Cisco

Cisco, also known as lake herring, is a small to medium-sized freshwater fish from the salmonid family found in deep, cold lakes across northern North America, particularly the Great Lakes. It has soft, oily flesh with a mild, delicate flavour — richer than most freshwater whitefish due to its higher fat content.

Cisco is not widely available in Australia and is primarily encountered through imported smoked or preserved products. In its native range, it’s enjoyed smoked, fried, or baked, and its roe is sometimes sold as a freshwater caviar. It’s an important species ecologically and culturally in the Great Lakes region.

Wild

photograph to come — from twenty years of markets, farms and kitchens

How it's made

Cisco are caught wild from freshwater lakes using gill nets, trap nets, or seine nets, primarily during autumn spawning runs when they congregate in shallower waters. The fish are gutted, cleaned, and sold fresh, or processed into smoked and frozen products. There is no significant aquaculture for cisco — virtually all supply comes from wild harvest.

Nutrition (per 100g)

Energy 98kcal

Protein 19g

Carbs 0g

Fat 1.9g

Fibre 0g Sugar 0g

Mass Distribution

1 fillet is about 79 g — roughly 80 kcal of this.

What it costs the planet (per kilo)

Carbon ≈5.15kg

Freshwater ≈3515.05L

Land ≈3.75m²

≈ Estimated — worked out from a category-typical value further up its supply chain. Where this comes from →

Where it comes from

Made from

Cisco, flesh

In the kitchen

Used as

smoked freshwater fish

Goes well with

cream cheese dill lemon onion caper rye bread

Classic dishes

Smoked cisco dip
Smoked cisco on crackers
Cisco chowder

Where this data comes from

Nutrition data from

USDA

How it was calculated

SR Legacy

Full credits, licences, and methods: the sources page →

Your household's take

One thumb per person, shared with your household — it steers what the wider-web shelf and the swap chips offer you. Tap again to take it back.

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