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Scottish salmon features in Blumenthal recipe

As a dedicated supplier to Waitrose, Macrae supplies over 90 per cent of their ready to eat seafood. The salmon industry is hugely important to the Scottish economy, so the creation of high valueadded products in this market is vital.

The Lapsang Souchong Tea Smoked Salmon, created as part of the “Heston from Waitrose” range, is the ideal platform to inject the market with a contemporary, exciting new product.

• Traditionally the smoked salmon market has attracted an older consumer. There is a challenge for manufacturers to attract the younger generation in order to maintain growth in this high value category.
• Waitrose is also keen to appeal to a younger consumer. Their passion for quality food is shared with Heston Blumenthal and together they have developed an exclusive 'Heston from Waitrose' range.
• The result is Lapsang Souchong Tea Smoked Salmon which is produced by Macrae for Waitrose to Heston's exact recipe at their factory in Livingston.

The smoking process. The Lapsang Souchong Tea Smoked Salmon is an innovative, new product. Lapsang Souchong is a pure Chinese tea with a sweet and highly aromatic flavour. The salmon is first cured in a mixture of sea salt and sugar. The salmon is then smoked for 10 hours over a blend of oak and Lapsang Souchong tea, which imparts a complex, but delicate smoky flavour.

The taste of the perfumed black tea is distinctive as the leaves are smoked over pinewood fires, giving it a smoky taste which, in turn, imparts a lovely flavour to the salmon. The tea-smoked salmon produced by Macrae follows Heston Blumenthal's exacting recipe and was launched exclusively in Waitrose stores.

Sustainability. The responsibly farmed Scottish salmon is reared to Waitrose 'Select Farm' standards. The salmon sites are sited in clean, oceanic waters with strong tidal flows. Strong tidal sites keep the seabed clean and also help encourage lean and fit fish as they swim in the current, resulting in firmer, less fatty flesh which is ideal for smoking.

Quality. Long-term working partnerships have been established between Waitrose, Macrae and the salmon producers. This allows for long-term planning and early adoption of practices that lead to improved quality and sustainability of the farming operation.

Welfare. 'Select Farm' sites are situated far from any natural salmon rivers meaning there is no impact either from or on wild salmon and trout populations. The salmon is farmed to the highest of welfare standards.

Health & wellbeing

The benefits of omega 3, an essential fatty oil, have long been recognised, and are central to health and well being. Nutritional experts recommend eating 2-3 portions of fish a week, one of which should be an oily fish such as farmed Scottish salmon.

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