Smoked fish facts for kids

Racks of haddock in a homemade smoker. Hardwood chips are smoking at the bottom. The cloth at the back covers the fish while they smoke.

Smoked fish is fish that has been prepared using smoke. People have smoked food for a very long time. In the past, it helped keep food from spoiling. Today, we mostly smoke fish for its special taste and smell.

Why Do We Smoke Fish?

Smoking fish is a way to cook and flavor it. It also helps to preserve the fish. This means it can be stored for longer without going bad. The smoke adds a unique taste that many people enjoy.

There are two main ways to smoke fish:

• Cold smoking: The fish is smoked at a low temperature, usually below 80°F (27°C). This method adds flavor and helps preserve the fish without cooking it.
• Hot smoking: The fish is smoked at a higher temperature, usually above 120°F (49°C). This method cooks the fish while also adding flavor and helping to preserve it.

Popular Smoked Fish Around the World

Many different types of fish are smoked. The kinds of smoked fish you find often depend on where you are in the world.

Smoked Fish in North America

In the United States, some of the most common smoked fish are salmon, mackerel, whitefish, and trout. A popular name for cold-smoked salmon is lox.

Smoked Fish in Europe

In the Netherlands, you can find both hot-smoked and cold-smoked mackerel. Herring and Baltic sprats are also popular. Hot-smoked eel is a special dish in the northern parts of the country.

Smoked fish is also a very important part of Russian cuisine, Jewish cuisine, and Scandinavian food. It is also popular in many Eastern and Central European countries.

In England, Scotland, and Canada, there is a type of smoked herring called a kipper. A kipper is a herring that has been cut open, cleaned, salted, and then smoked. It used to be known as "red herring."

Images for kids

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  Medieval smokehouse, around 1465, at the old fishing village of Walraversijde in Belgium.

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  A smoked Atlantic mackerel

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  Smoked fish in a smoker

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  Smoking fish at the highland games

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  Mackerel cold-smoked for eight hours and then hot-smoked for an hour in a homemade smoker

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  Smoked salmon

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  Fish being smoked in Tanji, The Gambia

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  Smoked eels

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  Smoked asp

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  A kipper is a herring which has been split from tail to head, cleaned, salted, and smoked.

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  Still Life with Kippers, Oysters and Smoker's Accessories – Floris van Schooten, 1590–1655

See also

In Spanish: Pescado ahumado para niños