category: food/groceries: fish: fish products

Lumpsucker roe, lumpfish caviar, Danish caviar, de.: Seehasen-Kaviar, Deutscher Kaviar, Falscher Kaviar

Lumpsucker roe or caviar also called lumpfish roe is processed and salted roe of the female lumpsucker. Similar to salmon caviar it is used as a cheaper alternative to sturgeon caviar. It is therefore also called mock caviar. Lumpsuckers produce large amounts of light pink or yellow coloured eggs. They are sold salted, sometimes seasoned and usually artificially coloured red or black. Lumpsucker caviar is firm and fine-grained.

In retail lumpsucker roe is mostly sold pasteurised in glass jars. It is produced in Iceland (Perles du Nord), Norway or the Faroe Islands. It is extensively used in Danish cuisine and therefore sometimes called Danish caviar but is usually not produced in Denmark.

Some countries, such as Germany, import lumpfish roe raw and salted in wooden barrels. It is then processed and coloured. The term German caviar refers to lumpfish roe imported from Iceland or Norway and processed in Germany.

Use of lumpsucker caviar

Apart from its importance in Danish cuisine lumpfish roe is not used widely. It is mostly used as a garnish in cold kitchen.