December and the first weeks of January are, indeed, pretty free of obligation, fishing wise.  The boat has been winterized, we’ve had our celebrations, taxes aren’t due for a spell and the winter roll of meetings has yet to begin.

There is plenty of work to be done on the nets,

Working on the Net in the Offseason

Big Wrenches in Tight Spaces

but primarily there is constant work to be done maintaining a steel boat that spends its life in salt water.  Jim has referred to the boat as a ‘machine shop on the salt water,’ with great strain put on the engine and hydraulic systems during the fishing season and then left to fend off the vicissitudes of salt water upon steel all winter long.  There are three engines powering the Marshal Tito operation; the main engine, a 871 ‘Jimmy’ diesel, an auxiliary diesel engine, used to power the refrigeration system and a Jimmy 671 diesel in the skiff. The skiff is used to control the end of the 1/3 mile long net, and requires a lot of power for that purpose.

Jim thought it was smooth sailing until three weeks ago, just a month before he intended to leave for Alaska, when it was discovered that the main engine had to be rebuilt.  Such jobs, usually relegated to the winter months when there is plenty of time, are huge and very expensive, costing over $50,000.  Global competition for steel has made anything made of steel very expensive.  It is striking how quickly and dramatically these global market forces have come into play.

In addition to rebuilding the main engine, the gear, a 509 Twin disc transmission, was pulled out of the engine room for rebuilding. This earnest machine has worked hard and unerringly for over 30 years, and has, in my opinion, almost a personality (think Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel).   Here is a picture of this hardworking servant after 30 long years translating the power of the main engine to the propeller that moves the boat.

Before the $13,000 Spa Treatment

The After

It almost deserves and bouquet of flowers and a gold watch, instead what it got was a $13,000 spa treatment at Mill-Log, an Oregon based business dedicated to the repair of Twin Disc transmissions.   If only we could all experience this degree of transformation after a $13,000 visit to machine shop!

The Marshal Tito, helpless, has been tied to the dock during this time that the engine has been at the shop. When the engine is installed, it is time for the boat yard in Port Townsend where the hull will be inspected and painted.  Port Townsend is worthy of whole story all its own.  Stay tuned.

The post What Fishermen Do In the Winter appeared first on Pure Alaska Salmon Co.

Sockeye Salmon, Look at That Unmistakable Color

In short, Wild Salmon has the power to: 

• Reduce inflammation - Omega-3s from fish reduce the inflammation in blood vessels characteristic of heart disease and diabetes
• Lower Triglycerides - Omega-3s lower blood triglycerides (fats) and boost the amount of HDL or “good” cholesterol. These changes are especially favorable in people with heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
• Help prevent obesity - Diets rich in seafood omega-3s may reduce fat tissue
• Manage blood glucose levels - fish is a lean, high-protein food that doesn’t raise blood glucose levels.

And those are only the ways wild salmon can fight diabetes.  The Omega-3 fatty acids in salmon are connected with a whole slew of other health benefits, including heart, brain, and eye health, as well as maternal and infant health.

*I think it is important to note here that only WILD salmon contains these beneficial properties.  Farmed salmon contains unhealthy levels of Omega 6 fatty acids, which actually increase inflammation, and dangerous levels of Persistent Organic Pollutants like PCBs, which are linked with metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance and Type 2 Diabetes.  For more information on the connection between farmed salmon and Type 2 Diabetes, check out this study.*

The following is an excerpt from a paper titled “Benefits of Omega-3 Fatty Acids from Fish in Type 2 Diabetes,” by Joyce A. Nettleton, DSc, RD

“Omega-3 fatty acids, found mainly in fat-rich fish such as salmon, rainbow trout, mackerel, and  sardines confer health benefits not found in other foods. “Omega-3s” from fish are highly polyunsaturated fatty acids that lower triglycerides, reduce abnormal heart rhythms, reduce blood pressure by small but significant amounts, and improve blood clotting regulation. In a large study of more than 11,000 people with heart disease, the daily consumption of about one gram of fish
oil reduced cardiovascular mortality by 30% and sudden cardiac death by 45%. A gram of fish oil is equivalent to a 3 ounce serving of salmon. Omega-3s may also boost the effectiveness of statins, drugs widely prescribed to lower blood LDL cholesterol levels.Studying populations such as the Alaskan and Greenland Inuit, who frequently eat fatty fish or marine animals rich in omega-3s, has taught us a great deal. Traditionally, these native people
have had very little cardiovascular disease or diabetes. Japanese, who also consume large amounts of fish, have much lower rates of heart disease and diabetes than Americans. As these populations adopt western eating habits and exercise less, their prevalence of obesity and diabetes soars. Could the onset of diabetes be changed if native people at risk for the disease resumed eating more omega-3 rich foods? Dr. Sven Ebbesson of the University of Virginia
sought the answer in a study of 44 Alaskan Inuit who had early signs of diabetes – impaired glucose tolerance and excess weight. Inuit were asked to eat fewer foods high in saturated fats and more traditional foods, especially fish and marine animals. After 4 years, not a single person had advanced to type 2 diabetes, in spite of not losing weight. This promising study needs to be confirmed in a larger number of subjects. Omega-3 fatty acids may be particularly beneficial for overweight people with hypertension who are on weight loss diets. Dr. Trevor Mori and colleagues at the University of Western Australia recently showed that people on a weight loss diet that included fat-rich fish daily had improved glucose and insulin metabolism. People on the same diet without fish had no such improvements.
Both groups lost the same amount of weight, but blood pressure reduction was greater among the fish eaters than the non-fish eaters. Even in people not losing weight, the inclusion of fish every
day reduced blood pressure. Thus, people with diabetes who eat rich fish on a regular basis can boost the benefits of weight loss in improving glucose control and blood pressure. Finally, it has been known for years that omega-3s from fish reduce the likelihood of developing blood clots that lead to heart attacks and stroke. They also improve blood circulation. These benefits have been demonstrated in controlled clinical trials and occur without unfavorable changes in glucose or insulin activity. The American Diabetes Association and the American Heart Association advocate eating fatty fish as a safe and effective way to obtain the heart health

benefits of omega-3s. Eating fatty fish regularly is an important strategy to improve health in diabetes.”

salmon and rice salad

The evidence in support of wild salmon is pretty overwhelming.  As part of a healthy lifestyle, salmon is an essential weapon in the battle against Type 2 Diabetes!

For more reading about the connections between wild salmon and diabetes, explore the links below…

• 14 foods that could change a diabetic’s life - http://www.nbcnews.com/id/39953370/ns/health-diabetes/t/foods-could-change-diabetics-life/#.UZ552LWsiSo
• Wild Salmon Slows Diabetes - http://myhealingkitchen.com/medical-conditions/diabetes/wild-salmon-slows-diabetes/
• Best Foods for Type 2 Diabetes - http://www.joybauer.com/photo-gallery/best-foods-for-type-2-diabetes/Wild-Salmon.aspx
• Diabetes Superfoods - http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/what-can-i-eat/diabetes-superfoods.html
• Is Atlantic Salmon (Farmed Salmon) Linked to Obesity and Diabetes? - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-walter-crinnion/salmon-diabetes_b_1332820.html

The post Wild Salmon Fights Diabetes appeared first on Pure Alaska Salmon Co.

Chunks of Redhead, on top of a bed of finely chopped celery. Yummm!

This recipe couldn’t be easier.  Just finely chop a generous amount of celery.  Put in container.  Open a can of salmon–drain and chunk the salmon, put on top pf chopped celery.   Squeeze on some lemon and your favorite seafood cocktail sauce.  Find some crunchy crackers and start eating.  This is eminently portable, just chop the celery at home and bring a can of salmon to your workplace.

There is something about the protein from cold water fatty fish that seems to last and last, staving off hunger and optimizing energy in a way I do not find in any other food. 

The post Easy Appetizer, Great Light & Nutritious Lunch: Salmon Cocktail appeared first on Pure Alaska Salmon Co.

“How do you eat canned salmon?”  is a common query from folks we meet at our food demonstrations.

Serving salmon sample at Whole Foods Market

Canned Alaska salmon, especially in its’ traditional form, can be somewhat of a mystery food to the uninitiated. Complete with skin and bone, ‘traditional pack’ canned salmon I like to think of as the food symbol of the great, raw, wild, supremely healthy country that it came from—Alaska.

People who have eaten canned salmon since childhood are comfortable with the presence of the highly nutritious skin and bone, sometimes claiming to having fought with their siblings over who got those delicious crunchy little vertebrae.

Two cans of salmon, Redhead and Thinkpink ‘ traditional’ pack, as is, completely unadorned.

Other of us, often, ironically, from the salmon rich west coast, are puzzled, if not repelled by the presence of those highly nutritious anatomical parts that we mostly do not see in today’s highly processed foods. I look at a deboned chicken breast or pork and there is little there to remind us of the living, breathing creature that once is now that hunk of defenseless flesh.

Not so with canned Alaska salmon—that skin and bone is a badge of the life that was lived by that beautiful creature that felt the drive to leave its natal stream, traveling the Pacific Ocean for thousands of miles, and then return to its exact place of birth.

I have said this many times, and it is true, when mixed into recipes those skin and bone seemingly dissolve into the recipe.  We have served various canned salmon recipes to thousands of people, and not once has the person detected the skin and bone, though we quickly tell them. Traditional pack salmon has nearly double the long chain omega 3 fatty acids as skinless and boneless canned salmon fillets (which are delicious, too) and also provides calcium due to the presence of the bone.

Redhead wild Alaska sockeye salmon, straight from the waters of the great Bristol Bay, on a bagel.

How to Eat Canned Salmon;

* Straight Out of the Can—Just open the can, maybe squeeze on some lemon, and fork on!  There is simply not an easier, better protein source than canned Alaska salmon.

* Finely chop celery, add salmon, whether Redhead (sockeye) or Thinkpink (pink) salmon, squeeze on lemon and put on a dollop of cocktail sauce.

* Drain a little of the naturally occurring juices (the oily liquid in the can comes solely from the fish itself, there is nothing added but a little salt), then add a little olive oil plus some chopped onion.  That really evens the flavor out in a very delicious way.

* Forrest Gump Says, “Salmon Cakes, Salmon Salad, Salmon On A Bagel, Salmon Chowder, Salmon Pasta, Salmon Wraps, Salmon Cocktail…”

Eat canned salmon at lunch, or better yet breakfast, like the Japanese or Scandinavians, and see if the hunger pains don’t stay away for hours.  There something unique about protein from coldwater fatty fish that satiates like none other.

Delish, low calorie and energy sustaining…

The post How to Eat Canned Salmon appeared first on Pure Alaska Salmon Co.

When you take your first bite, think of this picture and mumble “God Bless William Seward in his foresight to buy Alaska!”

Salmon Curry Cakes with Ginger and Pistachios

With pistachios and ginger these salmon cakes are a little more exotic than usual, but they are delicious and make for a nice lunch the next day. They would also make wonderful appetizers. Redhead &/or Thinkpink would work equally well in this flavorful recipe.

*1 TBSP butter
*2 TBSP curry powder of choice
*5 green onions. or 1/3 cup regular onion, chopped fine
*1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced fine, adjust amount to taste
*3 garlic cloves, chopped fine
*1 piece ginger, about ½ inch long, peeled and chopped fine
*2-7.5 oz cans Redhead or Thinkpink, canned wild Alaska salmon, drained and mixed—include highly nutritious skin & bone, they will just disappear into the recipe
*3 eggs lightly beaten
*3/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
*½ cup pistachios, coarsely chopped
*Generous ¼ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
*Salt and pepper to taste
*Vegetable or light olive oil for frying

Melt butter in small frying pan over medium heat, add curry powder, cooking briefly until it darkens a little and becomes aromatic. Add chopped onion, jalapeño pepper, garlic & ginger. Cook on medium about 2 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside. Cool

Gently blend cooked ingredients, drained & chunked salmon, eggs, breadcrumbs, pistachios, parsley and salt and pepper in bowl.

Make 8 cakes about ½” thick. Make 16 portions and serve as delicious appetizers.

Heat large frying pan over medium heat, add oil, and frying a few cakes at a time about 3 or 4 minutes per side until nicely browned.

Serve with your favorite chutney or perhaps the following;

Curry-Lemon Sauce
Mix together
¼ cup mayonnaise, ½ tsp curry powder, ½ tsp grated lemon peel. ¼ tsp paprika

The post Delicious! Salmon Cakes with Ginger and Pistachios appeared first on Pure Alaska Salmon Co.

Shirley enjoying salmon on lemony coleslaw on her front porch.

I do solemnly swear, canned wild Alaska salmon is the best lunch food in the world.  Not only is it delicious,  eating wild salmon at lunch seems to make for a better day all around.  Whether it is the quality of the protein, or the abundant long chain omega3 fatty acids or the high vitamin D,  I feel better when I have eaten wild salmon at lunch.   Eating canned salmon makes that goal readily achievable.  Just open the can!  There couldn’t be a better, easier lunch.

A health care practitioner I once knew likened eating wild salmon to burning natural gas versus the ‘diesel’ of cheese or other proteins.  He reasoned that eating fish metabolizes ‘hot and clean,’ like natural gas.  This analogy fits my experience.

A very vibrant red sockeye salmon on a bagel

We at Pure Alaska Salmon Company love the many canned salmon recipes, but the day-in-day-out  recipe that we most use is  Salmon on a Bagel.  This is optimal, delicious  nutrition you can enjoy at the office with minimal preparation.  The following is my recipe for three days of lunches.

 I generally consume a half of a bagel at lunch.  I could probably eat more, but a whole bagel is too much.  If I am hungry, I lay on extra salmon, or maybe eat a few nuts.

Monday morning, bring in;

1. Two sliced bagels.  If you you are concerned about them getting stale, freeze them, sliced,  as they toast up just fine.   Estimated average cost;  $1.00

2.   1 can 7.5 oz (or 6 oz, if you prefer the fillets) can of Redhead sockeye salmon or Thinkpink pink salmon.  Put the contents into a separate plastic container to refrigerate.    Estimated average cost; $4.75.

3. A container of cream cheese or it’s less fatty cousin Neufchatel cheese.  Neufchatel has about 1/3 less calories than cream cheese–70 calories versus 100 calories in a 1 oz serving, and the flavor is indistinguishable.  Estimated Average cost $2.00

4.  Three slices of lemon;  Estimated average cost 25 cents

5. Optional;  Some chopped onion and some capers.  Estimated average cost 25 cents

All you need now is a can opener, a fork and a napkin to wipe your chin. If your office kitchen has a toaster, toast a half a bagel, and then spread on some cream cheese to taste.  A scant two  tablespoons should more than work.  Open the can of salmon, and dump the contents into the storage container.  Pick out about a third of the salmon and put on top of the cream cheese, squeeze on some lemon and maybe some onion and capers and dive in.

By my rough calculations this lunch has about 400 calories, at a cost of $ 3.00 per serving with about half the daily recommended requirement of protein for adults.

Try the Canned Salmon for Lunch Experiment and then ‘like’ on Facebook and leave a message about your experience on our blog.  When we have 50  comments from 50 people, we will draw straws for a free variety pack of Pure Alaska wild Alaska salmon.

The post Make a Better Day-Eat Canned Wild Alaska Salmon at Lunch appeared first on Pure Alaska Salmon Co.

Winifred Raber, Western Colorado Woman of the West, and Canned Salmon Eater

Canned wild Alaska salmon, humble though it may seem, is one very phenomenal, incredibly nutritious food, with a rich history and a great story.  Canned wild Alaska salmon isn’t just some food scientist’s creation, it is a defining food of our nation’s history.

Salmon canneries were a part of the earliest industrialization of the western United States, providing nutrition for our western pioneers.  Salmon canneries were big business in the old days, with salmon canneries sprinkled up and down the Pacific Coast.

I remember my dear Aunt Winifred talking about loving and eating canned salmon in their remote cow camps in the high mesas of western Colorado.
Even though they were cattle ranchers, with hundreds of cattle, the lack of good refrigeration made canned Alaska salmon an accessible source of protein, that was the basis of many memorable meals up at the summer cow camp of the Grand Mesa of western Colorado. (http://www.deltacountyindependent.com/index.php?id=16938:a-piece-of-history-&option=com_content&catid=36:sc&Itemid=346)

Fortunately, Alaska salmon are still in great abundance.  Alaska’s small population, lack of industrialization, it’s geographic isolation, and excellent, state of art,  biological management happily conspire to make Alaska salmon runs as healthy as they were  100′s years ago.

Pink Salmon Fishing in Southeast Alaska

Additionally, the quality of canned Alaska salmon has improved immeasurably in the past 25 years because most boats now feature chilled circulating  seawater fish holds, thus the fish are kept in prime condition from the time they leave the pure Alaska waters, to when they arrive at the processing plant, hours later.  So for those who last ate canned salmon 30 years ago, you have got a great surprise in store-canned Alaska salmon is delicious and fresh tasting-promise.

I also take comfort, as an ambivalent meat eater, that Alaska salmon live out nearly their entire lives as nature intended. They are captured just before they begin their final journey up a stream.  By carefully monitoring the fishermen’s catch, relative to the fish escapement up the 1000′s of streams,  the  Alaska Department of Fish and Game  optimizes stream and fish health.  The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is considered to be perhaps the most skilled fish managers in the world.   The harmonious relationship between the commercial fishing industry and the fisheries biologists of Alaska is something to behold, and one wishes that we could all get along as well as the fishing industry of Alaska and the regulators.

The post Canned Alaska Salmon and Colorado Cattle Ranching appeared first on Pure Alaska Salmon Co.

A smiling Jim Zuanich after eating canned wild Alaska salmon for 23 days in a row.

Jim Zuanich ate at least 3.5 ounces of Redhead or Thinkpink a day for 23 days at which time he had his blood mercury levels tested. There was no detectable mercury in his bloodstream.  Zuanich also said he loved canned salmon more after he was done with his experiment, reporting that salmon at lunch made for more energy and a happier outlook than with other foods.  ”Nothing compares for lunch,” said Zuanich, skipper of the M/V Marshal Tito.

THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A HEALTH ADVISORY FOR ALASKA SALMON-  EXCEPT EAT MORE OF IT!

The post 23 Days of Canned Alaska Salmon-No Detectable Mercury appeared first on Pure Alaska Salmon Co.

Even Bering Sea fishermen like Remo Lotscher and Andy Zuanich eat canned Alaska salmon

Even in a literal sea of the world’s finest and freshest seafood, Alaska fishermen eat canned Alaska salmon.  Remo Lotscher and Andy Zuanich of the M/V Primus take plenty of canned Alaska salmon on their longline trips in the Bering Sea.  Canned Alaska salmon, both Thinkpink pink salmon and Redhead red salmon,  are easy to eat and deliver the highest quality protein for optimal energy when working the long hours on a fishing boat.  They eat canned Alaska straight out the can when there isn’t time for food preparation.  Those are black cod that they are processing fresh on the boat.

The post Bering Sea Black Cod Longliners Eat Canned Alaska Salmon appeared first on Pure Alaska Salmon Co.

Cheating on Grandma Irma’s Coleslaw Recipe

Grandma Irma Zuanich was very fine cook.   As a matter of fact, in her obituary, it was noted that she “…Made the best Slav Spaghetti on South Hill.”  Among her recipes was a coleslaw that we adapted, with superior results, to using canned salmon rather than small Oregon shrimp she recommended.   Her wonderful recipe,  available on our website as “Irma Beulah’s  Salmon Coleslaw” will appear at the bottom, but I think I have found a better version of this wonderful salad.

Cabbage and salmon do not make an instant food marriage in my head, but I assure you, it is a wonderful result, and so healthy.  Just today for lunch I toasted my favorite hearty rye bread (Mestermache brand), sliced some provolone cheese and ate it with a dish of this wonderful coleslaw recipe that follows.  A superb, easy lunch eaten in front of my computer screen.  A good lunch makes for a better day all around.  I was inspired for this latest rendition of salmon coleslaw by a recipe I found in the San Juan Classics Cookbook, written  by Janice Veal and Dawn Ashbach.

Coleslaw with Canned Salmon

4 cups chopped green cabbage

1 bunch green onions, chopped, including green tops

1 chopped cucumber

1/2 cup sliced black olives (optional)

1/2 cup sliced red radishes (optional)

1- 7.5 oz can of Redhead or Thinkpink–drained, and lightly crumbled and mashed, including nutritious skin and bone

DRESSING (recipe below)

1 avocado, sliced or chopped

1/2 TBSP fresh squeezed lemon juice

Toss cabbage, onion, cucumber, along with optional ingredients in large bowl.  Prepare dressing and mix in with cabbage mixture.  Arrange avocado on top of salad, squeezing lemon juice over avocado to prevent darkening.  Serve immediately.  Keep chilled  and it stores well.

Dressing

1/2 cup mayonaise

2 TBSP lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt or celery salt

Dash of paprika

Irma Beulah’s Salmon Coleslaw

Combine the following in a large bowl;

4 cups  green cabbage, chopped

1-7-5oz can Redhead or Thinkpink drained and chunked

1 green pepper, chopped fine

1 bunch green onions, chopped fine including tops

1/can black olives, sliced

DRESSING

1/2 cup mayonaise

3 TBSP white vinegar

2 tsp white sugar

Mix ingredients and toss with salad vegetables, Chill and serve.

Share thi

The post Cheating on Grandma Irma’s Coleslaw Recipe appeared first on Pure Alaska Salmon Co.