California roll — California, United States

The California roll is a type of ura maki, an inside-out sushi roll in which the rice sits on the outside and the sheet of nori is hidden within, wrapped around crab meat or surimi, avocado and cucumber. The exposed rice is usually finished with sesame seeds or tobiko, the small orange roe of flying fish. It is reported as having appeared in Los Angeles, California, and it remains closely associated with the state. From there it spread through sushi restaurants across the United States and became one of the entry points through which many diners outside Japan first tried sushi. A sheet of nori is laid on a bamboo mat, covered with seasoned sushi rice, and flipped so the rice faces outward. Strips of crab or surimi, avocado and cucumber are laid along the center, and the mat is rolled tightly around them. Sesame seeds or tobiko are pressed onto the rice before the roll is sliced into rounds with a wet knife. It is said to have been created in the early 1970s by a chef working in Los Angeles who was looking for a way to make maki less unfamiliar to American diners wary of visible nori, by turning the roll rice-side out and swapping in avocado where fatty tuna was scarce. That reversal, along with the use of crab or surimi rather than raw fish, is what distinguishes it from earlier maki and has made it a frequent starting point for other inside-out rolls.