Sho Spaeth is the lead writer and editor at ChefSteps.com. He is also the author of Homemade Ramen, a James Beard Award–nominated cookbook.

Sho Spaeth

Walk into any appetizing shop worth its salt, and you’ll see a display case filled with sides of salmon prepared in various ways. All of them are <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/brining-curing-fish">cured</a>—that is, salted and left to sit—so their flesh is silky smooth, soft but firm, ready to be sliced so diaphanously thin they’re almost transparent.Some might be seasoned with dill and juniper, along with a little gin or vodka in the mix; some may have a tongue-curling amount of salt and taste cleanly of salmon and the sea; others might be smoked gently, their flesh still silky; still others might be smoked more aggressively, flaking at the barest flick of a fork.Faced with all that beautiful fish, it can be hard to decide what to get. We hope this guide to the different kinds of cured salmon out there will help clear up any confusion.