As a food writer I often get the chance to sample foods from all over the UK.
Recently I was sent 3 samples from Inverawe Smokehouse, which situated on the West coast of Scotland, 80 miles north of Glasgow.
Organic Sliced Salmon
Their organic salmon comes from the most northerly isle in the Shetlands where strong tidal currents ensure excellent water quality. The fish are fed by hand and the feed is purely organic. No artificial colourings are used as the feed contains shrimp, a natural source of pigment in the diet of wild salmon. The whole farming cycle is organic and the fish are stocked at low densities in fast moving, tidal waters, which means the fish are healthier.
The appearance surprised me in that it was much paler in colour than most other smoked salmon I have seen and tried. The taste however was wonderful, a pure, fresh, delicate flavour and texture….so simple and yet so very good.
Roast Smoked Salmon Pate
This pate is a new edition to the foods listed on their website.
It’s made from both salmon and trout that have been hot smoked.
The difference between hot and cold smoking is basically the distance the fish is from the smoke and heat source. In the case of hot smoking the food cooks as well as taking on a smoky flavour. Where as traditional cold smoked salmon is placed much further away from the smoke so that by the time it passes over the fish the smoke is cold so the process only cures not cooks the fish.
Smoked Loch Etive Trout
At first glance the smoked trout to untrained eye could be mistaken for salmon. The deep red colour is different to the pink or brown one normally associates with smoked trout. The flavour again told my taste buds this was indeed amongst the very best smoked trout I had ever tasted. Nicely balanced between the trout itself and the smoke flavour.
If you want to treat yourself to quality smoked fish then you should go and check out the award winning wonderful foods on offer from Inverawe.
2006-06-01 @ 13:06