Choice of caviar. How to choose high-quality red caviar in a tin

It is not so easy to choose red caviar and avoid getting a fake or an expired product. "VM" has compiled a number of simple rules that should be followed when choosing caviar.

The New Year and Christmas are approaching, which means that housewives are buying one of their favorite products for the New Year's table, along with tangerines, - red caviar. It is considered an “affordable delicacy”, and if an ordinary metropolitan family can afford black caviar only on very important occasions, then red caviar is an invariable companion of the festive table.

Buy only canned caviar! There is a great temptation to come to the market and buy caviar by weight, in a plastic bag or a plastic container, succumbing to the vows of the saleswoman that “the caviar is the freshest, so that I can’t see my husband!”. Don't believe! Or another option: a jar without any information about the manufacturer, which is offered by "an acquaintance of an acquaintance who carries caviar directly from the Far East."

High-quality and proper preparation of caviar is possible only in factory workshops - poachers do all the manipulations in unsanitary conditions, use unprocessed dishes, and only they know salting recipes. It is better to buy caviar in supermarkets and proven stores, where there is a thorough check of products.

Choose glass and look at the light. Caviar in a tin is protected from external factors. But there is also a minus - it is not visible. You can shake it: if it gurgles, then there is a lot of brine and little caviar. In a glass jar you can see both quantity and quality. The grains (ideally) should be whole, without crumpled sides, tightly packed. Everything in the jar should be of a uniform color, thick and without any foreign objects. And a greedy manufacturer can cram anything into a jar - from excess oil to connecting films, fish blood clots, torn placentas. Even worse - whitish sediment or mold.

Read carefully! But you chose caviar in jars. No need to spare five minutes - read what is written on the sides of the jar of caviar. It should indicate the variety, shelf life, information about the manufacturer. Release date is on the cover. GOST and the indication "first grade" are the best eggs. "Second grade" - a mixture of different caviar, ugly, but not harmful.

Ingredients: caviar, salt, preservatives. And what's that? You can’t do without them, otherwise the caviar will not be stored for a long time. Sorbic acid (E200) and urotropin (E239). If the latter is present, the caviar is fake! Instead, there should be an indication of pasteurization (steam at +60 degrees). The presence of glycerin (E422) is superfluous, an excess of preservatives is harmful.

Taste it. Caviar should be of medium salinity, without excessive bitterness. If someone in the family has an allergy, it is better not to buy it at all. By the way, having opened a jar, try it with the whole family - one person may have a distorted taste for the same salt, you cannot trust the health of everyone only to his (her) opinion.

Red caviar occurs in seven types of fish! It is given by pink salmon, sockeye salmon, chum salmon, coho salmon, trout, chinook salmon and flying fish. In terms of their usefulness, they are all the same, outwardly they can differ markedly in size, shade, etc. Flying fish caviar generally depends on sauces and spices. It can be green, white, black.

Don't overeat! Everyone knows that red caviar is healthy, it contains proteins, calcium, phosphorus, polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamins A, D and E. But remember: a healthy dose of caviar is 2-3 sandwiches. Salt, which is abundant in caviar, can retain water in the body and disrupt metabolism. A high concentration of protein or preservatives can cause allergies. Its consequences can be terrible - swelling and shock, and with great luck - heavily overgrown red scars on the body. So, better lean on tangerines.

Oh yes! Do not save on health: if in an unfamiliar store (or from hands) caviar is offered suspiciously cheap, it is better not to take it. Food poisoning is a nasty thing, let the ambulance crews get a little holiday and relax too.

Among the huge number of delicacies, red caviar has been the most popular for more than a decade. Is it possible to imagine something tastier than a thin slice of fresh crispy loaf smeared with fragrant butter and supplemented with delicious eggs. However, it is also incredibly useful.

However, you can appreciate all the advantages of this snack only if the product is purchased of excellent quality. True, this is not easy to do - the assortment in modern stores is simply huge.

Choosing a quality product

Good quality caviar is a product that was made in accordance with all the rules of the technological process. First, it is taken out of the fish. Washed in cold water, freeing from connective tissue, films and various impurities. Then the semi-finished product is sent for sorting, where the eggs are divided into varieties, depending on the size, degree of maturity, etc. A special saline solution (brine) is prepared in advance, in which the future delicacy is salted. And only after that the product is preserved. Here is my detailed experience.

Any violation of the technology in the end can adversely affect not only the taste of the finished caviar, but also its safety for the end consumer, that is, for you and me. That is why the main rule of buying a quality delicacy is not to buy it in dubious outlets. Only supermarkets or branded stores can guarantee that you have real salmon caviar in front of you, which is not dangerous to your health.

By weight or in a bank?

Caviar arrives on store shelves in tin or glass jars, as well as by weight. Recently, some manufacturers offer goods packaged in plastic containers.

Usually the most expensive is the one that is sold in glass. Which is quite justified - transparent packaging makes it possible to evaluate the product and its quality visually. And in terms of hygiene, it is glass that is recognized as the best, since it is inert, does not undergo any types of corrosion and does not affect the taste of products in any way.

A tin can is a more classic option. However, here you have to completely trust the manufacturer - we will not see the size, color, or integrity of the eggs until we bring the goods home. The only test that can be done right in the store is to shake the jar a little. If the contents “gurgle” too loudly, then most likely there is too much liquid there.

Experts do not recommend taking caviar in plastic containers, especially if the plastic is soft and fragile. This is already a sign that the manufacturer is disrespectful to the buyer - in such packaging, the goods are not only stored worse, but also do not tolerate transportation well.

Separately, it is worth dwelling on loose caviar - here opinions are divided. Therefore, it is better to focus on your own feelings. Some believe that weighted is a way to sell a product of dubious quality. Their opponents, on the contrary, insist that such a product is the most delicious, healthy and fresh. So if you decide to buy caviar by weight, then do not forget about the main rule - buy only in stores. Let's take a closer look at the main features of delicious caviar.

What does the perfect caviar look like?

How to distinguish good caviar from bad? So, the best and highest quality:

• looks like a wet mass of a uniform color;
• all eggs are of the same size, whole, of regular rounded shape, without bruising and dryness;
• there should be no impurities - only grains and a little liquid;
• has a clean aroma of salted red fish;
• the taste may vary depending on the type of fish from which the caviar was obtained, but it can neither be too bitter nor too salty. And the sour taste does indicate that this delicacy has deteriorated.

Varieties of red caviar

Surely you have noticed that the manufacturer writes “salmon” on red caviar. However, salmon is not a specific type of fish, but just a common name for a whole family, which includes chum salmon, pink salmon, coho salmon, salmon, sockeye salmon, etc. And although the caviar of all these fish is called red salmon, it differs in taste and appearance.

Pink salmon has a taste that everyone likes - gentle, without bitterness. Its color ranges from light orange to bright orange. The diameter of the eggs is 4-5 mm. This is the most common type.

Salmon caviar is on store shelves just as often. It looks like pink salmon caviar, only the color is slightly darker.

2 times smaller than trout eggs and they are lighter in color. The taste is very rich and even sweet.

In chum salmon, eggs can reach 5-6 mm. It looks great - a bright amber color, the correct shape. The taste is classic, but not everyone will like it because of the dense outer shell.

Coho salmon caviar has a very specific taste - with a clear bitterness. She herself is small, burgundy in color. Doesn't come up for sale very often.

It is even rarer to find sockeye salmon caviar - this fish is massively exterminated, and its living conditions are quite specific (it lives in water whose temperature is not higher than 1 degree).

It is impossible to say which varieties are better - here everyone chooses to their taste.

By the way, high-quality caviar can be distinguished by the inscriptions on the packaging. If there is a mark from which fish this snack is, then you have a good product of the 1st grade. If it is simply written “grained salmon”, then this is either a delicacy of the 2nd grade, or, even worse, thawed, stale caviar, etc.

Composition secrets

In general, the label must be read carefully - according to the description of the composition, the presence of GOST (TU) marks, the indicated production and storage times, you can also determine how good the product is in front of you.

The optimal composition of red granular caviar is the caviar itself, salt, 1-2 preservatives and glycerin (if not, even better). Usually such a composition goes along with the GOST (DSTU) mark.

If other additives are indicated in the composition, for example, sodium benzoate, dyes, etc., then most likely you have caviar made in accordance with specifications. And this means that the quality of the product may be worse.

Look at the date of manufacture. First, it must be lasered or extruded from the inside on the lid. Secondly, salmon spawn in July-August, which means that the delicacy can be made in September at most. If later, it is a product from frozen raw materials.

I also pay attention to the place of packing. I have more confidence in the product packaged in jars in Vladivostok and Sakhalin than caviar from the Moscow region and Central Russia. It is clear that in this case, the raw materials come in large containers and the likelihood of doing something against the rules increases.

Beware of fakes

Unfortunately, there are counterfeits in our stores. Let's not talk about how he gets there, but rather let's figure out how we can not make a mistake in choosing.

In general, we already know what good red caviar looks like. But often fake at first glance is also quite appetizing. It is important to take a closer look here - if the caviar is absolutely smooth, ideally homogeneous, then it is artificial. The natural one has embryonic eyes.

It will not be superfluous to ask the price - the cost of natural red caviar cannot be low. Otherwise, it may be an outright fake, a mixture of real and artificial, or simply a low-quality product.

How to store caviar

But it is not enough to buy caviar - you also need to store it properly. If the contents of the jar are not eaten immediately, then it is important to save the delicacy in a tightly closed container. From the opened can, pour the caviar into a regular glass jar.

Do not allow water or other products to enter. The spoon you use should always be perfectly clean.

But even if all these rules are observed, open caviar is not stored for more than 3-4 days. And freezing, familiar to many housewives, is not suitable in this case - eggs can simply burst from temperature changes.

Gourmet Delight

Good quality caviar is delicious in any form. But if you want something more than classic sandwiches, choose any recipe you like and experiment. For example, Shrove Tuesday is just around the corner, and this is an incredible delicacy!

If you look from the point of view of nutrition, then there are products that are combined with caviar just perfectly. So experts say that it is right to serve caviar on a piece of fresh cucumber or with egg white. I suggest that you familiarize yourself with the stages of preparation.

But although this snack is very tasty, you need to use it in moderation. As part of the eggs, there are so many different vitamins and microelements that doctors do not recommend eating more than 2-3 tsp. in a day.

In the end, I suggest watching a video that tells everything about the choice of caviar, storage, and how to distinguish a low-quality product.

In Russian stores you can find caviar of different fish. It differs in color and size.

• Chinook: large eggs (up to 7–9 mm in diameter) of red-orange color with a delicate shell, taste with a point.
• Keta: large eggs (up to 5-7 mm in diameter) of rich amber color with a dense shell, creamy aftertaste.
• Pink salmon: eggs of medium size (3-5 mm) are bright orange in color with a soft shell, the usual taste.
• Coho salmon: small eggs (2–3 mm) of bright red color with an elastic shell, bitter taste.
• Red salmon: small eggs of dark red color with an elastic shell, bitter taste.
• Trout: the smallest eggs (up to 2 mm) are light orange in color with an elastic shell, bitter aftertaste.

Traditionally, caviar of chum salmon and pink salmon is considered the best in terms of taste.

Who determines what quality caviar should be?

A document adopted at the federal level. This is GOST "Grainy caviar of salmon fish", approved in 2004. According to him, red caviar is of two varieties.

The eggs of the first grade should be of the same color and size, moderately elastic, without foreign impurities, from fish of the same species, the name of which is indicated on the bank. The second grade allows a mixture of caviar of different types of fish. In this case, the bank does not write from which ones.

Also, manufacturers can work not according to GOST, but according to TU (technical specifications). It happens that caviar cooked according to specifications turns out to be better and tastier. But it is important to remember that here the manufacturer is free to make the recipe himself.

GOST establishes rather strict requirements for salt content: from 4 to 6% of the caviar weight for the first grade and from 4 to 7% for the second grade.

Even tougher is the Roskachestvo standard, the sign of conformity to which manufacturers receive voluntarily. Salt in such a product should be no more than 3.5–5% of the total mass of caviar, regardless of its variety. The addition of antibiotics is strictly prohibited.

Is it possible to identify good caviar by a can?

Can. Read, shake, check:

• The manufacturer, GOST or TU, type of fish (if the caviar is first grade), composition, expiration date (without the use of additional preservatives - from 8 months to a year) must be indicated on the bank. It is good if the manufacturer is close to the place where the fish are caught.
• The ideal composition is as concise as possible: caviar, salt. The content of vegetable oil and the minimum content of preservatives is allowed. It is better if it is only sorbic acid. If there are no preservatives in the product, then the caviar is pasteurized, which is much healthier.
• The marking on the lid of the can should be convex, not concave (the latter is a sign of a fake). Look for three rows of characters: the date of manufacture of caviar, the assortment mark "IKRA" and the plant number with the shift number and the index of the fishing industry "P".
• The tin should not be dented or swollen.
• If you buy caviar in glass, you have a good opportunity to examine the eggs. Ideal - clean, identical in color and size, with a minimum amount of juice or without it.
• The amount of juice in a tin can be determined by shaking it. It's bad if you feel the splashes and movement of the caviar inside.
• For caviar packed in a plastic container, the same rules apply. The package should contain all the necessary information.
• Caviar in the store should be stored in the refrigerator.

And what about buying caviar by weight?

If you do not buy from dubious sellers in the market, but in specialized fish departments in supermarkets, why not? But remember that sometimes substandard caviar is sold this way.

Bulk caviar deteriorates faster. It is not protected from external influences, including harmful bacteria.

Salmon spawning and fishing usually take place in July-August. That's why cru by weight is recommended to be purchased until November inclusive.

Quality caviar should be crumbly. A simple test: it's good when the eggs fall one at a time from a spoon, it's bad when they fall in a big lump.

How to recognize a fake?

Artificial caviar is made from eggs, milk, gelatin, using dyes. The taste and usefulness of this product cannot be compared with the original. But outwardly, they can look very similar.

You can recognize a fake like this:

• Try crushing the caviar with your finger. The real one is easily crushed, the artificial one is difficult, it is very dense.
• A fake has a sharp fishy smell, reminiscent of.
• If you throw caviar into water, it will turn orange.
• There are no embryonic eyes in the eggs.
• Fake sticks to teeth.
• Low price. Even if the seller says that this "offer of unheard of generosity" is only in honor of the holiday, it's better not to risk it.

And how to determine spoiled caviar?

As a rule, it becomes very dark and acquires an unpleasant pungent odor.

If you can hardly bite through the eggs, they burst in your mouth with a characteristic click, which means that the caviar is overripe. Often it is mined already at the spawning ground by poachers.

Spoiled (not only expired, but also cooked in violation of sanitary standards and technologies) caviar can lead to. Pathogenic bacteria develop in it, including E. coli and staphylococcus aureus.

Red caviar is a product loved by many, which contains in its composition a large number of rare trace elements that help improve the condition of the body and maintain it in good condition.

If earlier it was a very rare and rather expensive delicacy, today many can afford a jar of red caviar. This is due to the fact that in the days of Tsarist Russia, such a product simply did not have time to be transported to parts of the country that are at a great distance from the fishing grounds - the product is perishable. Currently, there are ways to preserve its freshness for a long period, thanks to which caviar is delivered to different parts of the world, where it is very popular. However, along with high-quality and natural products, there are a considerable number of fakes. How to choose the right red caviar? More on this later.

About useful properties

Trace elements that are contained in the caviar of any red fish are truly rich in their diversity. All of them are very useful for any human body, however, many medical experts and nutritionists do not recommend eating more than two or three sandwiches with such a product per day.

The composition of the right product contains a large amount of vitamins A, E and D. In addition to them, in the delicacy you can find calcium, phosphorus and a huge variety of fatty acids that have a beneficial effect on the body.

What is the best way to eat red caviar

It is best to eat such a product with teaspoons. For an adult, the optimal portion per day is 2-3 tablespoons. Moreover, many gourmets do not recommend using metal products for such cases - they worsen the taste of caviar. It is best to use wooden spoons or bone products.

When adding this product to other dishes, you need to know that it goes well with boiled chicken eggs, butter, pita bread and pancakes, fresh cucumbers, as well as boiled potatoes.

Types of caviar

Currently, on the shelves of stores you can find caviar extracted from different types of fish, and all of them belong to the salmon breed. You can buy it in two forms: by weight or in cans, and experts recommend that lovers of such a product turn their attention to the second packaging option.

The granular red caviar of pink salmon, chum salmon, sockeye salmon, chinook and trout is now especially common on the seafood market. All of them differ in size, color and taste. In general, buyers prefer to buy chum salmon caviar, which is distinguished by its delicate taste. The size of the eggs of such fish is quite large (5-6 mm), they differ in their color - red with a slight orange tint. Among the varieties of red caviar, buyers also often choose the one that was withdrawn from pink salmon. It has a universal mild taste and also large grains that reach 5 mm in diameter. Its color is slightly lighter than the one that belongs to the chum, which, in fact, differs visually.

A lot of fans have dark red and slightly bitter taste of sockeye salmon caviar (3-4 mm) and trout, which is distinguished by a salty taste and bright orange color of very small eggs (2-3 mm).

How to determine the quality of caviar in appearance

Experts who teach how to choose red caviar do not recommend purchasing a product that is too dark or too light. In the first case, it was most likely taken from fish far from the first freshness, and in the second case, it may be overripe, which also adversely affects the taste of the product.

Properly stored and high-quality red caviar always has a rather elastic shell; it does not have any film. You should also avoid buying a product in which there is a visible heterogeneity of eggs - they should all be the same size.

If sticking eggs are visible when opening the jar, then the contents are of poor quality, they should not stick to the teeth while eating. Excellent caviar does not have an unpleasant aftertaste, it melts gently in your mouth.

We pay attention to the packaging and what is written on it.

It is not always possible to see the contents that fill the container with the product during the purchase. However, when purchasing a jar of red caviar, it is always possible to read everything that is written on it, and from this you can remove a considerable amount of information about the quality of the filling.

First of all, the label must indicate what is stored in the container. Here is an example of the correct inscription: "Granular salmon caviar, type: chum salmon, first grade." Having noticed such an inscription, the client can be 50% sure that the bank has a really high quality product. If the composition on the jar contains caviar of several types of fish, then this means that the product filling it is a maximum of the second grade, which is no longer a good indicator.

Next, you should definitely pay attention to the marking of red caviar in a can. If a GOST combination is indicated on it, this only means that it was manufactured in accordance with all standards and in compliance with the preservation deadlines, and therefore the product enters the container absolutely fresh. If the abbreviation TU is indicated in the marking, this means that the preservation took place under technical conditions. If the plant is located at a great distance from the place where the fish are caught, the caviar filling the jar may not be the first freshness, since it has been on the way to the plant for a long time.

A lot can be said about the product and the date of its packaging. Seafood with the best taste is harvested in the summer. The very date of manufacture of red caviar must be clearly stamped on the bank and not distorted in any way. You should also remember the optimal shelf life of the product - it ranges from 6 months to a year.

As for the can itself, its appearance also says a lot: it should not have any mechanical damage or rust. Shaking the container with high-quality caviar, the buyer will not hear any gurgling.

Caviar in glass

Often this seafood for sale is packaged in glass jars. Many buyers prefer to purchase goods in such a container. This decision is due to the fact that the transparency of the packaging allows you to adequately assess the content and quality of the product.

Experts note that the glass does not corrode, which is not typical for cans - this ensures a decent preservation of the quality of the product during the entire period of its storage and sale.

Compound

The composition of natural, tasty and healthy caviar should contain a minimum number of components. The correct composition of the product is basically the same for many manufacturers. It indicates caviar, as well as its type (chum salmon, pink salmon, sockeye salmon, etc.), vegetable oil, salt, as well as several types of preservatives, and their number should not be more than two (E200, E211). In addition, the manufacturer can add an antiseptic and glycerin to the standard formulation of the product, which also complies with GOST.

Seriously interested in questions about how to choose red caviar, the buyer must definitely know those components that are an indicator of a poor-quality and sometimes harmful product. Among them, experts most often distinguish such chemical additives as E400 and E239. This is due to the fact that such components prevent the contents from drying out, which adversely affects the quality of caviar in the end.

What to look for when buying caviar by weight

If everything is more or less clear with the choice of a product in cans, where the marking is indicated, then how to choose red caviar that sells by weight? There are few indicators of quality in such a question. The buyer should first of all pay attention to taste and smell. As a rule, only knowledgeable gourmets who understand what qualities a real product should have specialize in such matters. For all those who do not know the intricacies of the aroma of a natural and fresh delicacy, it is best to contact the manufacturers who sell caviar in jars and be guided by the above indicators.

In addition, when buying such seafood by weight, you need to remember that dishonest sellers can tint a not very fresh delicacy in the desired color. Also in this case it is quite difficult to establish its true manufacturer.

When buying by weight, you should also pay attention to how much red caviar costs. If its cost is significantly underestimated, it is necessary to think about its quality or naturalness.

Product storage conditions

When storing valuable seafood, it is necessary to strictly observe the terms and temperature indicated on the bank, the taste of caviar depends on this. The ideal temperature for such a product is 4-8 degrees. It is in such conditions, while preserving the tightness of the jar and observing the shelf life, that you can keep the product in the refrigerator. In the event that the container has been opened, the nutritional value of the contents is preserved for a maximum of two days.

About the popularity of different types of red caviar

On the shelves of shops you can find seafood seized from different types of fish. Among them, pink salmon and salmon caviar are especially popular - jars with it can be found in almost every store that sells fish, and buyers prefer the taste of the product of these particular breeds.

As for sockeye salmon caviar, it can be found infrequently, due to the difficulty of harvesting this type of fish. It lives in reservoirs where the temperature is not more than 1 degree, and there are few individuals left. In addition, sockeye salmon caviar has a peculiar bitter taste - it attracts a few. The same applies to the product seized from coho salmon.

Prices

If you want to purchase a quality product, you should first of all pay attention to how much red caviar costs. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the type of fish from which it is withdrawn, as well as the form in which it is sold (by weight or in sealed cans).

By weight, caviar can be taken in those places where direct fishing is carried out. Most of the extraction of the resource falls on Kamchatka and Sakhalin, where the average cost of a kilogram of the product is about 2-3 thousand rubles, depending on its type.

After caviar is packaged in jars, its price rises sharply. So, 100 grams of the product costs the buyer about 350, 250 g - 800, and 500 g - 1500 rubles. In stores in different regions of Russia, prices may differ, due to the transport costs of suppliers, as well as other indicators.

In Russian stores you can find caviar of different fish. It differs in color and size.

• Chinook: large eggs (up to 7–9 mm in diameter) of red-orange color with a delicate shell, taste with a point.
• Keta: large eggs (up to 5-7 mm in diameter) of rich amber color with a dense shell, creamy aftertaste.
• Pink salmon: eggs of medium size (3-5 mm) are bright orange in color with a soft shell, the usual taste.
• Coho salmon: small eggs (2–3 mm) of bright red color with an elastic shell, bitter taste.
• Red salmon: small eggs of dark red color with an elastic shell, bitter taste.
• Trout: the smallest eggs (up to 2 mm) are light orange in color with an elastic shell, bitter aftertaste.

Traditionally, caviar of chum salmon and pink salmon is considered the best in terms of taste.

Who determines what quality caviar should be?

A document adopted at the federal level. This is GOST "Grainy caviar of salmon fish", approved in 2004. According to him, red caviar is of two varieties.

The eggs of the first grade should be of the same color and size, moderately elastic, without foreign impurities, from fish of the same species, the name of which is indicated on the bank. The second grade allows a mixture of caviar of different types of fish. In this case, the bank does not write from which ones.

Also, manufacturers can work not according to GOST, but according to TU (technical specifications). It happens that caviar cooked according to specifications turns out to be better and tastier. But it is important to remember that here the manufacturer is free to make the recipe himself.

GOST establishes rather strict requirements for salt content: from 4 to 6% of the caviar weight for the first grade and from 4 to 7% for the second grade.

Even tougher is the Roskachestvo standard, the sign of conformity to which manufacturers receive voluntarily. Salt in such a product should be no more than 3.5–5% of the total mass of caviar, regardless of its variety. The addition of antibiotics is strictly prohibited.

Is it possible to identify good caviar by a can?

Can. Read, shake, check:

• The manufacturer, GOST or TU, type of fish (if the caviar is first grade), composition, expiration date (without the use of additional preservatives - from 8 months to a year) must be indicated on the bank. It is good if the manufacturer is close to the place where the fish are caught.
• The ideal composition is as concise as possible: caviar, salt. The content of vegetable oil and the minimum content of preservatives is allowed. It is better if it is only sorbic acid. If there are no preservatives in the product, then the caviar is pasteurized, which is much healthier.
• The marking on the lid of the can should be convex, not concave (the latter is a sign of a fake). Look for three rows of characters: the date of manufacture of caviar, the assortment mark "IKRA" and the plant number with the shift number and the index of the fishing industry "P".
• The tin should not be dented or swollen.
• If you buy caviar in glass, you have a good opportunity to examine the eggs. Ideal - clean, identical in color and size, with a minimum amount of juice or without it.
• The amount of juice in a tin can be determined by shaking it. It's bad if you feel the splashes and movement of the caviar inside.
• For caviar packed in a plastic container, the same rules apply. The package should contain all the necessary information.
• Caviar in the store should be stored in the refrigerator.

And what about buying caviar by weight?

If you do not buy from dubious sellers in the market, but in specialized fish departments in supermarkets, why not? But remember that sometimes substandard caviar is sold this way.

Bulk caviar deteriorates faster. It is not protected from external influences, including harmful bacteria.

Salmon spawning and fishing usually take place in July-August. That's why cru by weight is recommended to be purchased until November inclusive.

Quality caviar should be crumbly. A simple test: it's good when the eggs fall one at a time from a spoon, it's bad when they fall in a big lump.

How to recognize a fake?

Artificial caviar is made from eggs, milk, gelatin, using dyes. The taste and usefulness of this product cannot be compared with the original. But outwardly, they can look very similar.

You can recognize a fake like this:

• Try crushing the caviar with your finger. The real one is easily crushed, the artificial one is difficult, it is very dense.
• A fake has a sharp fishy smell, reminiscent of.
• If you throw caviar into water, it will turn orange.
• There are no embryonic eyes in the eggs.
• Fake sticks to teeth.
• Low price. Even if the seller says that this "offer of unheard of generosity" is only in honor of the holiday, it's better not to risk it.

And how to determine spoiled caviar?

As a rule, it becomes very dark and acquires an unpleasant pungent odor.

If you can hardly bite through the eggs, they burst in your mouth with a characteristic click, which means that the caviar is overripe. Often it is mined already at the spawning ground by poachers.

Spoiled (not only expired, but also cooked in violation of sanitary standards and technologies) caviar can lead to. Pathogenic bacteria develop in it, including E. coli and staphylococcus aureus.