What's the Difference Between Lox, Gravlax, and Nova Salmon?

Preservation techniques like curing and smoking create tasty, longer-lasting dishes like lox, gravlax, and nova. Learn the difference between these salmon preparations in today's episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://recipes.howstuffworks.com/tools-and-techniques/lox-gravlax-nova-whats-difference.htm

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to brain Stuff, production of I Heart Radio. Hey
brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum. Here, Americans love their salmon. In
this rich flaky fish topped the list of the country's
favorite seafood according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association's
annual Fisheries of the United States Report, and salmon also

(00:23):
had the highest US commercial value, breaking in six eighty
eight million dollars that year. That's more than crab, lobster, shrimp,
or scallops. It's also simple to prepare. You can grill it,
bake it, poach it, pan fry it, and of course
smoke and cure it. Speaking of when you're at the
seafood or deli counter, you'll likely find samon options like locks,

(00:46):
Nova and grave locks. So what's the difference between these
three salmon preparations anyway? For the article, this episode is
based on How's to Fork spoke with Eric Sell, the
executive chef of Asteria, Mattone and ros Well, Georgia. He explained,
these are all born from a need to preserve things,
so they're all pickled. No one in America wants to

(01:08):
eat pickled fish. The art of preserving is not lost,
but not a necessity either, Hence no one knows what
to call which type of cured fish what. Let's start
with locks, from the Yiddish word for salmon locks. Locks
is a cured but not smoked preparation often made with
the fatty belly of the fish. Though to be sure

(01:29):
that you know what you're getting, you can specify that
you want belly locks if you do want this fatty cut,
as other cuts of salmon go by the name locks
as well. Locks is salt cured, which means that a
mixture including salt preserves the fish by replacing some of
its water molecules, which bacteria need to thrive, with salt
and sugar molecules which can kill bacteria. The salt mixture

(01:52):
is usually a combination of salt, sugar, herbs, spices, and
citrus cest. The fish takes on the flavor of the cure,
so it often has a briny flavor. In the United States,
locks often served with bagels and other toppings, including cream, cheese,
red onion, and capers. Meanwhile, gravelocks is similar to locks,

(02:12):
and that's cured but not smoked. This traditional Scandinavian method
of preparation gets its flavor from its cure of just salt, sugar,
and lots of dill, although additional spices such as citrus, coriander,
juniper berries, or fennel can be added, and some people
even add spirits like vodka or aquavite. In Scandinavian countries,
gravelocks usually appears as an appetizer with a whole side

(02:35):
of fish presented at the table. It's sliced thin and
often served with a side of dill and mustard sauce
and with boiled potatoes or crispy bread or crackers. Nova,
unlike locks and gravelocks, is both cured and smoked. The
name Nova refers to the smoked salmon coming from Nova, Scotia,
but not all smoked salmon is nova. Nova is cold smoked,

(02:58):
which means it's smoked over a low heat, usually about
eighty degrees fahrenheit that's twenty six celsius. Because the temperature
is so low, the smoking process doesn't cook the salmon,
and so it must be cured or brined first. It
may sound complicated, but you can actually make Nova at
home just as easily as locks or golf locks, if
you are willing to put in the time. Nova and

(03:20):
other smoked salmons are popularly served sliced thin as part
of a platter with hard boiled eggs, cucumbers, red onions,
and spreadable cheeses, and with crackers and the sliced to
baghett Today's episode is based on the article locks, Drove,
Blocks and Nova, What's the Difference on House to wworks

(03:40):
dot com, written by Carrie Whitney. Brain Stuff is production
to by Heart Radio and partnership with how stuff works
dot Com, and it's produced by Tyler Clang. Four more
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