Can you freeze sliced smoked salmon? (lox)

[Mad Cook]

I buy my lox directly from manufacturer. According to the company, as long as fish stays frozen, in a well-sealed package there is absolutely no problem to keep it for even a year. And I have done it too. Taste change is practically undetectable.

Commercial blast freezing is not the same as do-it-yourself freezing.

 

[taxlady]

I buy my lox directly from manufacturer. According to the company, as long as fish stays frozen, in a well-sealed package there is absolutely no problem to keep it for even a year. And I have done it too. Taste change is practically undetectable.

Do you buy it frozen or freeze it yourself?

 

[CharlieD]

Do you buy it frozen or freeze it yourself?

A. Lot of times I buy it frozen, right before my flight home. Some times it stays frozen, sometimes it is at least partially defrosted. I do freeze it when I bring home. I was told not to worry and go ahead and refreeze it.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

Update: Since my positive results from freezing lox a week or so ago, I took the next step.

I normally buy lox at the supermarket in a 3 ounce (85 gr.) pack for $5.29. That's two bagel's worth of lox. Doing the math that's $2.65 per bagel. This past weekend I bought lox at Costco. It was 24 ounces (680 gr.) for $21.99. I got 14 portions so that comes out to $1.57 per bagel.

It's all in the freezer now so I'm set for about 5 weeks. That's two weeks for you, Greg.

I'm using my second frozen for about a week lox and it's still just about as good as fresh. I can see a barely imperceptible degradation in texture (it's just slightly mushy) but compared to the crispness of the toasted bagel and the crispness of the fresh, sliced onion, it's barely noticeable.

Considering supermarket lox is several times more expensive than Costco or Super King, well worth the small sacrifice of having slightly mushy lox. Actually I don't find the mushiness even significant.

But I do think I should get off eating lox 'n bagel every day. I've been throwing in a few BLT with egg on bagel and egg/cheese on tortilla, just because I think it's not good to eat the same thing every day.

Even if I like it!

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

And your portions are slightly larger.

I don't really measure the lox proportions. I just lay out what looks right. I think the biggest dietary risk is the cream cheese. I try to lay a thin coating of CC.

 

[taxlady]

I don't really measure the lox proportions. I just lay out what looks right. I think the biggest dietary risk is the cream cheese. I try to lay a thin coating of CC.

We don't measure the portions either. Like you, we just add lox until it looks right. We use quark instead of cream cheese - less fat but it tastes wonderful. I'm not usually a fan of "low fat", but we don't notice any less yum.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

I probably use 1-1/2 to 2 ounces lox per bagel. I'm trying to reduce the cream cheese serving.

Hey, at least you can have as much onions as you like, right? (I do not currently have a significant other, and my planned strategy is to hook her on lox, bagel, onion and cream cheese, if possible.)

Unfortunately I always seem to tempt my girlfriends into fattening foods. I think I should change my lifestyle, since I don't want to fatten up my GFs.

 

[taxlady]

I probably use 1-1/2 to 2 ounces lox per bagel. I'm trying to reduce the cream cheese serving.

Hey, at least you can have as much onions as you like, right? (I do not currently have a significant other, and my planned strategy is to hook her on lox, bagel, onion and cream cheese, if possible.)

Unfortunately I always seem to tempt my girlfriends into fattening foods. I think I should change my lifestyle, since I don't want to fatten up my GFs.

Don't forget the capers, they are pretty low cal. And quark is a great substitute for cream cheese. You can get that in lower fat than cream cheese without any weird additives.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

I never heard of "quark." Never tried capers on my lox/bagel. I've been putting less cream cheese...

Trader Joe's recently started stocking lox in reasonable prices, maybe not as good as SK but closing in.

 

[taxlady]

I never heard of "quark." Never tried capers on my lox/bagel. I've been putting less cream cheese...

Trader Joe's recently started stocking lox in reasonable prices, maybe not as good as SK but closing in.

You should give the capers a try, the quark too. You can probably find quark at the health food store. I make my own.

 

[CharlieD]

When you say quark, do you mean farmers cheese?

 

[CharlieD]

Commercial blast freezing is not the same as do-it-yourself freezing.

What does that have to do with anything?

 

[Mad Cook]

What does that have to do with anything?

The Blast Freeze process requires that food be reduced from a temperature of +70ºC to –18ºC in no more than 240 minutes. Much colder and faster than the domestic freezer even on fast freeze and in more hygienic conditions that are possible even in the best run domestic kitchen so less damage to the food and it will keep longer.

Because the domestic freezer freezes more slowly and the food takes longer to reach the safe temperature there is more opportunity for deterioration, which is why food frozen at home doesn't keep, or shouldn't be kept, as long as commercially frozen food.

 

[Mad Cook]

When you say quark, do you mean farmers cheese?

Don't know what "farmer's cheese" is but quark is very similar to the soft cheese you get when you strain unflavoured and unsweetened yoghourt overnight through muslin. In fact, if you can't get hold of quark you can use the yoghourt cheese as a substitute.

 

[taxlady]

Don't know what "farmer's cheese" is but quark is very similar to the soft cheese you get when you strain unflavoured and unsweetened yoghourt overnight through muslin. In fact, if you can't get hold of quark you can use the yoghourt cheese as a substitute.

Yup.

According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farmer_cheese, farmer's cheese is pressed cottage cheese. A big difference is that farmer's cheese is made with rennet and quark is clabbered using a lacto bacillus that grows at lower temperatures than the one that produces yogourt, though apparently commercially made quark in Germany is sometimes made with rennet.

 

[CharlieD]

The Blast Freeze process requires that food be reduced from a temperature of +70ºC to –18ºC in no more than 240 minutes. Much colder and faster than the domestic freezer even on fast freeze and in more hygienic conditions that are possible even in the best run domestic kitchen so less damage to the food and it will keep longer.

Because the domestic freezer freezes more slowly and the food takes longer to reach the safe temperature there is more opportunity for deterioration, which is why food frozen at home doesn't keep, or shouldn't be kept, as long as commercially frozen food.

That's all fine, but I do freeze it at home in my freezer.

 

[Harry Cobean]

That's all fine, but I do freeze it at home in my freezer.

i do too charlie & i haven't noticed any real deterioration in texture or quality either.i think it's because
a)salmon is an oily fish & like most oily foods takes freezing better than non oily.
b)part of the smoking process is brining which extracts moisture,the smoking extracts more & therefore there is less moisture to turn to ice crystals which in turn means less damage on thawing.
right charlie,i have to lie down,you have no idea how much it hurt my head trying to be sensible on that reply!!

 

[Hoot]

Well, looky here!
Howdy Harry!
How you been ol' Hoss?

 

[Harry Cobean]

'ang on a minute...are we talking lox or smoked salmon here?
i thought lox was a brined fillet of salmon & smoked salmon was,well,lox that is then smoked.ok,bomb chucked.................!!

 

[Harry Cobean]

Well, looky here!
Howdy Harry!
How you been ol' Hoss?

well looky here yerself hoot me old mucker!!
i'm good thanks matey!! how's you?i trust you,mrs hoot & all the little hoot's are well too!
i'll raise a glass or two of wild turkey & toast your health this evening my friend....any excuse eh hoot !!