Canning and Fish Packaging Technology

Unit 6 - Canning of commercially important fishes and shellfishes

6.2.1.Salmon and Salmon like fishes
There are several species of salmon are commercially available and the species preferred is based on the color of the meat and fat content. Some of the commercially available varieties are as follows.

• King salmon/sock eye salmon/ red salmon: The meat of this fish is firm with bright red color and it is medium fatty fish.
• Spring salmon: The color of meat is pink to deep pink, has medium texture, oily flesh.
• Silver salmon: Meat color is pale, oily, firm flesh.
• Pink salmon: Meat color is pink but soft flesh.
• Chum salmon: Yellow flesh.

Sock eye and spring salmon are the most preferred for canning as they have deep pink to red colour for the fish and the colour is retained even after thermal processing (retorting). Chum salmon is the least preferred.

For canning both fresh and frozen raw materials are used and they are graded before dressing. For dressing salmon, iron chink machines are used which removes head and tail, splits the belly and removes viscera and fins. After dressing it is transferred to trimming table for removing adhering loose pieces of flesh, blood remnants and further subjected for water washing. The fish are cut to size depending on the type of container used. The packing of fish is done manually. The filled cans are added with required quantity of powdered crystalline salt to get good taste and then sealed. This is the simplest procedure with minimum treatment given to raw material. In this style of canning fish retains its original characteristics to a maximum extent and hence it is called as natural style/pack or salmon style. For this style very fresh fish is required. If very fresh mackerel is available, it can be packed in natural/ salmon style.