Salmon is one of the most popular fish used in cooking. Most of the time, it’s bright pink, orange, or red when you buy it at the store or order it at a restaurant. However, this eye-catching color isn’t the natural state of salmon flesh. So what color is salmon really in its pure form?.
The natural color of salmon flesh is quite different from the color you commonly see Keep reading to learn about the factors that influence salmon color and what they look like swimming in the wild
The Natural Scales and Skin Colors of Salmon
While most people think of the distinctive orange-pink meat when envisioning salmon, the exterior colors are important too.
The scales and skin of wild salmon are a beautiful array of shimmering colors. These colors help camouflage them in their natural habitats. Here are some of the most common natural scale and skin colors:
- Silver
- Pink
- Green
- Gray
- Blue
- Black
The interplay of these colors gives salmon a multi-dimensional, iridescent look as they swim through the water. Changes in light alter how these colors are perceived.
Meanwhile, farmed salmon lack these vibrant natural scale colors. Since they live in enclosed pens, there’s no need for camouflage. Their scales tend to be pale gray and almost translucent.
Natural Salmon Flesh Color and Influencing Factors
The natural color of wild salmon can be very different when it comes to the meat. Here are the factors that affect the hue:
Species – Different salmon species eat unique diets, which leads to color variances. Sockeye salmon tends to be the reddest due to eating more shrimp and krill. King salmon is lighter due to eating more fish.
Diet – Carotenoids like astaxanthin from eating shrimp and krill are what make the flesh pink or red. Salmon unable to access these food sources will be paler.
Environment – The marine and freshwater environments where salmon live and feed impact color too. Brighter environments tend to produce more vibrantly colored salmon.
Age – Younger salmon usually have lighter flesh than adult spawners. As salmon mature, they consume more carotenoid-rich foods, developing deeper hues.
Spawning – After returning to their spawning grounds, salmon flesh color fades as the fish cease feeding and use up fat stores.
Genetics – A small percentage of king salmon have a genetic mutation that makes their flesh white or ivory-colored rather than pink.
With those influencing factors in mind, here are some natural flesh colors that wild salmon can display:
- White
- Pale pink
- Bright silver
- Rich red
- Deep orange
- Grayish blue
- Iridescent purple
The color depends on all the variables. But in general, wild salmon has a much wider range of possible flesh colors than farmed.
Why Farmed Salmon Differs in Color
Farmed salmon appears markedly different than wild varieties. Instead of displaying exotic scales, farmed salmon scales are typically muted and pale.
The flesh is also distinct – while wild salmon shows an array of hues, farmed salmon nearly always has uniformly orange or pink flesh.
This difference stems from the manufactured environment and diet salmon live in on farms. Commercial food pellets aren’t high in astaxanthin like the shrimps and krill wild salmon consume. Farmed salmon would appear gray or beige without additives.
To achieve a pinker color, their food contains synthetic astaxanthin made from crustacean shells. Farmers also use color charts, like SalmoFan, to pick shades they think consumers desire most.
Color Isn’t Everything
While the color of salmon can indicate factors like diet, species, freshness, and origin, it isn’t everything.
Both wild and farmed salmon contain beneficial omega 3 fatty acids and high-quality protein. However, many experts consider wild-caught salmon to be superior in flavor and texture due to their diverse natural diets and greater swimming activity.
When shopping for salmon, consider color along with other factors like farming methods, freshness, texture, smell, and fat marbling to make the healthiest choice. With wild-caught salmon, you can benefit from natural astaxanthin levels too.
The vibrant orange salmon you eat at restaurants or buy at the market may be quite different from its origins. But next time you enjoy a salmon dish, consider its journey from the diverse natural hues of the wild to your dinner plate.
What color are different types of wild-caught salmon?
Salmon get their color from the animals they eat in the wild. This is what makes salmon red or pink. This unique color reflects this carnivore’s diet of shrimp and krill. Different kinds of salmon eat different amounts of these crustaceans high in carotenoids, which changes how red or pink they turn. Sockeye salmon, for example, tend to have the deepest color because they eat a lot of carotenoid-rich zooplankton throughout their life. Coho salmon, on the other hand, switch from eating zooplankton to small fish as they get older.
Because of this, coho tends to be pink or orange. To keep its lighter color, king salmon, also known as chinook salmon, eats small fish. Depending on where its caught its color can range from orange to a subtle pink with gray tones.
Interestingly, king salmon can either be “red” or “white. ” King salmon can carry a recessive trait that leads to white or ivory flesh. People who fish and hunt used to like the type of king salmon they were used to, but now wild-caught white king salmon is seen as more of a treat. Now, does it taste the same as its more colorful counterpart? That’s up for debate.
An Overview on How a Salmon’s Diet Affects Its Color
You might turn orange if you eat a lot of carrots. The same thing happens to salmon when they eat carotenoids, an antioxidant that gives salmon its color. Astaxanthin is a caratenoid that salmon eat a lot of in the wild, and this is reflected in the natural color of salmon flesh. Farmed salmon, in contrast, get their carotenoids from manmade pellets.
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FAQ
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