Fish Dictionary | Salmon (Autumn Salmon) and Farmed Salmon and Trout

This is what makes Okafoods salmon so great!

✓ No. 1: The salmon around the Shiretoko Peninsula on the Sea of ​​Okhotsk side are the best spots to target!!

Adult salmon migrate south from summer to autumn, heading for the rivers where they originated near the Aleutian Islands. Okafoods specializes in sourcing high-quality salmon caught early between September and mid-October from the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and the Shiretoko Peninsula.

✓ Step 2: Catch them before they swim upstream!

As salmon enter rivers and drink fresh water, they lose their silvery skin color and develop reddish-brown spots on their skin, known as buna. The flesh also turns whitish and tastes bad. Okafoods purchases salmon caught using a fixed net fishing method, which involves setting nets in the sea, to target the silvery salmon that migrate to the coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk.

✓ Reason 3: We pay particular attention to the inspection of raw materials!!

Depending on the type of light source, white fish may appear reddish or bluish. This is due to differences in the wavelengths of light. Sunlight contains all wavelengths of light almost equally, so it appears white. However, incandescent light makes red and orange wavelengths appear stronger, so fish appear orange, and fluorescent light makes fish appear blue. In order to accurately determine variations in flesh color when purchasing raw materials, we inspect fish under sunlight.

Here's why Oka Foods sources farmed salmon and trout!

✓ Reason 1: Grown under strict quality control!!

Chilean aquaculture farms connect multiple "ponds" (30m long x 30m wide x 30m deep) with floating bridges between them, and connect another similar "pond" to the other side. These are called sites. Approximately 40,000 to 70,000 salmon and trout are raised in each "pond," and strict hygiene management is carried out, including feed management, net replacement, and seawater odor testing. In Chile, to protect the marine environment, the public and private sectors work together to ensure healthy farmed salmon and trout are raised, by maintaining a minimum distance of 2km between neighboring sites, managing the areas used by the farm, and allowing used areas to rest once every four years.

✓ No. 2 We carefully remove each and every bone!!

In Chile, where salmon farming is thriving, Atlantic salmon, coho salmon, and salmon trout are farmed in that order, with most of the coho salmon being produced for export to Japan. Okafoods purchases raw materials in Chile and exports them from Chile to factories in Vietnam and China. To maintain freshness, each receiving factory controls the processing time and the core temperature of the fillets as it makes its products. Furthermore, for boneless products, the bones are carefully removed one by one by hand, not by machine.

✓ Number 3: We treasure it until the very end!!

Just like humans, there are individual differences in the size of fish, even among adults. Oka Foods purchases ingredients based on annual sales plans, designs products that fit each fish size, and creates production plans that avoid wasting fish. We are also focusing on product development using off-cuts generated during fillet production.

☝Trivia

If you know this, you're in the industry too!!

Grade Rank

For example, the grades are determined by whether some of the scales are missing or there are scratches on the skin. Premium (1st grade) → G-1 (intermediate) → Industrial (1.5th grade)

Unit of size of raw material

Dressed salmon (heads and organs removed) are weight-sorted by pound and packed into 25 kg cases. For example, a "2-4 pound" size means that 25 kg contains 14-28 dressed salmon weighing 0.9-1.8 kg each.

Fillet processing degree

The process of shaping fillets or fillets is called "trimming," and the degree of processing is ranked from Trim A (low processing) to Trim E (high processing). Generally, fillets with no bones removed are called "Trim A," and fillets with all bones and skin removed are called "Trim E."

Characteristics of salmon (autumn salmon)

Characteristics of farmed salmon and trout

All fish have bones, but their bodies are usually made up of five types of bones: jaw bones, fin bones, belly bones, backbone, and pin bones. In the case of farmed salmon and trout, although it is extremely rare, some individuals may have bones in areas where there are normally no bones. If these bones are buried within the flesh, they may not be discovered. For this reason, our factories keep records of these rare cases of remaining bones (where they are found and their shape), analyze the data to determine how to remove the bones, and use it in training to improve the skills of our workers.

"Delicious" is not just about the taste!!

✓ No. 1: There are many elements to deliciousness!

"Delicious" can also be written as "Tasty," but it's actually not just about taste. In addition to our sense of taste, humans have five senses - sight, smell, touch, and hearing - each of which is related to "taste." This is not just about the ingredients, but also cooking techniques, as well as external factors such as the time, place, and occasion (the person's condition, place, and occasion when eating). Therefore, if you're worried, you may even lose your appetite.

✓ Tip 2: Why not try incorporating other elements to enhance the flavor?

Visual aspect: Why not enjoy the presentation and color scheme to please the eye?

Olfactory aspect: Why not take advantage of the aroma of grilled ingredients to enhance the feeling that the food is freshly made?

Tactile aspect: Why not create a side dish that has a different texture, temperature, size, and cutting method from the main dish?

Auditory: How about adding a side dish with a crisp, crunchy sound?

The basic principle is to provide a clean and bright environment where customers can enjoy their meal in comfort.

(References: Masao Nakayama, "Ideas for Improving Taste from Multiple Perspectives," FFI Journal No. 220 (2015), etc.)

Okafoods' popular salmon products