Salmon roe

Serve it chilled by the spoonful on blinis, toast or rice, or add it to sushi and donburi just before serving. Its salty, briny eggs are best used as a finishing touch rather than mixed into a dish that will be cooked.

You can, but high heat makes the eggs firm and liable to burst. Stir salmon roe through warm pasta or place it on a hot dish right before serving so it warms gently without being fried or boiled.

Keep it covered in the fridge and use a clean spoon each time; follow the pack’s use-by advice and, as a general guide, eat it within a few days of opening. Freeze it only if the packaging says it is suitable for freezing, then thaw it in the fridge.

Salmon roe is a classic sushi and gunkan-maki topping, and it is also served on blinis with sour cream or spooned over rice. A little on scrambled eggs or a baked potato adds a salty pop.

Salmon roe usually has larger, bright orange eggs that pop readily; trout roe is generally smaller and can taste milder. Trout roe has 209 kcal and 26.3 g protein per 100 g, compared with 240 kcal and 31 g protein in salmon roe.

Salmon roe is high in iodine and vitamin B12; it also provides vitamin D. It is salty, so a spoonful is often enough to add plenty of flavour: 936 mg sodium per 100 g.

It is commonly eaten uncooked after being salted or otherwise cured, as in sushi. Keep it refrigerated, use clean utensils and avoid eating it if it has been left warm or smells unusually sour.

Yes. Salmon roe is fish roe, so it can trigger an allergy to fish; avoid it if you have a known fish allergy, and check mixed dishes for roe as well.