Pink salmon is one of the most affordable types of fish on the Russian market. For a relatively low price, you can get a very tasty red fish. By purchasing unpeeled pink salmon, you can easily get an individual with red caviar, which costs up to 3000 rubles per kilogram. It is quite simple to choose pink salmon with caviar, it is enough to know some of the features of this fish.
Pink salmon is rightfully considered a valuable commercial fish. This red fish is widely used in cooking. It can be baked, fried, boiled, smoked and dried. Buying a whole fresh or frozen pink salmon, you can get a nice bonus in the form of a certain amount of red caviar. The amount of caviar will depend on the size of the fish.
How to distinguish a female pink salmon from a male
For obvious reasons, only a female pink salmon can be with caviar. The female has several physiological differences from the male. It is easier to choose a female from fresh fish, because frozen raw materials can be deformed during briquetting. But even in this situation, a female can be distinguished with a high degree of probability.
- The first thing to look at is the head. If the raw material allows you to examine the teeth, then the male has more teeth than the female. Also, the male has some curvature of the jaw, while the female has a smoother jaw.
- Next, you need to inspect the carcass itself. The male has a hump on his back, which is especially noticeable during spawning, hence the name of the fish. Therefore, males caught between August and September can be easily distinguished by the presence of this hump on the back. Also, the male can be recognized by its brighter color. The female is painted in more inconspicuous gray tones. In ice cream raw materials, it will be difficult to recognize a female by color.
- If, by the first signs, it was not possible to distinguish the female from the male, then you need to go on to inspect the tail. When examining a fresh carcass, you can try to slightly press on the belly. With this action, eggs may appear from the tail hole. The hole itself in the female is also different. It will be wider and pink in color. When examining a freshly frozen carcass, you should also pay attention to the outlet. If caviar is present, orange eggs can be seen from there.
- The tail of the male and the female is also different. In the male, the tail is shorter and has a smoother shape. The tail of the female is more curved and longer.
How to distinguish a female pink salmon with caviar
Identifying a female pink salmon is half the battle. We still need to find a female with caviar. Fresh pink salmon should be bought in August-September. At this time, pink salmon are spawning, and the chance of finding fish with caviar will increase many times over. If the fish is freshly frozen, then you need to ask the seller when this fish was caught. The catch should fall on the same August-September. If the date of the catch is unknown, then one rule should be followed: the belly should be as large as possible. When examining fresh fish, it is worth probing the belly. In the presence of eggs, it will be dense, the presence of homogeneous eggs will be felt inside, and when pressed, there is a chance to see them from the outlet of the fish.
Even using all the recommendations, it will not be possible for certain to guess the presence of caviar, if it does not already ask to go out on its own. Whether the choice was right or not can only be understood when cutting fish. If you saw after ripping open the abdomen 2 red hawks instead of milk, then you were lucky.
