Cod roe in its preserved form is the whole egg sac of the Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua (and its close relatives), that has been salted and usually cold-smoked or dried into a firm, keeping delicacy — a distinct product from soft, poached fresh cod roe. Depending on tradition it appears as the amber-to-rose Scandinavian smoked roe squeezed from a tube (Swedish and Danish kaviar and the Norwegian mild seasoned pastes), as the pale salted lobes that form the base of Greek and Turkish taramasalata, or as the salted, sometimes lightly smoked roe of Alaska pollock cured in Japan as tarako. In every version the roe is intensely briny and savoury, with a fine, faintly granular texture and a warm smoky, deeply fishy-umami flavour. It is rarely eaten alone: it is spread on bread and crispbread, whipped with oil, lemon and potato or soaked bread into a mousse, or squeezed onto boiled eggs, cold potatoes and shrimp.