Taramasalata or taramosalata ( el, ταραμοσαλάτα; from 'fish roe' < tr, tarama +

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: 'salad' < it, insalata) is a

meze Meze or mezza (, ) is a selection of small dishes served as appetizers in the Levantine cuisine, Levant, Turkish cuisine, Turkey, Greek cuisine, Greece, the Balkan cuisine, Balkans, the Caucasian cuisine, Caucasus and Iranian cuisine, Iran. It i ...

made from ''tarama'', the salted and cured

roe Roe ( ) or hard roe is the fully ripe internal egg masses in the ovaries, or the released external egg masses, of fish and certain marine animals such as shrimp, scallop, sea urchins and squid. As a seafood, roe is used both as a cooked in ...

(colloquially referred to as

caviar Caviar (also known as caviare; from fa, خاویار, khâvyâr, egg-bearing) is a food consisting of salt-cured roe of the family Acipenseridae. Caviar is considered a delicacy and is eaten as a garnish or a spread. Traditionally, the te ...

) of the

cod Cod is the common name for the demersal fish genus '' Gadus'', belonging to the family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gadus'' is commonly not call ...

, carp, or

grey mullet Grey mullet can mean any of several fish in the family ''Mugilidae'' (the mullets) and having a greyish hue: * Flathead grey mullet, ''Mugil cephalus'' * Thicklip grey mullet, ''Chelon labrosus'' * Boxlip grey mullet, ''Oedalechilus labeo The bo ...

( bottarga) mixed with olive oil, lemon juice, and a starchy base of bread or potatoes, or sometimes almonds. Variants may include garlic, spring onions, or peppers, or vinegar instead of lemon juice. While not traditionally Greek, smoked rather than cured cod's roe is more widely available in some places, and often used. Bottarga is usually much more expensive than cod's roe. Traditionally the dish is made with a

pestle and mortar Mortar and pestle is a set of two simple tools used from the Stone Age to the present day to prepare ingredients or substances by crushing and grinding them into a fine paste or powder in the kitchen, laboratory, and pharmacy. The ''mortar'' ( ...

, giving a slightly grainy texture, but commercial taramasalata is commonly blended to a very smooth paste. Taramasalata is usually served as a ''

'', often with

ouzo Ouzo ( el, ούζο, ) is a dry anise-flavored aperitif that is widely consumed in Greece. It is made from rectified spirits that have undergone a process of distillation and flavoring. Its taste is similar to other anise liquors like pastis, ...

, as a spread on bread. The colour can vary from creamy beige to pink, depending on the type of roe and colourings used. Most taramasalata sold commercially is dyed pink, but high quality taramasalata is always beige in colour. In Greece, taramasalata is often served on

Clean Monday Clean Monday ( el, Καθαρά Δευτέρα), also known as Pure Monday, Ash Monday, Monday of Lent or Green Monday, is the first day of Great Lent throughout Eastern Christianity and is a moveable feast, falling on the 6th Monday befor ...

(, ), the first day of Great Lent, with onions and lemon.Susanna Hoffman, Victoria Wise, ''The Olive and the Caper: Adventures in Greek Cooking'', 2004, , p. 43

Etymology

Borrowed from Greek word ''ταραμάς'' (roe), itself a borrowing from Turkish ''tarama''. Normally, ''tarama'' is the salted roe itself, but sometimes the prepared dish is also called ''tarama''. The spelling taramosalata reflects the Greek, but in English the ''a'' spelling is common.

Salată de icre

A similar dip or spread, ' ('roe salad' in

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language *** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language ** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...

) is also common in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

and

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

(known as , or ), and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

(where it is known as ''ikra)''. It is made with

pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

or carp roe, but generally with sunflower or vegetable oil instead of olive oil, sometimes with a thickener like white bread. It is mass-produced and is widely available in grocery shops and supermarkets, as well as being made at home, in which case chopped onions are commonly added. It has a consistency and taste similar to mayonnaise, with the roe taking the place of the egg as protein. The traditional production method of ''salată de icre'' is standardized under the Romanian departmental standard N.I.D. 927-70 N 23 and registered as an EU

Traditional Speciality Guaranteed A traditional speciality guaranteed (TSG, plural: ''traditional specialities guaranteed'') is a traditional food product protected under European Union and/or UK law. This label differs from the geographical indications, protected designation of ...

under the name "Salată tradițională cu icre de crap". The roe of this product is for over 50% carp based. A dip, or (mashed beans), prepared with mashed beans, sunflower oil, garlic and chopped onions, is sometimes called (beans roe).

References

{{Cuisine of Romania Turkish cuisine Cypriot cuisine Greek cuisine Israeli cuisine Dips (food) Meze Romanian cuisine Bulgarian cuisine Roe dishes Cod dishes

Etymology

Salată de icre

See also

References