A good bagel should be fresh with a crispy crust and a chewy interior but that alone isn’t enough. You need to pile on the classic toppings: New York deli cream cheese some tomatoes capers and onions if you’re feeling fancy and of course a few slices of lox. That’s a standard order at any bagel shop and yet it’s technically incorrect. In fact the popular pink topping we all call lox is almost never lox at all.
| Channel | Publish Date | Thumbnail & View Count | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
 Hello Chef | 2021-03-11 13:00:06 |  7,611 Views |
Cold Smoked vs. Hot Smoked Salmon (The Difference!)
What you’ll find on most bagel sandwiches is actually smoked salmon. Many people use the terms “smoked salmon” and “lox” interchangeably but they’re not the same thing. They’re closely related — both products typically start with curing salmon in salt — but smoked salmon involves a few extra steps. Each product also has multiple variations some of which are common and some of which you may never have heard of. Ultimately lox and smoked salmon have very different flavor profiles textures and uses.
Lox refers to cured salmon salmon that has been preserved with salt. The curing process can be accomplished in a variety of ways. Sometimes lox is preserved in plain salt or a combination of salt and sugar. Other times it is preserved in a brine that sometimes also contains sugar. This process can take anywhere from a few days to a few months after which the fish is rinsed before eating. The main difference between smoked salmon and lox is that lox is not actually cooked and the flavor is dominated by salt.
The word "lox" is said to come from the Yiddish word "laks" which refers to salmon. However the dish actually originated in Scandinavian cuisine before spreading to the Jewish population of Eastern Europe. Nordic countries continue to make a version of lox called gravlax. Unlike other types of lox which typically use only the belly of the salmon gravlax is made from a whole salmon fillet and is preserved with various herbs and spices.
