Jewish Smoked Salmon | Lox

Lox is a Jewish delicacy that is usually eaten on bagels with cream cheese, but can be used in many other recipes.

All smoked salmon is not created equal, and Jewish smoked salmon, called lox, is not the same as the standard smoked salmon that you get from your regular grocery store. Lox is a Jewish delicacy that is usually eaten on bagels with cream cheese, but can be used in many other recipes.

While I like many other versions of smoked salmon, lox feeds my soul, because I have been eating it for my entire life. It is not a food that I eat very often, because it is quite expensive, but when I do, I enjoy every bite.

Lox is a Jewish delicacy

NOVA SCOTIA LOX

Lox is salmon that has been cured in a brine which includes water or oil, salt, sugar, and spices. Lox is made either salty (belly lox) or not salty (Nova Scotia lox or Nova lox). When I was younger, we ate the belly lox more often, but with the better understanding of healthier eating and reducing salt, most people eat Nova Scotia lox.

Buying lox

Lox usually comes in very thin slices in small quantities, because it is expensive, and can be found in any grocery store that has a Jewish community around it or in any Jewish grocery or delicatessen in the refrigerator section or fish section. You can also buy lox online at Amazon, but make sure it is lox and not smoked salmon.

Lox is usually sold in vacuum packed packages, and should be refrigerated at all times. You can freeze lox, but it won't be the same afterward. Freezing changes the texture of the lox. Lox is best eaten the day you buy it or the next day, and in most households will be gone as soon as you put it out.

Preparing and eating lox

There is really no preparation necessary for lox. Unless you buy it in a large piece, it is already sliced and ready to eat. Lox is meant to be eaten cold, but there are some recipes where lox is added to a heated dish. Most people eat lox paired with cream cheese or a similar spreadable cheese on bread, matzah, or a cracker.

Most Jewish breakfast or brunch events will include lox and bagels. Typical sides to add to your lox and bagels are slices of red or sweet onion, slices of tomato,slices of cucumber, lemon, and capers.

However, lox is also good with any type of bread, and any creamy cheese. For instance, lox would be a good pairing with Havarti cheese or Brie cheese.

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Other uses for lox

Just like any other fish, lox can be used in other ways most often for appetizers or breakfast items. Lox would make excellent bruschetta appetizer with a light cream cheese, slice of cucumber, and a sprinkle of fresh chives. Lox is also very good cut in small pieces and sprinkled over mesclun greens. Lox should be used in any recipe in small amounts as a flavor enhancer or additive because it has a strong flavor.

For hot dishes, lox is traditionally cooked into scrambled eggs with onions. It would be equally good inside an omelet with chives and a Havarti cheese. Recently I had a quesadilla made with a flour tortilla, lettuce, lox, cream cheese, tomato, and chives. This could be served hot or cold.

I prefer lox cold, but I know many people who love lox added to eggs. Remember that you do not need to cook the lox, so you can just add it into any recipe right before you are finished for flavor and to warm it.

More Jewish Recipes

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	The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand to New York: A Cookbook ~~$37.43~~ $9.34

Lox is best with the freshest ingredients

Lox is a food that tastes best with the freshest ingredients. As I mentioned above, it does not freeze well, and your best experience would be to buy lox, then go to the local farmers market for the vegetables, and bread. Then get your friends together and eat the lox on a Saturday or Sunday morning. Remember that lox is a speciality, and savor it.

Updated: 10/02/2014, lakeerieartists

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Digby_Adams on 10/21/2011

Salmon from SeaBear Smokehouse is the only salmon we eat. It's so delicous and much healthier than the Atlantic farm grown salmon. My husband Matt spends a lot of time in the Pacific Northwest and eats a lot of salmon there. So I tried an experiment and ordered some Coho Salmon from SeaBear to see if he could tell the difference. Oh Boy could he ever! One bite - just one bite - and he looked at me and said, "Where did you get fresh Coho Salmon?"

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