Lox Cream Cheese Schmear Recipe • so easy! (2024)

FAQs

Is schmear just cream cheese? ›

A “schmear” is a measure of quantity, and may be cream cheese or any other spread. The term means a relatively thin “smear” of the spread, wiped across the bagel or toast, etc, with the side of a knife blade. The term is American English, with spelling and pronunciation as if the word were in Yiddish or German.

Stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container, smoked salmon cream cheese can last for about one week.

The base of the smoked salmon spread consists of cream cheese, mayonnaise, and unsalted butter. This combination makes for a perfectly smooth and creamy spread. Finely chopped smoked salmon, shallot (a mildly flavored onion), capers, lemon zest and juice, and freshly minced dill are added in.

Put very simply, nova is almost a combination of lox and smoked salmon. Named for the salmon of Nova Scotia, nova is made via a process of both curing and smoking. The salmon is cured in salt, similarly to lox, but with less salt, for a milder flavor.

The word schmear comes from the Yiddish word “to spread.” In the world of bagels and brunch a schmear has come to mean cream cheese or other, usually cream cheese-based, spreads for bagels.

The use and spelling of schmear or shmear in American English is a direct loanword from Yiddish, where its original usage referred to cheese. In modern usage it has extended to anything that can be spread, such as cream cheese spread upon a bagel.

For the uninitiated, "just a schmear" is what you tell your bagel guy when he's about to slap a half pound of cream cheese on your bagel.

But while bagels are typically not considered the healthiest of breakfasts, the lox adds important nutrients, like omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D and protein, to your meal.

Here's the main difference: smoked salmon is cured and then smoked, whereas lox is only cured, typically in a salt brine and typically for longer periods of time, but not smoked. Smoked salmon is preserved with a combination of salting and smoking, so the flavor can be slightly salty and slightly smoky.

The word "lox" comes from the Yiddish word for salmon, "laks." Brining salmon is a Scandanavian tradition, but it was also popular among Eastern European Jews. Some of these people immigrated to the U.S. and brought their affinity for brined, cured, and smoked fish with them.

Why is lox called lox and not salmon? ›

Originally derived from the Yiddish word for salmon (laks), lox is cured, but not smoked. It was developed to preserve salmon and other fish before refrigeration was widely available. Lox is never cooked; instead, it's made by curing a salmon belly fillet in salty brine, traditionally for three months.

Made from the belly meat of a salmon, lox is actually never cooked but is, instead, cured in a salty brine mixture for several weeks. Compared to smoked salmon, lox is saltier with more of a raw texture, making it the perfect addition to a toasted bagel with cream cheese.

It is smooth, buttery, flaky, delicately salty, and super healthy thanks to its Omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, and protein of course. It also can be a very confusing thing—because although the word “lox” evokes the classic salmon slices topping a beautiful breakfast bagel, it can mean a few different things!

True lox, also called belly lox, is salmon that's been cured in salt. Because it was used as a method to preserve the fish before refrigeration, it's aggressively salty, and it's not smoked.

Not to fret — you can find great quality smoked salmon right at the grocery store. Good smoked salmon can actually be hard to come by — maybe even harder than good bagels!

Our schmear is made the old-fashioned way using three simple ingredients - cultured milk, cream and salt. A perfect topping for our bagels, and an unexpected surprise when paired with our Chocolate Babka or Danish Rye. Yep, we went there!

For the uninitiated, "just a schmear" is what you tell your bagel guy when he's about to slap a half pound of cream cheese on your bagel. "Just a schmear" means no, I'd like less than a quarter inch slab of cream cheese for breakfast. Because just a thin schmear is all a bagel really needs.

Cream cheese spread has a softer and more spreadable texture, making it easier to spread on bread or crackers. Cream cheese, on the other hand, has a denser and firmer texture, which makes it suitable for use in recipes that require a thicker consistency.

It uses wet mortar applied to brick and partially wiped off before drying. This style gives the appearance of uneven mortar joints reminiscent of old cottage homes (above) and castles in Germany. The wet mortar used for German smear is made of blended Portland cement, lime, sand, and water.