What is cod milt?

Air travel is a great time to practice the fine art of conversation. Some of the more interesting chats I can remember have taken place with strangers on a plane. In an era in which technology presents ample means to avoid face-to-face interaction, planes thousands of feet up in the air may be one of the last refuges from cell phones and online chatting. On my recent flight home there was just one other person sitting in my row, an elderly lady who smiled encouragingly at me over the scarf she'd been knitting. Twenty minutes later, we were halfway through my portfolio of pictures.

"Those are pigs' tails," I told her, scrolling down the page. "Some of my favorite bits."

"And what's that, dear?" she asked, pointing to a milky white mass—twisted, spiraling, with pink veins laced throughout.

I stopped clicking on the pictures. "Oh, that? Well, that's cod milt," I replied somewhat reluctantly.

"What's milt?" she asked. Just as I expected. Milt is a word that few outside of the high-scoring Scrabble community would know.

"It's um, sperm," I said, coughing a bit on the second word.

"What was that?" she said, cocking her left ear toward me.

"Sperm," I repeated, slightly more loudly, drawing raised eyebrows from the man sitting across the aisle. "Fish sperm. It's really very delicious, like.....pork brains."

Brains? Sperm? That's when a friendly conversation turns a corner.

It took me a few minutes to disarm her sensibilities about eating fish sperm, after which the lady grew curious about its culinary attributes. How do you describe the texture of milt to someone who hasn't tried brains?

Sacs of cod milt are most accurately likened to pork brains, yet with a lighter, finer texture. Steamed, milt is as soft as an egg custard; pan- or deep-fried, the surface crisps up while the interior remains soft and creamy. The taste of milt is subtle; there's a slight sweetness and just the faintest hint of its oceanic roots.

The Japanese call it shirako, kiku, or tachi. Harvested from fish such as cod, anglerfish, monkfish, and sometimes fugu, most types of the seminal fluid are in season during winter. If you're fortunate enough to find it at your Japanese market, consider trying one of these preparations.

Steaming captures the sweetness of milt. I steamed a section of the milt in a broth of dashi, mirin, and soy sauce. A few strands of softened wakame completed the bowl; for additions to the soup, try a few sections of simmered daikon or lightly sautéed shitake mushrooms. Steamed over low heat, the surface of the milt turns completely opaque while its ridges tighten and become more defined. Alternatively, try steaming sections of the milt as an addition to chawan mushi.

Treat milt like a nice piece of calf's liver. Heat a cast iron until it's smoking hot; then salt and lightly dredge the milt in flour. Pan-fry the milt for one minute on each side, until the surface is crisp and golden brown. Serve with rice and a wedge of lemon.

Milt is the seminal fluid of fish and amphibious animals, which is soft and creamy with a slightly fishy taste. It can be compared to pork brains but has a more delicate and light texture that melts in your mouth. Some compare the texture to custard, but with a slight oceanic taste. The unique appearance can easily be identified but is most well known for its rich and creamy umami taste.

Whilst the idea of eating milt is not that popular, it is prepared in numerous ways and enjoyed in many cuisines across the world.

In Sicily, there is a famous pasta dish that uses fish sperm known as lattume. In Russian cuisine, it is pickled (known as moloka), which is similar to their traditional dish of pickled herring. In British cuisine, it is fried with butter and spread on toast.

The idea of eating milt is still bizarre and unknown to many around the world despite it having been around for centuries. Many other reproductive parts are consumed, such as caviar, and milt is no different.

In Japanese cuisine and in other South-East Asian countries such as Singapore, the cod milt (also known as shirako) is a delicacy and is consumed throughout the nation. However, shirako can also be defined as the testis of fish and shellfish such as blowfish, salmon, and squid.

Since it is milt, it can only be taken from male fish and shellfish. They are harvested in winter from the cold Sea of Japan. As milt does not develop until the spawning season, not much can be harvested from one fish. Therefore it is generally treated as a delicacy, which can be quite expensive.

Shirako is commonly enjoyed in izakayas (Japanese-style pubs), sushi bars, and at fish market stalls.

To eat milt safely, it needs to be carefully prepared. Preparation varies from fish to fish; however, for shirako, which is most commonly eaten, it is as follows:

1. Fill a bowl with cold water and gently wash the milt.

2. Cut it into bite-sized pieces.

3. Fill the bowl with saltwater and rub gently to remove any sliminess.

4. Rinse the milt under running cold water and then drain.

5. Boil for about 30-40 seconds, then place in iced water to stop the cooking process.

Whilst cod’s sperm is used throughout the world, these are just a few examples of shirako, which eaten in Japan.

One of the most common ways to eat shirako in Japan is with ponzu sauce, a citrusy soy sauce. The shirako is served raw in a small bowl, sprinkled with green onions, and topped with the ponzu sauce. It is commonly served with shiso and grated daikon.

The shirako has a mild, creamy texture with a fresh oceanic taste. It balances perfectly with the acidic and salty ponzu sauce, which cuts through that creaminess.

Similar to shirako ponzu, for for gunkan maki sushi the milt is placed on top of vineyard rice and wrapped in seaweed. The sushi is topped with ponzu or soy sauce, along with some wasabi. The creamy shirako compliments well with the slight acidic rice and umami nori, making it a popular choice in sushi restaurants during winter.

Tempura is also another popular way of enjoying shirako. The natural creaminess of the milt is balanced with the crunchy tempura batter. The prepared milt is dipped in the tempura batter, made from flour, water, and eggs. Then, it is fried in oil at around 170-180 °C until the batter is crispy. Tempura is garnished with sea salt, a squeeze of lemon, or a special sauce called tenstuyu.

A traditional Japanese hotpot called nabe is one of the most delicious winter dishes. A mixture of vegetables are stewed in stock, which can vary in flavor from dashi to kimchi. Typically, meat is added along with vegetables, but shirako makes for a tasty seafood nabe.

First, the vegetables are boiled in the broth and the shirako is added. This helps it retain the shape and texture of the shirako.

Shirako is lightly covered in seasoned flour and simply fried in oil. The flour helps add texture and a slight firmness to the shirako, which becomes deliciously creamy and sweet when cooked. In Japan, it is common to add soy sauce while frying to add further umami.

Air travel is a great time to practice the fine art of conversation. Some of the more interesting chats I can remember have taken place with strangers on a plane. In an era in which technology presents ample means to avoid face-to-face interaction, planes thousands of feet up in the air may be one of the last refuges from cell phones and online chatting. On my recent flight home there was just one other person sitting in my row, an elderly lady who smiled encouragingly at me over the scarf she'd been knitting. Twenty minutes later, we were halfway through my portfolio of pictures.

"Those are pigs' tails," I told her, scrolling down the page. "Some of my favorite bits."

"And what's that, dear?" she asked, pointing to a milky white mass—twisted, spiraling, with pink veins laced throughout.

I stopped clicking on the pictures. "Oh, that? Well, that's cod milt," I replied somewhat reluctantly.

"What's milt?" she asked. Just as I expected. Milt is a word that few outside of the high-scoring Scrabble community would know.

"It's um, sperm," I said, coughing a bit on the second word.

"What was that?" she said, cocking her left ear toward me.

"Sperm," I repeated, slightly more loudly, drawing raised eyebrows from the man sitting across the aisle. "Fish sperm. It's really very delicious, like.....pork brains."

Brains? Sperm? That's when a friendly conversation turns a corner.

It took me a few minutes to disarm her sensibilities about eating fish sperm, after which the lady grew curious about its culinary attributes. How do you describe the texture of milt to someone who hasn't tried brains?

Sacs of cod milt are most accurately likened to pork brains, yet with a lighter, finer texture. Steamed, milt is as soft as an egg custard; pan- or deep-fried, the surface crisps up while the interior remains soft and creamy. The taste of milt is subtle; there's a slight sweetness and just the faintest hint of its oceanic roots.

The Japanese call it shirako, kiku, or tachi. Harvested from fish such as cod, anglerfish, monkfish, and sometimes fugu, most types of the seminal fluid are in season during winter. If you're fortunate enough to find it at your Japanese market, consider trying one of these preparations.

Steaming captures the sweetness of milt. I steamed a section of the milt in a broth of dashi, mirin, and soy sauce. A few strands of softened wakame completed the bowl; for additions to the soup, try a few sections of simmered daikon or lightly sautéed shitake mushrooms. Steamed over low heat, the surface of the milt turns completely opaque while its ridges tighten and become more defined. Alternatively, try steaming sections of the milt as an addition to chawan mushi.

Treat milt like a nice piece of calf's liver. Heat a cast iron until it's smoking hot; then salt and lightly dredge the milt in flour. Pan-fry the milt for one minute on each side, until the surface is crisp and golden brown. Serve with rice and a wedge of lemon.

Milt is the seminal fluid of fish, mollusks, and certain other water-dwelling animals which reproduce by spraying this fluid, which contains the sperm, onto roe (fish eggs). It can also refer to the sperm sacs or testes that contain the semen.

Milt or soft roe also refers to the male genitalia of fish when they contain sperm, used as food. Many cultures eat milt, often fried, though not usually as a dish by itself.

In Indonesian cuisine, the milt (called telur ikan; fish egg) of snakehead and snapper is usually made into kari or woku.

In Japanese cuisine, the testes (白子 shirako 'white children') of cod (tara), anglerfish (ankō), salmon (sake), squid (ika) and pufferfish (fugu) are eaten.

In Korean cuisine, the milt (이리 iri) of Alaska pollock, cod, blackmouth angler, bogeo, and sea bream are eaten.

In Romanian cuisine, the milt of carp and other fresh water fish is called "Lapți" (from the Latin word lactes) and is usually fried.

In Russian cuisine, herring milt (молока, "Moloka") is pickled the same way as the rest of the fish, but eaten separately, sometimes combined with pickled herring roe. Various whitefish soft roes are usually consumed fried and it is an inexpensive everyday dish.

In Sicilian cuisine, the milt of tuna is called "Lattume" and is used as a typical pasta topping.

In British cuisine, soft cod roes are a traditional dish, usually fried in butter and spread on toast.

Cod milt, the sperm sac of various fish, is actually one of the easier types of innards to cook. Milt is soft and creamy, yet does not easily overcook. It's pleasantly fishy but not too overwhelming. Keep your preparations simple to allow the natural milt flavors to shine through.