Ikura is salmon roe — the large, glossy, jewel-like eggs of Pacific salmon, separated from their membrane and cured in salt or a soy-and-sake brine. Each egg is a translucent orange-to-red sphere 3–7 mm across, far bigger than sturgeon caviar, and bursts between tongue and palate with a briny, rich, umami pop and a clean, faintly sweet ocean taste. A fixture of Japanese cooking, it is served as gunkan-maki ("battleship" sushi wrapped in a nori band), heaped over warm rice as ikura don, folded into chirashi bowls, or used as a bright, luxurious garnish on countless dishes. The Japanese word ikura is a loanword from the Russian ikra (roe / caviar), and though English often calls it "salmon caviar" or "red caviar," ikura is salmon roe — distinct both from true sturgeon caviar and from the tiny, crunchy flying-fish roe (tobiko) and capelin roe (masago).