Taramasalata improves with age

[cdh]

I thought this observation was worth sharing:  Oxidation and age improve taramasalata.

 

I have had a long time appreciation of this stuff... essentially mayonnaise with cod roe in it.  A Greek  usual suspect.  And delicious.

 

Last fall I picked up a fresh jar of the Krinos brand... a purveyor in the US market that has got wide distribution on the East Coast, at least.  Tasting it initially, it presented as a lot more fishy than expected... kinda funky in ways not expected. More of a fish store funk than I usually expect, so it went back into the fridge and kinda got lost track of.  The jar has sat in my fridge for six months, and I just pulled it out.  Knowing it is full of salt and acid, and had no signs of mold on it, I was not squeamish about trying it again when it came to my attention this afternoon. And it was the delicious nutty caviar spread I'd hoped for 6 months ago.  I think I've learned that oxidation and time improve fish eggs.  Does sturgeon, salmon or trout caviar improve with time in similar ways, or is the acid heavy mayo format key to this improvement by aging?

[FrogPrincesse]

Mayonnaise with cod roe? That is a strange way to describe it. Tarama typically doesn't contain any eggs, which is probably a good in thing your case!

[Deryn]

Roe (= 'eggs' of a sort ) .. lemon juice, olive oil, onion, bread. No 'yolk' though.

[cdh]

8 hours ago, FrogPrincesse said:

Mayonnaise with cod roe? That is a strange way to describe it. Tarama typically doesn't contain any eggs, which is probably a good in thing your case!

I'm not unique in using the mayonnaise analogy to describe it... http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2014/09/tarama-fish-roe-recipe-spread-taramasalata-taramosalata/

[cdh]

10 hours ago, FrogPrincesse said:

 Tarama typically doesn't contain any eggs, [...]

 

That really read as /off/ the first time I passed my eyes over it, because "tarama" is the Greek word for fish roe... "taramasalata" is the dish made from it... to say the eggs have no egg in them was jarring.  But now I see that "taramasalata" is too long for a word and is shortened to tarama as an abbreviation, rather than as a reference to the egg component...  and your point is that there is no chicken egg serving as the emulsifier...

[FrogPrincesse]

Exactly. No chicken eggs, so it's not mayonnaise! Describing it as mayonnaise with fish roe doesn't do it justice. Also I feel that it misrepresents its texture. Mayonnaise is rich and eggy. Tarama tends to be lighter, salty, highlighting the flavor of the roe.

 

This is making me hungry.  It's a bit hard to find cured fish roe, but making this from scratch is wonderful. I wonder if I can use the boutargue I brought back from France...