Rainbow Pearls (Trout Roe)

Smoked Rainbow Trout Roe: Bright, Briny, and Gently Smoked

The pop comes first, then the smoke. These are medium pearls — big enough to feel distinct on the tongue, small enough to spread across a blini without sliding off. The cure is light, so what you taste is roe rather than salt, with beechwood smoke sitting just behind it. A spoonful is a serving; this is not something you eat by the handful.

How It's Made

• Farmed in Denmark. Freshwater rainbow trout, raised and harvested under Danish aquaculture standards and traceable to the farm — which is what keeps the pearls consistent in size and colour.
• Lightly cured. Just enough salt to firm the membrane. Over-curing is what makes roe taste sharp and turns the pearls tough.
• Cold-smoked over beechwood. Beech is milder than alder — on something this delicate, a heavier smoke would bury the roe entirely.
• Nothing added. No dyes, no preservatives. The orange is the roe's own colour.

How to Serve It

Cold, and near the end. Roe loses its pop with heat, so if it is going onto something warm, spoon it on at the table rather than in the pan.

• The classic. Blinis or toasted brioche, cold butter or crème fraîche, roe on top. The fat is what carries it.
• On eggs. Soft scrambled or a boiled egg cut in half. Roe and egg are the same idea twice, and it works.
• Finishing a dish. A spoonful over seafood pasta, potato soup, or smoked fish already on the plate — added after cooking, never during.
• Straight. Off a cold spoon, no bread. This is how you taste what you actually bought.

Keeping It

Roe is the most perishable thing we sell. Keep it refrigerated at 32–38°F and eat within two to three days of opening — it does not have the shelf life of our smoked or dried fish. Do not freeze it: the pearls rupture on thawing and what you get back is a paste.

Storage for everything else we make is in our storage guide.

Common Questions

Is this caviar? Not in the strict sense — true caviar is sturgeon. This is trout roe, and it is its own thing: brighter, milder, and a fraction of the price. If you like salmon roe (ikura), you will find this cleaner and less oily.

Where does it come from? Denmark. Danish trout farming is among the most tightly regulated in Europe, and the roe arrives to us already graded for size — that is why the pearls in a jar look alike.

How salty is it? Noticeably less than most roe sold in jars. The light cure is deliberate, and it is also why the shelf life is short.

Can I serve it to someone trying roe for the first time? This is the one we would start them on. Milder than salmon roe, no metallic edge, and the smoke gives it something familiar to hold onto.