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HOME cooks have caused a jump in sales of herring roe, the lowest cost item on a supermarket’s fish counter, according to Waitrose.
Demand for old-fashioned herring roe at Waitrose has jumped 39% so far this year compared to the same period of 2010. Customers have discovered the delights of this high quality product with a price tag of just £3.99 per kilo. Its price is the lowest by weight of all the products sold at Waitrose fish counters.
Herring roe is best served lightly seasoned, dipped in flour then fried and dished up on piping hot toast. Waitrose fish buyer Jeremy Langley said the high demand for herring roe was part of a wider trend for adventurous shoppers seeking out nutritious, good value fish.
“Sales of herring roe are up sharply this year, which must be because it is a very good value product,” he said. “It’s been sold at Waitrose for many years so it’s significant that the cheapest product by weight on our fish counters is now becoming popular again.
“When it comes to taste, herring roe isn’t the poor relation to other items in the fish aisle. It’s delicious fried and served on hot buttered toast.”
Around 150g of herring roe will serve one person, equating to a price of around 59p per portion. The growing popularity of this good value fish comes as Waitrose’ sales of other once-neglected varieties have increased.
The high profile Fish Fight campaign by chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has encouraged shoppers to try lesser-known species of fish to take pressure off the 'big five' - cod, haddock, salmon, prawns and tuna.
British mackerel sales at the supermarket have more than doubled since January (up 105%) whilst Cornish pollack has trebled, with a 207% sales upturn.
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