Adventures in budget foods: salmon vs salmon

I like salmon. A lot. The fresher the better. But when I was a kid I thought salmon was icky because of the patties my budget-crunched and seasoning-averse mother made from the bright pink stuff in a can. Well, after exploring kippers, sardines and anchovies, I figured it was time to revisit canned salmon.

First up was the Polar brand, packed in brine and its own juice. The tin says it’s farm-raised in either Norway or Chile. I was expecting these to have a pronounced flavor and aroma, but they were surprisingly and disappointingly mild. In fact, it seemed like it could have been any number of fish. Such is farm-raised salmon, I guess. A solid meh.

On the other hand, Safe Catch brand (with its upside-down can) is “100% sustainably wild caught” Pacific pink salmon. It also boasts that it tests each fish to assure the lowest mercury level. And that no salt is added. Sounds great, right? At least better than the farm-raised Polar salmon.

Um, no.

Not only did it have almost zero flavor, it had terrible mouth feel. It was like chewing something manufactured from sawdust, plaster, and grease. Maybe this particular salmon had spent its life feeding on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.  The only thing keeping my sample from getting a total ick rating was it tasting like nothing instead of something awful.

I guess to make this taste test complete I should try the version of salmon that comes in tall cans — the salmon of my youth. But, being at the coast, I’d much rather splurge on salmon right off the boat.