Lox

Not to be confused with smoked salmon or Liquid oxygen.

For other uses, see Lox (disambiguation).

Lox

Lox on bagel
Origin
Place of origin	United States
Details
Course served	Breakfast, Lunch
Main ingredient(s)	Lox, cream cheese, bagel

Lox is a fillet of brined salmon. Traditionally, lox is served on a bagel with cream cheese, and is usually garnished with tomato, sliced red onion, and sometimes capers.

Etymology

The American English word lox is derived from the Yiddish word for salmon, laks (cf. German Lachs), which ultimately derives from the Indo-European word for salmon, *laks-. The word lox has cognates in numerous Indo-European languages. For example, cured salmon in Scotland and Scandinavian countries is known by different versions of the name Gravlax or gravad laks.

Similar products

Lox and cream cheese sandwich

• Nova or Nova Scotia salmon, sometimes called Nova lox, is cured with a milder brine and then cold-smoked. The name dates from a time when much of the salmon in New York City came from Nova Scotia. Today, however, the name refers to the milder brining, as compared to regular lox (or belly lox), and the fish may come from other waters or even be raised on farms.
• Scotch or Scottish-style salmon. A mixture of salt and sometimes sugars, spices, and other flavorings is applied directly to the meat of the fish; this is called "dry-brining" or "Scottish-style." The brine mixture is then rinsed off, and the fish is cold-smoked.
• Nordic-style smoked salmon. The fish is salt-cured and cold-smoked.
• Gravad lax or gravlax. This is a traditional Nordic means of preparing salmon. The salmon is coated with a spice mixture, which often includes dill, sugars, salt, and spices like juniper berry. It is often served with a sweet mustard-dill sauce.

Other similar brined and smoked fish products are also popular in delis and fish stores, particularly in Chicago and the New York City boroughs, such as chubs, sable (smoked cod), smoked sturgeon, smoked whitefish, and kippered herring.

See also

• Smoked fish
• Smoked salmon
• List of smoked foods