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Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, production of I Heart Radio. Hey

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Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum. Here, Americans love their salmon. In

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Speaker 1: this rich flaky fish topped the list of the country's

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Speaker 1: favorite seafood according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association's

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Speaker 1: annual Fisheries of the United States Report, and salmon also

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Speaker 1: had the highest US commercial value, breaking in six eighty

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Speaker 1: eight million dollars that year. That's more than crab, lobster, shrimp,

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Speaker 1: or scallops. It's also simple to prepare. You can grill it,

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Speaker 1: bake it, poach it, pan fry it, and of course

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Speaker 1: smoke and cure it. Speaking of when you're at the

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Speaker 1: seafood or deli counter, you'll likely find samon options like locks,

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Speaker 1: Nova and grave locks. So what's the difference between these

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Speaker 1: three salmon preparations anyway? For the article, this episode is

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Speaker 1: based on How's to Fork spoke with Eric Sell, the

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Speaker 1: executive chef of Asteria, Mattone and ros Well, Georgia. He explained,

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Speaker 1: these are all born from a need to preserve things,

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Speaker 1: so they're all pickled. No one in America wants to

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Speaker 1: eat pickled fish. The art of preserving is not lost,

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Speaker 1: but not a necessity either, Hence no one knows what

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Speaker 1: to call which type of cured fish what. Let's start

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Speaker 1: with locks, from the Yiddish word for salmon locks. Locks

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Speaker 1: is a cured but not smoked preparation often made with

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Speaker 1: the fatty belly of the fish. Though to be sure

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Speaker 1: that you know what you're getting, you can specify that

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Speaker 1: you want belly locks if you do want this fatty cut,

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Speaker 1: as other cuts of salmon go by the name locks

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Speaker 1: as well. Locks is salt cured, which means that a

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Speaker 1: mixture including salt preserves the fish by replacing some of

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Speaker 1: its water molecules, which bacteria need to thrive, with salt

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Speaker 1: and sugar molecules which can kill bacteria. The salt mixture

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Speaker 1: is usually a combination of salt, sugar, herbs, spices, and

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Speaker 1: citrus cest. The fish takes on the flavor of the cure,

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Speaker 1: so it often has a briny flavor. In the United States,

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Speaker 1: locks often served with bagels and other toppings, including cream, cheese,

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Speaker 1: red onion, and capers. Meanwhile, gravelocks is similar to locks,

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Speaker 1: and that's cured but not smoked. This traditional Scandinavian method

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Speaker 1: of preparation gets its flavor from its cure of just salt, sugar,

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Speaker 1: and lots of dill, although additional spices such as citrus, coriander,

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Speaker 1: juniper berries, or fennel can be added, and some people

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Speaker 1: even add spirits like vodka or aquavite. In Scandinavian countries,

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Speaker 1: gravelocks usually appears as an appetizer with a whole side

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Speaker 1: of fish presented at the table. It's sliced thin and

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Speaker 1: often served with a side of dill and mustard sauce

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Speaker 1: and with boiled potatoes or crispy bread or crackers. Nova,

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Speaker 1: unlike locks and gravelocks, is both cured and smoked. The

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Speaker 1: name Nova refers to the smoked salmon coming from Nova, Scotia,

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Speaker 1: but not all smoked salmon is nova. Nova is cold smoked,

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Speaker 1: which means it's smoked over a low heat, usually about

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Speaker 1: eighty degrees fahrenheit that's twenty six celsius. Because the temperature

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Speaker 1: is so low, the smoking process doesn't cook the salmon,

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Speaker 1: and so it must be cured or brined first. It

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Speaker 1: may sound complicated, but you can actually make Nova at

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Speaker 1: home just as easily as locks or golf locks, if

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Speaker 1: you are willing to put in the time. Nova and

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Speaker 1: other smoked salmons are popularly served sliced thin as part

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Speaker 1: of a platter with hard boiled eggs, cucumbers, red onions,

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Speaker 1: and spreadable cheeses, and with crackers and the sliced to

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Speaker 1: baghett Today's episode is based on the article locks, Drove,

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Speaker 1: Blocks and Nova, What's the Difference on House to wworks

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Speaker 1: dot com, written by Carrie Whitney. Brain Stuff is production

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Speaker 1: to by Heart Radio and partnership with how stuff works

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Speaker 1: dot Com, and it's produced by Tyler Clang. Four more

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