Ikura (Salmon Roe)
Oncorhynchus spp.
Pacific Northwest / Hokkaido, Japan·United States·Everyday
The great democratiser. Translucent amber spheres that burst with oceanic umami and clean saline sweetness. Hokkaido sockeye Ikura lightly cured in soy and sake is among the finest things the sea produces — and more honest than many twice-priced tins of farmed sturgeon.
Salinity3Butteriness2Nuttiness1Umami5Complexity3
Pop
firm
Finish
Umami
Texture
firm
Grain
large
Colour
amber
Blini service
Recommended
Ikura was born for warm sushi rice — a blini is the Western equivalent and works beautifully. The dairy of crème fraîche tempers the soy cure's intensity.
Pairings
- Champagne
- NV Brut rosé Champagne, Blanc de Noirs
- Wine
- Grüner Veltliner, Dry Riesling Kabinett
- Spirits
- Cold Junmai sake, Citrus-forward gin
Production
- Source
- wild / farmed
- Producer
- Pacific (US / Japan)
- Processing
- brined
- Grade
- grade A
Legal & sourcing
Not sturgeon, not CITES-listed. Salmon roe is freely legal in the US with no restrictions.
At a menu
Not 'caviar' to purists but a crowd-pleasing, dramatic, affordable garnish.
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