How to check the authenticity of black caviar. Red caviar: how to distinguish a fake

Many buyers are wondering: how to check red caviar at home - natural or not? Red caviar is one of the available, but expensive delicacies. It is one of the best decorations for the festive table. Red caviar is not only good on sandwiches, but also rich in nutrients. This is not surprising, because caviar is a cluster of fish eggs in which fry embryos should develop.

In most living organisms, the organs where the offspring develops, which will have rapid growth, are saturated with fats, proteins and vitamins. Therefore, both plant seeds and bird eggs, as well as the fish caviar we mentioned, are very nutritious and carry vitamins. In the food industry, unfertilized eggs are usually used. And red caviar is a collective name for caviar of different types of salmon fish. They are similar in color and composition.

The benefits of red caviar

Red caviar contains vitamins of groups A, B, D and E, as well as folic acid, which is indispensable for pregnant women - in its absence, the development of the neural tube of the fetus is disturbed. Of the trace elements, it contains, like in many seafood, iodine, in addition - calcium, phosphorus and iron. Caviar is also rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids. Together with fish meat, fish fat and vegetable oils, it is considered a valuable source of Omega-3 and Omega-6. They support cardiovascular health, prevent cancer, asthma, depression and obesity, despite their high calorie content. Calcium is good for bones, and iron increases hemoglobin.

Such a valuable product will certainly want to fake! You may encounter low-quality goods or artificial caviar. But few people will agree to go to the laboratory with a jar of caviar to evaluate the quality of the goods. It would be convenient to test red caviar at home. How to do it? Let's look at some points. In the article, you will learn more about how to check whether red caviar is real or not, at home and in the store. First, let's try to evaluate the quality of caviar.

We study the jar

At home, check red caviar, as you might guess, you can taste it. But it is much better to find out in advance, even before the purchase. The jar that sells caviar can tell you a lot. First, shake her. Natural caviar is usually packed tightly and you will not hear any gurgling. If it is, feel free to leave the product on the store shelf. Second, consider the labeling. It must be pressed in from the inside. If they are pressed in from the outside, which is much easier to do, you are dealing with a fake. The release date is also informative. The collection of caviar usually takes place in the summer, and it quickly goes to processing. Other dates should alert you.

Look at the composition. Avoid caviar, which contains E239 - hexamine. toxic. Sodium benzoate (E211) is also not helpful. Both of these substances, under certain conditions, are converted into carcinogens. There will most likely be preservatives in caviar, but sorbic acid (E200), which is the most harmless, should be preferred.

We buy by weight

By weight, it is much easier to distinguish a fake from the original - after all, all the goods are in your mind. You can even taste it! But here, too, it is important to be careful. To begin with, take a look at the caviar and evaluate its appearance. If the kernels are too large and have a dull color, polyphosphates may have been added to it. They are put to increase weight, as they retain moisture. This caused a strange swelling of the eggs in size. Not only is it simply unprofitable to buy water instead of caviar, but polyphosphates are also very harmful. The ability to retain water is also reflected in the human body - edema and cardiovascular diseases occur.

How to check red caviar at home? You can carry out the same examination at home, and also taste it. There is one minus in this - the product has already been bought and the money has been spent. High-quality red caviar smells good. Take the caviar in your hand. It should not have a raid, and when compressed, the egg bursts. Taste it - you should feel the familiar taste of red caviar, any difference from which is a reason to refuse to buy.

Dangers of loose caviar

It is convenient to buy by weight - all the caviar is in front of you. But it must be taken into account that it is not stored in packaged form for more than 4 months. As already known, salmon spawning takes place in the summer, so after November you should not buy caviar by weight. Most likely, it has already been frozen and has lost its unique flavor and texture.

The danger of loose caviar is that the seller can remove dried or cloudy eggs (a sign of loss of container tightness) and add glycerin and fragrances. And the best option is to choose caviar in a glass container. It is both hermetic and protected from manipulation by unscrupulous sellers, and at the same time it is visible to the light.

What is artificial caviar?

When artificial red and black caviar was invented, it was made from eggs. However, the product was very different in taste and texture from natural and was not in great demand. Years passed, technology developed. Modern artificial caviar is based on gelling agents - agar and sodium alginate. The first is obtained from red algae, the second - from brown.

Artificial caviar is made from eggs, milk and protein. Salmon fish meat, fish oil can be used in the production. This gives the caviar a fishy taste. But the taste is still inferior to the real one. It is devoid of most of the nutrients found in real caviar. Health hazards can be dyes and flavors that are intended to at least slightly bring its taste closer to natural.

In principle, a caviar surrogate is a good choice for those who save. It can be used to decorate dishes for a large number of guests. But if you go to the store to buy a natural delicacy, you will beware of fakes. Some buyers try to test red caviar at home. As it often happens, not everyone is able to distinguish between natural caviar and a surrogate, so it is important to read the tips for choosing this product.

There is one more fact not in favor of artificial caviar. The agar-agar-based product keeps open for only a few hours. This gelling agent from red algae is not accidentally used in a petri dish to grow laboratory bacteria. This is a great breeding ground for them. Therefore, leaving such caviar in the refrigerator, you run the risk of getting along with it a lot of unknown microorganisms.

Along with this, the question arose: how to check red caviar at home - natural or artificial?

What does the packaging hide?

Try to check red caviar both at home and right on the spot. Manufacturers of artificial caviar do not always have the goal of hiding this fact, so be sure to read what is written on the packaging. It may indicate that the product is an imitation of fish. But even if this fact is hidden, the composition can betray the truth indirectly. If caviar contains vegetable oil and dye, this is no accident! The oil is used to keep the gelatinous eggs from sticking together, and the dye gives them a red tint. An unnaturally bright color may be a sign of dye use.

You should be alerted by the too low price of the product. Storage conditions can also give out all the secrets. Natural caviar is stored at negative temperatures, so if you see a storage temperature above zero, for example, from + 4 to + 8, you have a fake. Artificial caviar sticks together when frozen, and when defrosted it turns into porridge. To prevent this from happening, the packaging does not indicate temperatures below zero.

Look at the manufacturer's address. In the Far East, it hardly makes sense to produce artificial caviar, but if the production site is located in the continental part, then the likelihood of a fake is high. Checking red caviar, real or not, at home, as it turned out, is quite real!

Appearance and properties

How to check red caviar, real or not, by sight? Carefully inspect the eggs. The most important criterion is that fake eggs will not have a nucleus, because they are devoid of a germ! Artificial eggs can vary in size and shade, while natural eggs are usually the same size and color.

What other ways are there to check red caviar at home - is it natural? How can this be done? Throw a couple of eggs into hot water. If the caviar is real, nothing will happen. And the artificial one will quickly give itself away. The gelatin shell will dissolve in water. The caviar surrogate quickly turns the water orange.

Structure, taste and smell

It is worth putting an egg on the tongue and trying to crush it. It bursts - it means it's real. Artificial caviar can only be cracked with teeth. While the real egg is a capsule with liquid contents in which the fry must develop, the technologies for the production of the surrogate have not reached such an accurate imitation. Its eggs are uniform in structure. Good caviar should not be overly salty. Pay attention to how caviar smells. A pronounced herring smell indicates that the caviar is made from meat and fish fat, that is, artificial, or flavorings are added to it, which is also not in its favor.

Summing up

So, how to check red caviar at home? Natural red caviar is distinguished by many visual and taste properties. And information about it can be obtained by carefully examining the packaging. So, if you are observant enough, you can check at home whether real red caviar is or not. Buy quality products and enjoy the taste!

Moscow, 27 December. On the eve of the New Year in the yard - no snow and crisis. But how to leave yourself without the main holiday of the year? New Year's table this year in Russia has risen in price by 30%. This is a minimum set of products. Tangerines, sausage, boiled pork, herring, champagne, of course. And also - caviar, which should still be bought with caution. There are a lot of counterfeits on the market. Just this week, a car with a ton of dubious product was detained in Russia. Correspondent of "MIR 24" Roman Nikiforov still decided to choose a good caviar for the New Year.

The contents of the detained bags in the capital's market could be sold for 20 million. But in the Khabarovsk Territory, the court's decision is enforced - they destroyed half a ton of smuggled black caviar. Moreover, they transported her in a bus of a funeral service company. The operatives saw such products in the coffin, in the literal sense.

Another seizure is on Sakhalin. The caviar is not black, but red. As many as 7 tons. A minibus would not be enough here, two trucks were needed. The delicacy, as you can see, is already pretty spoiled.

A typical poaching scheme: in the summer - barbaric production, and closer to the New Year - the transfer of goods to the center of Russia. However, according to the World Wildlife Fund, the situation in the country is gradually changing. In 2005, animal rights activists recommended not buying black caviar at all: sturgeon hunting was banned, and 99% of the illegal product was on the market. Now it's just over half. The quality of the so-called "wild" caviar does not hold water. Unsanitary conditions along the entire production chain, from fish production to transportation.

“In no case should you buy caviar in the markets, in no case in convenience stores. This is a big chance that you will pay the poacher for the destruction of the last sturgeon. Therefore, buy either directly from the manufacturer, or in large retail chains. Here is my recommendation,” Alexander Moiseev, Project Coordinator of the World Wildlife Fund's Sustainable Fisheries Program in Russia.

Legal black caviar is made only in aquaculture farms. The largest of the Russian ones is in the Vologda Oblast. There, fish are grown in open water in cages. Everything is like in humans: a pregnant female is given an ultrasound scan, when she is ready, she takes birth. An analogue of a caesarean section: a small incision heals quickly, the fish remains alive. True, upon reaching the age of 15, pushing through her belly is already a problem. And then the sturgeons have to be slaughtered.

“In vivo caviar is large. And here such whitish spots are visible. These are the embryos themselves. Since caviar, which is mined by slaughter, does not have time to ripen to such a size. It is slightly smaller than caviar obtained in vivo. Therefore, this is the best that is, and, of course, more expensive, ”says Sergey Novikov, general director of the caviar production enterprise.

Sergei Novikov calls poaching products biological weapons. His advice is not to buy caviar by weight. Take only a quality jar with quality packaging. Cheap for such a product is not made. For foreign manufacturers, read the composition: is there any E285 additive banned in Russia, known as borax, it disrupts metabolism.

In addition, with great care it is worth buying the largest and most valuable caviar - beluga. The maturation period of this huge fish is about 15 years. And in the vast majority of Russian farms, beluga is still too young. So change is possible.

Finally, the price. Cheap legal black caviar cannot be by definition. To open production, you need to invest in the business from 100 million rubles, and the investments themselves are long-term and risky. Although sturgeons mature twice as fast in indoor pools as in nature, the first caviar will have to wait five years.

“Fish, firstly, may not grow. Maybe the genetic inheritance itself is bad. May die of disease on its own in the process. Any technical failures, interruptions in the supply of oxygen, for example, within an hour can kill all the fish,” says the director of the sturgeon farm, Marat Abzalov.

Red salmon caviar is similar in composition and useful properties to black caviar. It is absorbed a little worse, but it costs much less.

The main thing is to choose the right product, so we go shopping in one of the capital's hypermarkets. So, 4 cans of caviar were bought from different manufacturers at prices ranging from a little over 2 to 3.5 thousand rubles per kilogram, which were referred for examination to the Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography.

“First, when choosing a jar, we, of course, look at the date. This was done in the summer, just the season of poutine. When the fish spawn and when the fish is harvested. This is from July to September,” explains the head of the testing laboratory, Svetlana Mikhlai.

If the date is different, then before being rolled up in jars, caviar was kept in a warehouse or transported through all of Russia. Such a product is less valuable, and there is more of it on the market. The reason is economics.

“And the labor force, and electricity, and tin, of course, are much more expensive in the Far East than here. Therefore, it is easier to bring the frozen yastyk, defrost it here, and then produce products from it with some relatively cheap labor,” explains Vasily Sokolov, deputy head of the Federal Agency for Fisheries.

It’s good if the label indicates a single GOST for all, and not defined by the manufacturer itself (technical conditions - ed. note). The choice is simplified and a transparent jar.

There should be no excess liquid inside. The eggs should hold their shape, be about the same size, and be a natural light orange color. Buying a pig in a poke is risky. So in the MIR 24 set, the most expensive caviar with GOST, packaged on time, right in Kamchatka, unexpectedly turned out to be the worst. Not everything depends on the manufacturer.

“She has the smell of oxidized fat, such a smell is not characteristic of her, herring giblets. Perhaps the temperature conditions during transportation were not respected. Caviar could either freeze slightly, then melt, or the regimes were not observed in the trading network. It’s better not to eat such caviar,” says Svetlana Mikhlai, head of the testing laboratory.

Caviar is more than 30 grams of valuable protein. As well as healthy fats, trace elements and vitamins.

“They are very easy to digest. They are immediately synthesized into our neurotransmitters. These are serotonin, endorphins. Caviar is a kind of drug, a drug of positive mood,” says nutritionist Mariyat Mukhina.

It's just not to be abused. Ideally, no more than 3 teaspoons per day. Too much salt.

“One gram of salt holds a glass of water in our body. If you ate 6 spoons, then you have 2 liters left. That is, in the morning you will just have a swollen face. You will have lean legs, ”explains the nutritionist.

Unfortunately, in our time, in pursuit of dishonest profits, scammers, under the guise of an expensive product, are increasingly selling an artificial imitation. Such a fate did not bypass the exquisite delicacy - black caviar. Given the high price of this product, unscrupulous suppliers continue to successfully deceive many buyers by constantly improving their technologies to create a counterfeit product. Every year, scammers are getting more and more devious and inventive in their deception. Is it possible for an ordinary buyer in 2020 to distinguish a real product from a fake, or is it impossible to do without expert analysis? We answer with confidence - it is possible. To do this, you only need to know some of the features of real black caviar that cannot be imitated.

Types of counterfeit black caviar

First of all, it is important to know what exactly they can try to sell you under the guise of black caviar. In 2020, the following tricks were recorded:

• Tinted caviar of non-sturgeon fish. In the course are grains of caviar of pike, cod, capelin or even halibut. It can be sold both separately and mixed with real black caviar.
• Artificial imitation of seaweed caviar.
• Artificial imitation of caviar from tinted gelatin with the addition of chemicals.

Separately, I would like to talk about the purchase of black caviar obtained by poachers. Although it is inherently not a fake, it poses a huge danger to human health. Since the habitual habitat and food of sturgeons is the bottom, it is important to understand that in reservoirs all toxic and harmful substances settle there. Real black caviar, which goes on sale, is produced on aquaculture farms in environmentally friendly conditions for human health.

How to recognize artificial caviar?

When buying, be sure to pay attention to the appearance of black caviar. There is never any foreign coating on real grains. If it is present, be sure that you have a fake product in front of you. Also, if caviar of another fish is mixed with black caviar, upon closer inspection you will be able to notice this due to the difference in the size of the grains. Another way to understand whether the real black caviar is in front of you or not is to tilt the open jar to the side and see how the caviar behaves. There is little liquid in this product, caviar should not float along the bottom or walls. In addition, real caviar should not contain any lumps and sticky grains. Real grains have a crumbly structure and are always separated from each other.

After a visual inspection, it is necessary to pay attention to the smell of caviar. Grains of real black caviar have a slightly pronounced fish flavor, or do not have it at all. At the same time, artificial imitation due to synthetic flavors almost always has a sharp fishy smell, which gives itself away.

Put a grain of caviar in your mouth. If you purchased real caviar, the grain will easily burst in your mouth. If an artificial imitation gets into your mouth, it will not burst due to the absence of any shell, but will stretch like a piece of marmalade in your mouth. As a rule, such caviar is made from gelatin or seaweed.

If black caviar grains get into boiling water, they will not dissolve in water, while products made from gelatin or any synthetic compounds are guaranteed to dissolve in boiling water.

Black caviar thrown into cold water will not change its color in any way. But the dyes contained in the artificial product will quickly give themselves away, coloring the cold water in a dark color.

How to protect yourself from buying counterfeit black caviar?

First of all, it is necessary to know the features of the factory packaging of real caviar after its extraction. Remember, real products are sorted only either in cans or in glass jars with a tin lid. All other packaging methods, no matter how beautiful the name they are covered with (for example, barrel black caviar), is counterfeit. Only certain factories have permission to supply black caviar, which will never supply caviar to markets in any plastic containers or barrels. All products from private traders are either poached caviar, dangerous to health, or an artificial fake. Remember, you should buy caviar strictly in factory-made iron or glass jars with an iron lid.

For visual inspection of caviar, glass jars are the best fit. At the same time, if you shake an iron can with caviar, you can conclude from the sensations of the presence of liquid that this is not a real product. Also be sure to pay attention to the composition of the product indicated on the bank. Real caviar contains nothing but caviar, edible salt and the LIV-1 or Varex preservative. The mention of anything else in the composition, even ordinary vegetable oil, will already indicate to you that the product is fake. In addition, be sure to pay attention to the name of the fish whose caviar you are going to buy. Beluga catching is prohibited by law, so if beluga caviar is indicated, be sure that you have counterfeit.

The price of black caviar in most cases also indicates its origin. A low price should signal to you the danger of purchasing a counterfeit or dangerous product of unknown expiration date and place of origin.

Be sure to look at the manufacturer indicated on the packaging, it should be located in close proximity to the production region.

Finally

In an attempt to save money, you can easily buy something completely different from what is actually black caviar, and in the worst case, even harm your health with such a product. It is very important not to fall for the tricks of dishonest scammers and not be an unwitting sponsor of poaching activities by buying black caviar of unknown origin. Be sure to pay attention to the points described above when buying black caviar. And let it bring joy and pleasure to you and your loved ones.

What does "fake caviar" mean? How is it faked? Can a non-professional spot a fake? What to look for when choosing caviar? We answer these and other questions together with Vladislav Kim, the sous-chef of the Sumosan Japanese restaurant, and Dmitry Ermakov, the chef of the La Marée fish shop.

VLADISLAV KIM

Sous Chef at Sumosan Restaurant

Each caviar has its own characteristics. For example, a non-professional can confuse tobiko (flying fish) caviar with masago (capelin) caviar, since they look similar in appearance. But tobiko is much more expensive than masago, so manufacturers often mix tobiko with masago to reduce the cost of the product, and at the same time call it tobiko. I don't know how fake it is. You can distinguish mixed caviar if you look closely: eggs should be the same size, and tobiko is larger than masago. In addition, tobiko itself is dense caviar, the grains go one to one. With taste it is more difficult: here, perhaps, only professionals or gourmets can determine.

Red caviar may just be of poor quality. For example, unripe or overripe. She is not faked. In both cases, the shell of the eggs becomes hard, the film bursts, but it seems to remain, and the caviar can be bitter and salty. A good caviar should burst slightly and melt in your mouth.

It is also better to choose red caviar by appearance and smell - these parameters can, of course, be determined only in the case of loose caviar. But loose caviar has its drawback: it is risky to take it, because you cannot know exactly who the caviar producer is, and subsequently you will not be able to refer to him.

As for caviar in jars, you can only rely on a trusted manufacturer. But here it must be said that canned caviar itself is considered lower grade: after all, this is caviar that is canned, and a good product is usually not canned.

We can talk about a real fake in the case of black caviar. This is a very common case: pike caviar is dyed with food coloring, since it tastes very similar to sturgeon or beluga caviar (it is the most expensive, twice as expensive as sturgeon). You can identify fake black caviar: in pike caviar, all the eggs are the same size, go one to the other. Real black caviar, on the contrary, is not outwardly ideal: all eggs are of different sizes.

DMITRY ERMAKOV

fish shop chef La Marée

Fake red caviar is not actually fake in the literal sense: it is very poor quality caviar that is salted in dubious ways, sometimes in unsanitary conditions, and sold frozen in bulk for cheap. In addition, caviar can be last year's - it is simply washed and salted again. As a result, it will be crumbly, and ideally, the eggs should be glued to each other, but at the same time, the eggs should not be slimy.

But the main problem of caviar is not even that it is frozen or last year, but that it may initially be immature. As a result, it bursts, since the walls of the eggs are not dense. Such caviar usually costs no more than 270 rubles per 140 grams in a can. Although there are exceptions: more expensive caviar may be of poor quality. She, by the way, can easily be poisoned.

It is better to buy caviar in season - as a rule, this is the end of September and the beginning of October. It is easier to choose caviar by weight than in a jar: you can simply focus on the appearance. But in this case, too, there are disadvantages. I would advise you to be very careful when buying loose caviar - usually in this case the manufacturer is unknown, and in which case you will not be able to complain about anyone.

They can fake black caviar: they paint with pike with black dye. It is difficult for a non-professional to distinguish a fake, since pike caviar is very close in taste to black.

Illustration: Olya Volk

Holidays are approaching, and with them festive feasts, dishes and products. Caviar is one such product. As you know, caviar is red, black and overseas-eggplant.

And if there are no questions about overseas caviar, then today the average consumer has a lot of questions about the other two types. Of course, many different fish lay caviar, but we are most interested in sturgeon and salmon caviar.

As a rule, in our stores, you can find three types of black sturgeon caviar. In order of price increase, these are sturgeon, sturgeon and beluga caviar. Depending on the processing method, it is divided into grainy(the eggs are easily separated), which is harvested from selected mature caviar, pressed(in the form of puree) - made from fatty varieties of stellate sturgeon caviar or a mixture of stellate sturgeon and sturgeon, and yastik(salted directly in the film).

Red caviar is laid on the shelves of our stores by various types of salmon fish. These are pink salmon, sockeye salmon, chum salmon, coho salmon, trout. By the amount of protein, fat content and degree of usefulness, all eggs are exactly the same, but the appearance and taste can be very different. Most often found pink salmon caviar- This fish is considered the most prolific among salmon. The taste of eggs is universal, which is why most consumers like it. The product is normal in size (about 5 mm in diameter), with a fragile shell, orange or light orange in color.

Sockeye caviar smaller than pink salmon - about 4 mm in diameter. However, the product is rarely found on sale due to the mass extermination of sockeye salmon.

Keto caviar in diameter can reach 5-6 mm. Large eggs have a regular spherical shape, a bright amber-orange color, a clearly visible fatty speck-embryo and a fairly dense shell. For showiness, it is often used to decorate dishes.

coho caviar small and, unlike all other species, has a burgundy hue. The taste of the product is slightly bitter.

The smallest caviar - only 2-3 mm in diameter - trout. Its color varies from yellow to bright orange.

Surrogate caviar, artificial, usually red, is made from seaweed. It is from them that agar, agaroid and alginate are first produced, and then a special jelly is prepared on their basis, it is tinted in the desired color and eggs are formed. After that, sturgeon or salmon fat is added, which brings the taste of polyunsaturated fatty acids to the artificial caviar. It is even believed that such caviar retains a high concentration of iodine, transferred from algae. So, in principle, it is not only harmless, but also useful.

How to choose real caviar

Please note that since the summer of this year, the use of urotropine preservative in the production of caviar products is prohibited. According to the new Russian GOST, caviar should be treated only with table salt (without any preservatives), and then frozen. It is necessary to store such a product at a temperature not higher than -18C for no more than 12 months and - 25C - no more than 14 months. Now the package should be described in detail how to defrost the caviar before direct use. This is done at a temperature of +4 to 15C during the day.

You should pay attention to the jar itself. Quality caviar is packed in glass jars. Such containers are chemically neutral, unlike a tin can, in which metals are oxidized. In addition, transparent glass allows you to see the color, size and quality of the grain. If the caviar looks like it is covered with frost, it is most likely fake. Good quality red caviar is always crumbly, with eggs of the correct shape, beautiful color and one size.

Fishermen usually harvest caviar in July-August. Therefore, if any other month is indicated on the lid, it means that they salted frozen caviar or packaged the one produced earlier. So the quality of the product will not be the best.

The lid of the jar should not bulge, and in no case should it be swollen. The marking on the lid must be stamped from the inside, if the numbers are pressed inward, this is a fake. Counterfeit products are also issued by low-quality printing and the lack of detailed information about the product and manufacturer on the label.

High-quality caviar should fill the jar tightly, so if something gurgles in the jar, then put it back on the counter.

The first grade of red caviar means that the eggs are perfectly matched in size. The second grade allows you to mix "eggs" of different salmon, which makes the product look less presentable.

Sometimes caviar is also sold by weight. Loose caviar, which is a shapeless mass that sticks to the shoulder blade, will bring you nothing but disappointment. Experts know a simple trick, how to check the caviar. If you doubt the origin of caviar, you cannot determine whether it is real or artificial, throw 2-3 eggs into a glass of hot water. Artificial caviar will dissolve in boiling water.