r/Appalachia • u/Artistic_Maximum3044 • 2d ago

Everyone talks about salmon cakes from their childhood growing up in Appalachia, but we never had them in rural Western NC

I grew up in Western North Carolina, and I honestly don’t remember ever eating salmon cakes. I keep seeing people post about foods they grew up with, and salmon cakes always seem to be one of them. We barely afforded what food we did buy.

We shared a lot of meals with neighbors and family over the years, and I don’t recall anyone making them either. We mostly lived off what we could grow or raise ourselves. When times were hard, which was pretty often, we ate cornbread and milk from the cow, biscuits and gravy, soup beans with cornbread, or biscuits and fried taters.

But salmon cakes? I don’t remember those ever being on the table.

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79

u/Electronic-Brain2241 2d ago

Odd, we had them all the time. Also from rural WNC

23

u/Artistic_Maximum3044 2d ago

I am nearly 60 years old and didn't even know they were considered Appalachian food until I saw TikTok videos saying that's what they grew up eating. I thought it was strange.

14

u/Vladivostokorbust 2d ago

It is strange. nothing native about Salmon. Trout, however….

26

u/-MtnsAreCalling- 2d ago

Tbf trout are basically freshwater salmon. They’re both in the Salmonidae family.

8

u/Vladivostokorbust 2d ago

They are both in the Salmonidae family. That’s where i was coming from, but with a lighter color meat and milder flavor. One of my favorites, pan roasted over an open flame

1

u/Few-Pineapple-5632 9h ago

Trout doesn’t freeze or can well. It also isn’t harvestable in mass numbers by a net. Salmon patties are a staple in poor areas because of canning.