【Reading】ぎょらん

【English Name】Fish Roe

Gyoran is a term for fish eggs (roe) in general, but as an ingredient it customarily refers to ovaries matured within the female body or to the grains separated apart; the ovary is also collectively called mako. Representative fish roe used in sushi include kazunoko (herring), sujiko and ikura (salmon), tarako and karashi-mentaiko (Alaska pollock), karasumi (gray mullet and others), and tobiko (flying fish). It is a nutritionally rich ingredient containing protein, various vitamins and minerals, DHA, and EPA, and in Japan it is also indispensable at celebratory occasions. Overseas, sturgeon roe known as caviar is widely known, and similar cultures exist in the Mediterranean region's bottarga and in Greece and Turkey's taramasalata. The word ikura derives from a Russian word meaning fish roe in general.