately. Let’s explore that question together.
Types of Smoked Salmon
Smoked salmon is prepared in two ways as either cold smoked salmon or hot smoked salmon. Here’s a table to illustrate the attributes of the two kinds of smoked salmon that will make their differences more apparent.
| Type of Smoked Salmon | Smoking Method |
| Cold Smoked Salmon (may be labelled with other names such as Nova style Salmon, Kippered Salmon, Salmon Pate, Salmon Jerk/Fish Jerky or Pate.) | The salmon is dry cured with salt, sugar and seasonings and is smoked at temperatures between 26 degrees Celsius/80 degrees Fahrenheit to 32 degrees Celsius/90 degrees Fahrenheit. |
| Hot Smoked Salmon | The salmon is cured using brine (a solution of salt and water) and is smoked at temperatures between 48 degrees Celsius/120 degrees Fahrenheit to 107 degrees Celsius/225 degrees Fahrenheit. |
Do the differences in how Hot Smoked Salmon and Cold Smoked Salmon are prepared mean that they cannot be eaten immediately?
As can be seen in the table above, hot smoked salmon and cold smoked salmon are cured differently and are smoked at different temperatures. You may then wonder if this impacts whether or not they can be eaten immediately, well to put it simply, you can consume cold and hot smoked salmon without cooking it. It is however important to note that hot smoked salmon is more cooked than cold smoked salmon because they are smoked at higher temperatures than cold smoked salmon.
Be sure to consume Smoked Salmon before expiry
While hot smoked salmon may be slightly more cooked than cold smoked salmon and you can eat both hot or cold smoked salmon without being cooked, it is still important to be wary of consuming both cold and hot smoked salmon before they are expired. A reason for this is the fact that smoked salmon of both varieties is vulnerable to bacteria such as Listeria which could result in health complications.
Who should avoid eating Smoked Salmon?
With regards to the question of who should avoid consuming smoked salmon, those who have weak immunity, the elderly and pregnant women are some of those people who should avoid eating smoked salmon be they hot smoked or cold smoked.
In summary,
In closing, it can then be said that in essence both cold and hot smoked salmon can be consumed immediately but you must consume them before they expire. Additionally certain groups of people such as pregnant women and others who may have weak immunity should avoid eating smoked salmon. With all that said, remember to consume your food responsibly. Take care and stay safe.