Every year, the excitement of the end-of-year holidays puts smoked salmon in the spotlight. The new UFC-Que Choisir comparison is timely to guide consumers. The organization actually tested 11 salmon and 11 smoked trout to establish a classification.
A healthy comparison for end-of-year meals
The challenge is high: finding the best product to delight your guests, while respecting an often tight budget.
Salmon, the star of our starters, can indeed be expensive without its price guaranteeing excellence. The association therefore sought to identify the “worst” references to avoid. But above all to find a brilliant alternative, often neglected: smoked trout.
A blind tasting by a jury bringing together 30 consumers allowed each reference to be tasted. The result is clear: a smoked trout takes the lead, offering unbeatable value for money.
Smoked trout, a cheaper and stunning alternative
As the association’s survey highlights, experts agree that it is “difficult for a non-professional to distinguish the two species by blindly tasting a smoked slice”. Both belonging to the Salmonidae family, their slices are “visually very similar”.
Indeed, for farmed fish, food enriched with coloring gives their flesh similar shades. The main difference is size (trout is usually smaller) and fat content (it’s a little less fatty).
But at a time when the best smoked salmon costs twice as much as the best trout, the less expensive alternative becomes extremely tempting.
The best smoked trout for less than €4 at Aldi
For a perfect bluff and a successful entry at a low price, you should go to the discounter Aldi. The UFC-Que Choisir awards the excellent score of 14.6/20 to the Beechwood smoked trout Golden Seafood from Aldi. Not only does it rank first in its category, but it also gets a better score than many smoked salmon in the test!
When tasted, it presented slices that were “homogeneous in size and shape”, a “pleasant, moderately salty” smoky taste and a melting, slightly crunchy texture. It is generally considered satisfactory and balanced on the palate. On the health side, this is also a very good point: its salt and fat contents are “in compliance with the labeling and regulatory limits”.
In addition, analyzes show levels of heavy metals well below regulatory limits. Finally, it displays good freshness at its use-by date (DLC), a major advantage for those who do their shopping in advance.
Flops to avoid on the trout side
While the alternative is often excellent, be careful not to fall on the wrong horse. The William & James Organic Trout, despite its organic stamp and its very high price per kilo (77.90 euros), receives a mediocre score of 9.6/20, placing it at the bottom of the general ranking.
Furthermore, Eco+ trout, sold by E. Leclerc, holds its own with a score of 12.9/20, offering a good compromise for small budgets.
The Top 3 of smoked salmon for impeccable quality
If your heart nevertheless leans towards salmon, UFC-Que Choisir has designated the superior quality references.
- Scottish smoked salmon from the Mowi brand
(Rating: 15.6/20). It stands out thanks to its impeccable health quality (no trace of Listeria monocytogenes detected) and the excellent preparation of its slices (very little brown muscle). In the mouth, it is considered tender, soft and slightly salty; - Smoked salmon raised in Scotland Carrefour Extra
(Rating: 15.4/20). Very accessible, it was appreciated for its firm, melting texture and its balanced, moderately salty, smoky taste; - Organic smoked salmon from the Salmon Company
(Rating: 15.3/20). It is distinguished by its smoky taste enhanced with a slight note reminiscent of bacon, while remaining slightly salty.
Salmon that should definitely not be purchased in advance
The survey also highlighted a crucial point: freshness at the shelf-life date or best before date. The excitement of the holidays pushes us to do our shopping in advance, but be careful, two smoked salmon from the panel do not keep well enough to be served in complete peace of mind until the announced date. Their freshness received a “mediocre” rating as the DLC approached.
- Norwegian smoked salmon -25% Odyssée salt (Intermarché): despite an overall score of 12.4/20, its DLC freshness is considered mediocre;
- Norwegian Salmon -25% Labeyrie salt: rated 12.9/20 (rather good), its DLC freshness is also rated as mediocre.
The advice of UFC-Que Choisir: for these two references, it is imperative to only buy them at the last minute for Christmas, because their organoleptic quality deteriorates quickly at the end of their conservation.
To find out the rest of the rankings, go to the UFC-Que Choisir website.