A white coating appeared on salmon during cooking: is it safe to eat
You have decided to cook salmon, but during the heat treatment process you notice a white coating on the fish. What should you do about it and is it edible?
SSPDaily, a website about proper and healthy nutrition, has revealed the secrets of cooking salmon and why this fish secretes a strange white liquid. According to experts, it's just a protein, albumin, which "appears" only when it's cooked.
This is not a unique phenomenon. Albumin is also found in eggs and milk. In fresh fish, it is not visible, but under the influence of temperature, the enzyme hardens and "breaks through" to the surface as the salmon's muscle fibers contract. Accordingly, the higher the cooking temperature, the more albumin will appear.
Is it safe? Experts say absolutely. However, visually, such a dish will look unattractive. Therefore, it is better to remove the plaque by gently wiping the cooked fish with a paper towel or scraping off the spots with a knife.
The appearance of albumin can be prevented
Here are 3 tips on how to do it:
- Do not fry salmon for too long. Cook the fish until its temperature reaches 145°F (98°C) in the thickest part.
- Fry salmon over low heat. The lower the temperature, the less the muscles contract and the less protein is released.
- Place the salmon in the pan skin side down. The skin acts as a barrier between the heat source and the fish meat, which will stop the albumin from being released too quickly.
