Hot Smoked, Cold Smoked and Candied Salmon: What Is the Difference

TL;DR: Cold smoked is silky, sliced, eaten as is. Hot smoked is cooked, flaky, good in pasta. Candied is hot smoked with a sweet glaze. They are not interchangeable on a bagel.

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Smoked salmon is three products sharing a fridge door. Mixing them up is how a $16 tray of cold smoked ends up baked into a quiche, and how candied salmon ends up on a breakfast bagel tasting like dessert.

We sell 200 g smoked salmon trays and 1 kg Blue Wave sliced smoked salmon. Both are the cold smoked, sliced style. Hot smoked and candied turn up as specials. Ask if that is what you want.

The three styles

Style	Smoke temperature	Texture	Sweetness	How to serve	Fridge, opened
Cold smoked	Roughly 20 to 30°C after curing	Silky, translucent, slices	None, or very little	Bagel, platter, scrambled eggs at the last second	3 to 4 days
Hot smoked	Roughly 70 to 80°C, fish is cooked	Opaque, flaky	None	Pasta, potato salad, fish cakes, broken over greens	3 to 4 days
Candied	Hot smoke plus sugar glaze	Flaky, sticky crust	High	Snack, grazing board, not a bagel	3 to 4 days

Cold smoked salmon is cured with salt (and often a little sugar) so it is safe to eat without a cooking step. The smoke is flavour and colour, not the cook. That is why it looks like sashimi and feels like it.

Hot smoked salmon is cooked through. Think of it as baked salmon that picked up smoke. It will not slice into ribbons. It flakes.

Candied salmon is the North American boardwalk version: a hot smoke and a glaze that sets to a tacky bark. Delicious. A different dish.

How much to buy

• Cold smoked, starter: 40 to 50 g per person on a platter with capers and lemon.
• Cold smoked, bagel breakfast: 80 to 100 g per person.
• Hot smoked, salad or pasta: 80 to 100 g per person.
• Candied, snacks: 30 to 40 g per person. It is rich.

A 200 g tray of cold smoked covers 4 on a mixed platter, or 2 people who came to eat salmon. The 1 kg Blue Wave pack is the party size.

Storage that does not waste it

Keep it in the coldest part of the fridge, not the door. Once the packet is open, press out the air or wrap tightly. If the surface goes slimy or the smell turns sour, it is done.

You can freeze unopened cold smoked salmon. Quality drops. The silk becomes a bit wet once thawed. Use thawed smoked salmon in scrambled eggs or pasta, not on a show platter.

For fresh salmon you plan to cook yourself, buy portions and see Atlantic vs King vs sockeye. Smoked is a preserved product. Fresh is a different job.

Father's Day grazing board

Cold smoked salmon on a Father's Day board is the no-cook extra next to prawns and oysters. Fold the slices. Do not lay them flat. Add lemon, capers if you have them, rye or blinis.

Spend $200 or more this Father's Day, Sunday 6 September, online or in store, and you get a free Tasman Star cap or singlet while stocks last. Smoked salmon is already in the cold platter packs. Build your own from the shop.