Cold-smoked Salmon (Lox)

Cold-smoked salmon (lox) is thinly sliced, salt-cured salmon that is cold-smoked to a silky, translucent orange. It tastes mildly smoky and briny with a buttery, tender texture that drapes easily, and it commonly tops bagels, canapes, salads, and boards. Sold pre-sliced or as sides or fillets, it is ready to eat and used to layer on toast, fold into omelets, or stir into creamy dips.

Curing and cold smoking grew in Northern Europe, notably in Scandinavian and Jewish cuisines, and spread through migration and deli culture. Contemporary lox and nova styles apply a salt cure followed by low-temperature smoke in controlled chambers, often using farmed Atlantic salmon processed in North America and Europe.