Masu ikura Trout caviar
The trout (Masu, in Japanese) Onchorhynchus Mykiss is basically a salmon that, instead of wandering the seas and then returning to spawn in the fresh waters of rivers, as its cousin Keta does, has settled in rivers and lakes, undergoing only minor morphological changes over the centuries that separate it from its family. The eggs of the two cousins, for example, are so similar that it is difficult to distinguish one from the other. They are only slightly smaller, while remaining very large compared to the eggs of other fish, more orange in color, and have a slightly thicker membrane. The flavor is special, and very similar to that of Ikura Chum/Keta.
These delicious eggs can be used just like ikura Keta, to fill Gunkan or Temaki sushi, or to garnish and embellish sushi rolls and any other dish.
Even a dozen or so grains of Masu Ikura, as of Chum Ikura, piled or scattered in the right places, transform the dish, embellish it, give it a new light. Not to be overlooked is the fact that since trout is farmed, while Keta/Chum salmon is a wild fish that has to be caught, Masu Ikura is, at last now (but was not so until a few months ago, when prices were virtually identical) much cheaper.
So you can preciously adorn your plate or sushi with an ikura that costs more than 40% less than Keta/Chum, and is good and beautiful…. almost as much as his rich cousin.
