What to look for when choosing caviar


 You can find good salmon caviar on our counters! We go on a "fishing" skillfully.


What to look for

What kind of fish? Coho salmon caviar is considered the most delicious and nutritious. The eggs are dark red, slightly bitter. The second place in the caviar rating is occupied by pink salmon - these eggs are larger, bright orange. Their disadvantage is a weak shell, it often bursts, so there can be a lot of liquid (jusa) in the jar. The largest and toughest eggs are in chum roe, the smallest are in trout eggs.


Place of production

It is best to buy caviar produced where it was caught - that is, in Kamchatka or Sakhalin. In this case, there is less risk of purchasing a product made from defrosted stocks.


Salt content. 3-5% salt is the average salinity of red caviar by modern standards. Today, buyers prefer “healthier”, slightly salted caviar. However, the less salt, the shorter the shelf life.


Appearance

Eggs should be approximately the same size, whole, not sticky. It is advisable to turn the caviar in a glass jar: if it immediately "crawled" along the walls, then there is too much liquid in the jar.


Packaging. The embossed numbers on the tin cans should be raised, not depressed - this is a sign of factory production. Choose a product labeled GOST.


Don't overpay for water

One of the important indicators of the quality of caviar is the amount of jus in the jar (the liquid that remains after the egg has burst). This can happen as a result of shock freezing of caviar, which is done for more convenient transportation. When the caviar is thawed, the eggs often burst. The maximum allowable amount of liquid in the can is 5%. Otherwise, you overpay for "water".


Salmon is not a fish

This type of fish - "salmon" - does not exist. Therefore, when we buy granular salmon caviar, we mean the whole family - chum salmon, pink salmon, sockeye salmon, coho salmon. When choosing caviar, give preference to a product on the packaging of which the specific name of the type of fish is indicated. The abstract inscription "Salmon caviar" can mean "porridge" of different types of caviar, which reduces the quality.


This is art!

The know-how called "imitated caviar" appeared back in the Brezhnev era - in the USSR they came up with a surrogate made from egg white that looked like eggs. Today artificial caviar is more often produced from red seaweed. Add fish with broth and fat, gelatin. Seaweed caviar has its own benefits. This is a more dietary product than natural caviar. But no doubt artificial caviar is not that tasty.