How To Choose Caviar
Author: Nia Rouseberg
Time for reading: ~4
minutes
Last Updated:
August 10, 2022
CHAPTERS (Table Of Contents)
Let's find out how to choose the right caviar and to which dishes it should be added.
On March 4, the butter week began - the traditional winter celebration with pancakes and fritters with various fillings, applications and toppings. One of the most popular applications is caviar , which has long symbolized abundance and well-being.
Let's find out how to choose the right caviar and to which dishes it should be added.
How types of red caviar exist
Salmon caviar is the most popular today . The largest part, both in terms of catch and consumption, falls on redfish roe - about 80%, the other 20% is divided between sockeye, which appears already in June, chum, which, on the contrary, arrives later, coho and cichlid (the latter is no more than 5% of the total volume).
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Codfish - due to its high price and characteristic aftertaste with a slight bitterness, it is considered caviar for gourmets. It is characterized by a rich red color and small eggs.
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Caviar is the rarest and, accordingly, the most expensive caviar . It has a dark red shade and medium-sized eggs.
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Sockeye is the earliest, spring caviar with small red grains. Not everyone likes the taste because of the slight bitterness.
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Gorbusha is the most common caviar for the consumer . Eggs of medium size, orange color, taste creamy, not bitter.
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Keta - like a humpback whale, only larger.
What you should know about pike roe
Pike caviar can be natural, white-yellow, or dyed black. This is a small caviar with a denser shell and not as bright a taste as that of red caviar . By the way, it is very popular in cooking as an addition to pancakes with sour cream and onions.
The calorie content of this type of caviar is low - 87 kcal per 100 g, so it is also suitable for those who follow a diet.
Which caviar goes best with pancakes
The choice of caviar depends on the taste of the pancakes themselves. For example, if buckwheat flour was used in the preparation, which is a bit bitter by itself, such pancakes should not be combined with coho or sockeye caviar . The taste of such pancakes should be balanced with a neutral pike or black caviar. By the way, if you like pancakes with sour cream, then again it is better to add pike caviar to them, and chum or grayling caviar is suitable for butter. Cavicha generally tastes good even without pancakes, as it is suitable for true gourmets as an aperitif with champagne.
Which is suitable for salads
Small caviar - tobiko, omul, or pike caviar is most often used in mayonnaise-based salad dressings. If the salad is more hearty - Olivier, crab, fish, with squid or potatoes - they usually add redfish or ket. These two types have a standard taste that does not distract from the salad itself.
Usually, cod roe and ceviche are eaten separately, supplemented with butter. Caviar is also often eaten with cucumber, as it nicely shades its taste.
PREMIUM CHAPTERS ▼
How to choose caviar correctly and what to pay attention to (PREMIUM)
PackagingThe most important thing when choosing caviar is the store where you buy it. Someone really likes bazaars, but packaged and packaged products are better. By buying caviar in cans, you minimize the chances of being cheated, because the quality of the products and packaging is monitored at the factories. Also, if possible, it is better to buy caviar in glass and plastic cans, rather than tin cans, since it is difficult to assess the quality of the product in the latter. And plastic caviar is stored for a short time, about a week in an ordinary refrigerator, but it is packaged quickly, so this is the most likely way to buy fresher caviar . It is better to buy glass as a gift - you can find many good options for any wallet. Undoubtedly, the tastiest caviarsold in specialized fish supermarkets. Large chain stores do not always offer a wide range of caviar , and what is sold there is not always of the highest quality.
It is also important to pay attention to the presence of liquid in the jar. There is no caviar without juice. It should not be completely dry and cannot roll like a ball on a plate, it should stick, including to the walls of the can, i.e., contain a moderate amount of juice. By the way, real caviar does not leave traces with red spots on the plate, this happens only when using dyes, most often in protein imitation caviar .
How to choose caviar in a tin can
If you decide to choose a tin can, you don't need to shake it near your ear, as is sometimes shown on TV. So far, no one has been able to determine the percentage of liquid in this way. But it is necessary to pay attention to the integrity of the bank. There should be no spillages, rust, oil, or in general any external violations. The region of the producer, surprisingly, is also almost irrelevant - delicious caviar is now made not only in industrial areas. Caviar from frozen raw materials will cost less, but it is significantly inferior to salted caviar in taste, because here you decide on the basis of your finances.
Preservatives in caviar are present, and you should not be afraid of them - they are sorbic acid and sodium benzoate. If you notice the third preservative, most likely it is a humectant that is safe for the consumer, but it artificially increases the weight of the product. Sometimes you can find caviar without preservatives, but its taste may seem unusual to you.
As for everyone's favorite "GOST" marking, you can ignore it - it is a relic of the past, not a state quality standard.