Editorial safety update · 10 September 2026
Treacle Cured Salmon: Recipe Safety Update
Our previous home-curing method has been withdrawn because it has not been validated for food safety. Read the current guidance and find cooked seafood alternatives.
Why the method has been withdrawn
Treacle gives cured salmon a dark, sweet-salty coating. However, curing changes flavour and texture without cooking the fish. We have withdrawn the ingredient quantities, curing timetable and storage instructions previously published here because we cannot substantiate them as a safe process.
Please do not use a saved copy of our old method. A firm texture, fresh smell or completed curing time does not establish that raw fish is safe to eat. This page is an editorial safety update, not a replacement curing recipe or a professionally validated preservation method.
The Food Standards Agency advises pregnant people and those with a weakened immune system to avoid ready-to-eat cold-smoked or cured fish. Older people should also consider the increased risk. The agency lists thoroughly cooked fish as an alternative and advises cooking smoked fish until steaming hot throughout before serving to higher-risk people.
For purchased fish, follow the supplier's use-by date, storage and cooking instructions. Home freezing and curing are not interchangeable with a validated food-safety process. If you want to prepare raw cured fish, seek suitably qualified advice about the complete process, including fish sourcing and storage, rather than adapting our withdrawn method.
For a meal you can cook today, explore our baked mackerel and fish Florentine recipes below, alongside the Food Standards Agency's cooking guidance. This address remains available so existing links and saved bookmarks lead to the correction. We will only publish a replacement home-curing method after appropriate food-safety validation.