Kipper is generally applied to kippered herring. It is split down the back, butterflied, cured in brine and then smoked. They are traditionally golden coloured. Cold smoked kippers need to be cooked, while hot smoked kippers do not. They are sufficiently oily not to need cooking in butter while poaching them removes the distinctive smoky flavour. They can be microwaved for three minutes, which retains the smoky flavour and prevents them from being too oily. They are generally coloured artificially.