How much added salt?

kelle

Hi, all. I was wondering if anybody could tell me how much salt is added to smoked fish during the smoking process, or if any?

EileenG

Read the ingredients. There is usually a fair bit, but it will vary from brand to brand.

kelle

But I buy mine from a fishmonger! Last night, I enjoyed my fillet of smoked cod, but I wondered afterwards how much salt I'd consumed. I'll ask him next week when I see him again.

EileenG

If you look at packets of smoked fish in supermarkets, you'll get an overall idea. But the real problem of excess salt is processed food in general, particularly things that don't even taste salty, like cereals and bread. The less of those things you eat, the more you can enjoy your smoked fish without worrying.

Oh, if there is a huge lot of salt, you'll see it reflected in an extra couple of pounds when you step on the scales. This will disappear as soon as your body gets rid of the salt.

kelle

Yes, Eileen G, it's amazing what you learn when you start scanning packets!
I had actually wondered if salt was used in the smoking process. Then I suppose fish swim in salty water so there will be a salt content already before they are placed in the smoker (or whatever it is that smokes them!).
Thanks for your replies.

rubadub

The packs might have sodium per 100g on them. To get the salt content you multiply this value by 2.5, some packs now have "equivalent salt content" on them too. So a daily 4g of salt is 1.6g sodium