All About Fish Roe.

Hello Steemians, my name is Aleksandr.
If you’ve ever eaten or made sushi, then you’re probably familiar with one or two kinds of fish roe. But how much do you actually know about these colorful spheres?
The bright orange pops you commonly find in Gunkanmakis and Uramakis are called Fish Roe. Believe it or not these tiny bubbles of color are actually fish eggs. It’s the same stuff that the luxurious and delectable caviar is made of. They say that Tobiko is a “poor man’s caviar”. Despite the inglorious description, Tobiko (and other kinds of fish roe) is revered in Japanese cuisine. The Japanese has mastered the art of using these tiny, colorful bursts of flavor for food, and they use quite a few types of fish roe in their sushi:

Ikura
Roe from Salmon. This roe comes in individual balls and are red-orange in color

Kazunoko
Roe from Herring. This roe comes in a pale yellow or a pale fleshy color. Unlike the salmon roe which comes in individual spheres, this roe comes in one cohesive mass.

Masago
Also known as smelt roe, this has a similar texture and color to Tobiko. The only difference is that it’s smaller in size.

Mentaiko
This roe comes from spiced (with powdered red pepper) Alaska pollock. It comes in a sausage form where the roe is encased in an elastic membrane. Mentaiko is typically pink to dark red in color.

Sujiko
This is also salmon roe, however, when prepared and served, it is still in the sac. It typically has a darker, almost blood orange color to it. It’s also sweeter in taste.

Tarako
Like the Mentaiko, this roe also comes from Alaska pollock. The key difference is that it is salted, instead of spiced. It comes in a pink sausage-like shape and is sometimes grilled for preparation.

Tobiko
One of the most common roes you’ll find in sushi is the flying fish roe. This type of roe is teeny-tiny, crunchy, and typically bright yellow-orange in color. However, since it comes in a variety of flavors, Tobiko is sometimes green (wasabi), red (beet), and black (squid ink) in color.