Red caviar is called salmon caviar (chum salmon, sockeye salmon, pink salmon, salmon, chinook salmon). This gourmet product is not only very tasty, but also healthy: red caviar contains a large amount of complete proteins, fats, vitamins A, D, group B, PP, as well as minerals. In order to purchase quality caviar, the following should be considered when choosing a product.
How to choose quality caviar
Buy red caviar from supermarkets and those stores where food is thoroughly tested. Do not purchase plastic containers with cheap caviar in the markets. This can reduce the likelihood of purchasing a low-quality product. It is better to choose a product in a tin or glass jar.
Red caviar in a tin can is well protected from external factors, but it cannot be considered. In this case, you can shake the product: if the jar gurgles, then it contains more brine than caviar. If the caviar mass is stationary, then it is too dry. Ideally, the contents of the jar move with strong shaking, but do not squelch.
A jar with high-quality red caviar should not be bloated.
Be sure to read the information on the can label. It will be great if the product is made in accordance with GOST and has the first grade. According to TU, the product is made from frozen caviar, which, after freezing, loses a significant part of its taste and appearance. For red caviar of the first grade, the eggs are selected in size. For the production of a second-grade product, caviar of different salmon is mixed, as a result of which it does not look very presentable.
Pay attention to the composition of the product: most often these are caviar, salt and preservatives. You need to watch that the amount of preservatives is minimal. Sorbic acid (E200) and the antiseptic urotropin (E239) are used in Russia. Glycerin (E422) will be superfluous in the caviar - it is included in the composition to retain moisture in the caviar.
How to distinguish quality caviar by appearance
It is best to buy caviar in glass jars. In such a container, it is easy to see it. High-quality red caviar has whole, without crumpled sides, grains that fit tightly to each other. The caviar should be of a uniform reddish color, without foreign inclusions (whitish sediment, blood clots, mold). If the red caviar is dense and has a dark color, it is from stale fish. The caviar is too pale, yellowish is overripe.
Low-quality caviar preservatives can contain large amounts of lead, which can cause serious food poisoning.
In addition to natural red caviar, stores often sell artificial caviar. It is made from protein products - milk, chicken eggs, gelatin. In order not to buy a surrogate instead of a natural product, carefully read the information on the labels and focus on the price. Artificial caviar is much cheaper than real caviar. Surrogate caviar is perfectly round, it has no buds, it smells like herring. And when biting, the "eggs" in the mouth burst and stick to the teeth.
