What Does Lox Taste Like?

With its velvety texture and smoky, salty flavor, lox holds an important place in Jewish cuisine. But if you’ve never tried this succulent smoked salmon before, you may wonder — what does lox taste like?

Lox offers a lush, concentrated salmon flavor with hints of smoke and salt from the curing process. When perfectly sliced, it provides a silken, almost buttery mouthfeel. Lox plays a starring role at Jewish delicatessens and pairs wonderfully with bagels, cream cheese, onions and more.

In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about lox including its flavor profile, texture, origins, production, usage in cuisine, and how to select high-quality lox. Read on to become a lox aficionado!

Table of Contents

Overview of Lox

Here’s a quick introduction to lox:

Lox refers to brined, cold-smoked salmon, often from the belly or side cuts of salmon.
It’s a traditional food in Jewish cuisine, commonly eaten for breakfast or brunch paired with bagels, cream cheese, capers and onions.

Lox provides a luxurious eating experience thanks to its lush, almost velvety texture and concentrated smoky salmon flavor.
It originated among Ashkenazi Jewish populations in Germany, Lithuania, and Romania as a way to preserve fresh salmon through curing and smoking.
True lox is cold-smoked and requires no further cooking. Hot-smoked salmon is a related but different product.

So in essence, lox is a salty, smoky cured salmon specialty that holds cultural significance for Jewish cuisine and deli culture worldwide. But what gives lox its distinctive appeal?

Describing the Flavor of Lox

When perfectly sliced and enjoyed, lox offers these delicious flavor notes:

Salty – Dry brining gives lox a permeating salty flavor, though not overwhelmingly so.

Smoky – The cold-smoking infuses subtle smoky and woody flavors into the velvety salmon.
Savory – Lox has a rich, mouth-coating umami flavor. The curing amplifies the natural savory taste of salmon.
Silky – A lush, concentrated salmon-y flavor comes through. Melts on the tongue.

Mild fishiness – Well-cured lox retains only hints of fishiness without strong or unpleasant flavors.

The salt, smoke, and intense salmon essences unite to provide pure savory flavor pleasure.

Lox Texture and Fat Content

In addition to taste, lox’s trademark texture comes from:

High fat content – Salmon belly and side cuts used for lox contain more fat, keeping the cured meat supple.
Smooth slicing – Thinly slicing the velvety cured salmon produces decorative, meltingly-soft pieces.
Silken mouthfeel – The sliced lox provides a lush, almost buttery sensation when eaten thanks to the high fat content.

Translucent appearance – When perfectly sliced paper thin, the ruby orange lox nearly melts on the tongue and has a see-through sheen.
Meltability – Lox develops a supple, creamy texture when incorporated into hot dishes like smoked salmon omelets or scrambled eggs.

Fat renders the cured salmon into a melt-in-your-mouth delicacy with glistening appearance.

The Origins and History of Lox

Lox has Ashkenazi Jewish origins as a way to preserve fresh fish:

The name “lox” likely comes from the Yiddish word meaning “salmon”.
Originally popular among Jewish populations in Germany, the curing technique later spread through Lithuania, Romania, and Russia.

When Eastern European Jewish immigrants arrived in America in the late 1800s-early 1900s, they brought lox and popularized it in Jewish delis.
It rose to mainstream popularity in the mid 20th century in New York delis and bagel shops.
Lox remains a cherished food in Jewish cuisine, a staple on deli menus, and iconic flavor pairing with bagels and cream cheese.

Though adapted over centuries, lox retains the lavish salmon flavor and silken texture that made it a renowned cured fish specialty.

How Traditional Lox Is Made

To create authentic lox requires an extended process:

Fresh salmon fillets are first dry brined with coarse salt to draw out moisture. This gives lox its salty flavor.

The brined salmon then undergoes a lengthy cold-smoking process using hardwoods to impart delicate smoke essences without cooking the fish.
Cold-smoking requires heating hardwoods like oak or alder to release smoke which drifts into enclosed vats with hanging fish for up to two days.
The temperature must remain under 90°F to avoid cooking the salmon. This extended exposure infuses the velvety texture and smoky notes.

Finally, the smoked salmon is thinly sliced by hand for service, often on a decorative fish shaped platter.

Purchasing and Selecting High Quality Lox

To identify superb lox, look for:

Deep orange-pink flesh with creamy white marbling of fat. Avoid dry or flaky looking lox.
Firm, supple slices that cut easily without shredding but don’t look rubbery.
Bright, glistening sheen rather than dull or slimy appearance.

Alluring savory salmon aroma without offensive fishiness.
Pleasant moderate saltiness without excessive dryness or chemical taste.
Subtle smoky essence without aggressive smoked fish flavor.

Sustainable sourcing like wild Alaskan salmon or organic farmed salmon.

Getting lox freshly sliced from a quality fish counter ensures you’ll experience prime velvety texture and balanced, nuanced flavor.

How to Store and Serve Lox

To serve lox at its best:

Keep fresh lox refrigerated until ready to use. Slice just before serving for best texture.
If storing pre-sliced lox, drain any excess liquid to prevent sogginess and wrap tightly in plastic wrap.
Place the sliced lox attractively overlapping on a platter. Accompany with traditional garnishes like capers, onion, tomato.

Provide plain or everything bagels cut in half to spread with cream cheese and artfully pile the lox slices on top.
Serve lox plates chilled but not ice cold so the luxurious fat remains spreadable.

Proper lox slicing technique and plates beautifully presented transform bagels into epic Sunday morning brunch.

Traditional Dishes Featuring Lox

In addition to bagels and cream cheese, lox wonderfully compliments:

Eggs – Scrambled, smoked salmon omelets, eggs benedict style.
Onions – Mild red onion slivers or caramelized onions.

Capers and pickles – Briny capers and tangy gherkins cut the richness.
Tomatoes – Sliced beefsteak tomatoes or roasted cherry tomatoes.
Potatoes – Home fries, diced boiled potatoes, potato pancakes.

Salad – Mixed greens, endive, cucumber lend fresh contrast.
Bread – Toast points, bialys, rye crisps.
Cheese – Sharp cheddar, creamy goat cheese, herbed cream cheese.

The supple saltiness enriches everything it touches from breads to eggs to crisp vegetables.

Can Lox Be Substituted for Other Smoked Salmon?

While delicious in their own right, other smoked salmon varieties differ from true lox:

Nova or Nova Scotia salmon – Brined then cold-smoked. Closer to lox but less artisanal.

Scottish smoked salmon – Lightly smoked and sold fresh rather than cured. More like raw salmon.
Hot smoked salmon – Fully cooked by hot smoking. Flakier texture.

For authentic Jewish deli-style fare, true cold-smoked lox provides incomparable satiny texture and well-balanced flavor.

Nutrition Facts

Despite the curing, lox remains a nutritious protein:

Excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. Benefits heart and brain health.
High in protein, vitamins B12, B3, and selenium.

Contains beneficial antioxidants like astaxanthin.
Curing helps prolong shelf life while retaining more nutrients than fully cooking.

So alongside its decadence, lox also provides healthy fats, protein, and other nutrients. In moderation, it’s a wise addition to a balanced diet.

Key Takeaways – What Does Lox Taste Like

Lox provides concentrated, velvety salmon flavor with perfect salt and subtle smoky essences from curing and cold-smoking.
When thinly sliced by hand, it offers a lush, almost buttery mouthfeel and glossy orange-hued appearance.
Lox originated among Ashkenazi Jewish populations as a preserved fish specialty.

It has risen to mainstream fame served alongside bagels, cream cheese, capers, onions and other traditional Jewish fare.
Look for supple, glistening lox with balanced salinity and clean briny aroma for the full experience.

With its opulent texture and smoked salmon intensity, lox on a fresh chewy bagel makes for true bliss. Seek out premium lox and you’ll gain a whole new appreciation for this Jewish delicatessen icon.