Types of red caviar - how to distinguish them from each other? How to choose and store?

Those who managed to taste all kinds of red caviar, it is easier to determine the favorite. And what do people who purchase this delicacy on holidays and do not want to make a mistake in choosing such an expensive product? The article categorizes existing types of granular goodies according to taste, cost and reviews of people. And also listed recommendations for the purchase of quality products.

Production

Salmon delicacy is mined in the Russian Far East (Sakhalin, Kamchatka, Kuriles). The family of these fish lives in the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean. During spawning periods, for the laying of eggs, adults migrate to freshwater rivers. There they are caught by nets for further processing. Famous representatives who fall into the network of fishermen in the Far East are pink salmon, salmon, sockeye salmon, coho salmon, chum salmon. Depending on the fish from which the granular delicacy was extracted, the corresponding species of red caviar are distinguished.

After the catch, the prey is sent to the plant where it is cut. That is, they release the abdomen from caviar, clean the fish and send it to deep freezing. The granular product in the parallel shop passes more thorough preparation until the final product is obtained. It is first freed from the shell securing the grain through special gratings, then salted and sent to the inspection department. There, under the strict supervision, the bursted nucleoli are removed, after which the selected product is packed. So on the shelves of stores falls caught by industrial way red caviar Sakhalin, Kamchatka and Kuril.

Interesting Facts

Until the 19th century, the itelmen, the indigenous inhabitants of Kamchatka, ate a granular product in raw or dried form. They learned how to pickle red delicacy only by the end of the XIX century. Relations with Russians with sturgeon (black) caviar developed more rapidly. In tsarist Russia, this product was available to all: the nobility, and the common people. Poaching has imposed a ban on the catch of sturgeon since 2007, so black caviar is now produced through aquaculture production.

Red caviar, the price of which today is not affordable for everyone, but still justified, has the following solution: from one ton of pink salmon - 40 kg. According to Rosrybolovstva, in 2014, 13 thousand tons of salmon grainy products were extracted.

Artificial breeding

The family of salmon spawns once in a lifetime, after which the representatives of the genus perish. Therefore, fish are caught and opened. On the contrary, things are with black caviar. With the artificial removal of sturgeon, the cheddar female is not ripped off, but a mini-incision is made, from which black caviar is released, and the fish is then released.

In the Far East, the fry of the salmon family is grown. After reaching a certain weight of young individuals released into the sea for reproduction and further growth. The industrial catch of fish in the Far East is provided by such reproduction. So roe salmon roe, chum salmon and coho salmon, getting on the gourmet table, goes a long way from artificial cultivation to maturation, which lasts from three to five years.

Types of red caviar and their differences

As already mentioned, the widespread caviar of commercial Pacific salmon is extracted from pink salmon, chum salmon, coho salmon and sockeye salmon. The cost of the product from sockeye salmon and pink salmon is cheaper than delicacy from chum salmon and coho salmon.

The taste, color and size of the grains are the main distinguishing features of gastronomic delicacy. The product of coarse coarse (5-7 mm) light orange color, its taste characteristics are appreciated among gourmets.

Caviar pink caviar is considered a common product, the size of the nucleoli is inferior to the keto delicacy, the taste is a classic - brackish and oily.

The caviar of sockeye salmon and coho salmon has small grains of bright red color. The product of sockeye salmon is bitter. Red caviar coho also has a bitter taste, but less pronounced than sockeye salmon.

Packing

In the Russian Far East, after the extraction of caviar, it is preserved and rolled into cans to sell the product. However, some of the delicious food in salted form is shipped to factories in other regions of the Russian Federation for packaging. The product is laid manually, since nucleoli are damaged by a mechanized method, and in this case salmon roe gets negative feedback.

Gastronomic delicacy falls into the store for sale in three forms: by weight, in tin and glass containers. The best option is a glass jar. In this case, the probability of buying a cat in a bag is reduced to a minimum: the eggs can be checked for the presence of unwanted fluid and the state of the nucleoli. If you turn on the side of the jar, the eggs should not roll down.

In a tin can also be a quality product, but you need to know how to test it. The bank should have information in the form of convex signs in three rows. This is the date of manufacture, the word "caviar" and the plant code. Convexity of signs is a sign of packing in the factory, because the imprinted symbols are easier to apply by handicraft. According to some reports, about 20% of the granular product is not packed by factory methods.

Selling product by weight

The listed types of red caviar can fall on the shelves in open form and be sold by weight. Then the probability that the delicacy got illegally increases. However, in this form, you can buy a good product. Before buying, you should look at the nucleoli. Especially in coarse-grained eggs, a bright black dot is clearly visible - this is the place of the embryo. The presence of such a sign speaks of the natural origin of the delicious food. Polyphosphate-impregnated grains have a dull appearance and large nuclei. You can also check the quality of the product by picking up one grain. To the touch, the artificially created core is hard and does not burst.

When purchasing caviar by weight, it is necessary to check the presence of sludge in the tray. It is a pinkish color liquid that forms in the case of washing or defrosting the eggs. And this is a violation of the technological process of production of the Far Eastern delicacy.

Composition and storage

It would seem, from what, except from caviar and salt, can be a granular product? However, sorbic acid and sodium benzonate (E200 and E211) are added to it to extend the shelf life of the food. These preservatives suppress the growth of mold and yeast fungi, since caviar, even if salty, is a perishable product. The presence of these additives is permissible.

For 40 years, urotropine was added to the delicious food with salting. It is an antimicrobial drug used to treat urolithiasis in animals. But studies have shown that, getting into the human stomach, the preservative E239 turns into formaldehyde, causing a mutagenic effect. Since 2010, the Russian Federation has banned the use of this substance when salting caviar.

The delicacy is stored in the refrigerator. In containers, prepackaged in industrial way, the shelf life of caviar is 1 year. After opening, the Far Eastern food should not be stored for more than seven days. The presence of foamed sludge in a container with caviar is a sign of the beginning of fermentation. Such a product may contain an E. coli.

Cost and Feedback

Salmon caviar, whose price for 2016 is an average of 500 rubles per 140 grams, is considered a fount of polyunsaturated fatty acids. It is used for the prevention of heart disease, strengthens bones and generally enhances immunity. You can order caviar from Sakhalin, but on condition that the weight of the product is 11 kg, then the price per kg will be around 3000 rubles.

Since caviar is purchased infrequently and before the holidays, it is important to buy a quality product, having tasted it, you can have fun. Caviar sockeye reviews are mixed. Gorky taste, like that of coho salmon, not everyone likes. But the delicacy from chum salmon, trout and pink salmon has a classic salty taste, which many people like.