So what does Ikura even mean and where does it come from?

       I know many people are probably curious about the significance of  the word "Ikura". Well, it is the fully ripe internal ovaries or egg masses of salmon. Frankly, this definition doesn't seem that appealing, but to me, "Ikura" means tiny orange spheres that contain and explosion of flavor that can put a smile on anyone's face. What is unique about Ikura is that it can only be found in one distinct species of fish, and that would be the humble salmon. The word "Ikura" is a modified version of the Russian word "ikra" which means caviar. About anywhere from 2,500- 7,000 of these delectable reddish-orange spheres, that look like minute suns, can be found in the belly region of a female salmon (shown above by the drawn in red lines).