Experts told how to choose a good red caviar for the New Year's table
By price and quality
When choosing a delicacy, it is better to give preference to the official stores of the manufacturer or the stores of well-known retail chains, where sellers can provide a veterinary certificate.
Studying the composition
When buying caviar, it is important to pay attention to the price (too low may indicate counterfeit or expired products) and quality. It can be checked as follows: the date of manufacture and manufacturer's data must be stamped or printed on the lid of the jar.
- The composition should be studied on the label. Real salmon grainy caviar is made from chilled or frozen raw materials. It is necessary to check the GOST icon or the technical conditions or the standard of the organization, the barcode (using a special reader program installed on a smartphone), - says the head of the laboratory of LLC "Russian Fish World" Svetlana Stroeva.
Most of all, the expert notes, because of the composition and taste qualities, red salmon caviar is valued. It should not contain algae, fat or fish broth, only a natural product.
– The highest quality eggs are spherical in shape. They are easily distinguished by the embryonic nucleus (similar to an eye) and a translucent shell, the yolk mass should be semi-liquid - orange-red in color," says Stroeva.
In turn, the therapist of the Teledoctor24 service Neya Georgieva recommends choosing caviar in glass jars – so you can evaluate the appearance of the product before purchase. When choosing caviar in a tin can, make sure that it is not swollen or damaged.
Signs of good caviar
Managing Partner of Agro and Food Communications Ilya Bereznyuk urges to pay attention to the date of its production when buying caviar. High-quality and relatively fresh caviar of wild salmon breeds should be produced during their spawning. The main catch occurs in the summer period - from August to September.
– If we choose caviar in iron jars, it is important that the producer is from the Far East, - says the expert. – If the product is in a glass or plastic jar, you need to look at the lumen so that the eggs are separated from each other, and do not lie in a homogeneous mush, are not stuck together, with a moderate liquid content. It is necessary that each egg has a structure and shape.
Caviar from different fish of the salmon family differs from each other in the size of eggs, color and price. Pink salmon is the cheapest, as it is caught in the largest quantities. Caviar of coho salmon, sockeye salmon and chum salmon will cost more, since this fish is mined, respectively, in smaller volumes.
- The size of the eggs should not confuse you. It does not depend on the quality, but only on the type of salmon," Bereznyuk notes.
The largest egg, according to the expert, is keto. It can reach 6-7 mm in diameter. The most common pink salmon caviar is the same color, but the size of the eggs will already be from 3 to 5 mm. Sockeye salmon has the most beautiful caviar in color and shape – small and almost crimson.
When is it better to buy
Speaking about when to buy caviar for the New Year, Svetlana Stroeva advises to do it in advance: in the last week of December, the price will be much higher.
- The cost of caviar has increased by almost a third over the past year due to rising inflation, the pricing policy of fishing companies, as well as an increase in the cost of delivery and fuel and lubricants, - says the specialist.
According to Ilya Bereznyuk, 1 kg of caviar caught in the period from summer to early autumn this year will cost from 4.2 thousand rubles (pink salmon) to 5-5.5 thousand rubles, depending on the seller.
At the same time, the price of the final product will also warm up the New Year's excitement, so you can buy products for the table in advance, given that canned caviar can wait a long time in the freezer if storage conditions are met.
What is useful for
Red caviar, present on almost every New Year's table, has great health benefits. The delicacy, consisting of a third of easily digestible protein, is rich in vitamins A, D, E, C, group B, as well as trace elements – zinc, calcium, iron, sulfur, phosphorus.
Caviar consists of omega-3, -6, -9 unsaturated fatty acids, which normalize cholesterol levels and prevent the formation of atherosclerotic plaques. In addition, it is useful for blood vessels, heart, hair, skin and nails.
Red caviar helps to raise the level of iron in the blood, which can contribute to an increase in hemoglobin, and the high content of calcium in it helps to strengthen bones.
It is especially useful for rickets, because it contains a large amount of vitamin D, which can even make up for the daily norm. There is no such thing in any other product. And a double daily allowance of iodine.
At the same time, when eating caviar, it is important to observe moderation: all trace elements and vitamins in its composition are in a concentrated form, overeating the delicacy can cause allergic reactions, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Caviar should also be treated with caution by people with increased body weight: the product has a high calorie content and delays the exchange of fluids in the body.
Red caviar is contraindicated for people with intolerance and children under three years of age. Due to the high salt content, it can harm people with arterial hypertension and kidney diseases. It can provoke an increase in blood pressure and the occurrence of edema.
For those who have no contraindications, doctors do not advise eating red caviar every day – one tablespoon is enough several times a week. Caviar is best combined with green vegetables and herbs, arugula, lettuce leaves, parsley, they contain substances that improve the digestibility of fatty acids.
And if it's artificial?
As Ilya Bereznyuk notes, there is also caviar from artificially grown aquaculture fish on the market. It is not harmful if it is a proven manufacturer. Therefore, according to the expert, there is no need to be afraid of the words "artificially grown" trout or salmon.
There is also artificially produced caviar, which, according to the founder of the ArtNauka project Nikolay Novoselov, most often contains two main components: calcium chloride and sodium alginate. Less often, calcium lactate is used instead of calcium chloride.
- The production of such caviar is quite simple: almost any "flavor-containing" liquid is mixed with sodium alginate and digested into calcium chloride or lactate. In the air, when falling, the drop becomes a ball and falls into the solution. Inside the solution, calcium chloride replaces sodium alginate, causing the molecules to connect with each other. It turns out that the ball is liquid inside, with a jelly-like shell, - says the interlocutor of Izvestia.
At the same time, the "taste-containing" liquid can be any – fish or even sweet. Sweet "caviar" from syrup can, for example, decorate cocktails.
According to Novoselov, artificial caviar is not harmful to health, since it is made from natural ingredients: the same sodium alginate is just an extract from algae, which is classified as a food additive E401. It is used even in medicine – for the treatment of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and intestinal infections.
- Calcium chloride (E509) is also actively used in medicine, there is even a drug of the same name. Therefore, the foundation itself is safe. But what is used to recreate the aroma of caviar requires analysis–" the expert notes.
Studying the composition
When buying caviar, it is important to pay attention to the price (too low may indicate counterfeit or expired products) and quality. It can be checked as follows: the date of manufacture and manufacturer's data must be stamped or printed on the lid of the jar.
- The composition should be studied on the label. Real salmon grainy caviar is made from chilled or frozen raw materials. It is necessary to check the GOST icon or the technical conditions or the standard of the organization, the barcode (using a special reader program installed on a smartphone), - says the head of the laboratory of LLC "Russian Fish World" Svetlana Stroeva.
Most of all, the expert notes, because of the composition and taste qualities, red salmon caviar is valued. It should not contain algae, fat or fish broth, only a natural product.
– The highest quality eggs are spherical in shape. They are easily distinguished by the embryonic nucleus (similar to an eye) and a translucent shell, the yolk mass should be semi-liquid - orange-red in color," says Stroeva.
In turn, the therapist of the Teledoctor24 service Neya Georgieva recommends choosing caviar in glass jars – so you can evaluate the appearance of the product before purchase. When choosing caviar in a tin can, make sure that it is not swollen or damaged.
Signs of good caviar
Managing Partner of Agro and Food Communications Ilya Bereznyuk urges to pay attention to the date of its production when buying caviar. High-quality and relatively fresh caviar of wild salmon breeds should be produced during their spawning. The main catch occurs in the summer period - from August to September.
– If we choose caviar in iron jars, it is important that the producer is from the Far East, - says the expert. – If the product is in a glass or plastic jar, you need to look at the lumen so that the eggs are separated from each other, and do not lie in a homogeneous mush, are not stuck together, with a moderate liquid content. It is necessary that each egg has a structure and shape.
Caviar from different fish of the salmon family differs from each other in the size of eggs, color and price. Pink salmon is the cheapest, as it is caught in the largest quantities. Caviar of coho salmon, sockeye salmon and chum salmon will cost more, since this fish is mined, respectively, in smaller volumes.
- The size of the eggs should not confuse you. It does not depend on the quality, but only on the type of salmon," Bereznyuk notes.
The largest egg, according to the expert, is keto. It can reach 6-7 mm in diameter. The most common pink salmon caviar is the same color, but the size of the eggs will already be from 3 to 5 mm. Sockeye salmon has the most beautiful caviar in color and shape – small and almost crimson.
When is it better to buy
Speaking about when to buy caviar for the New Year, Svetlana Stroeva advises to do it in advance: in the last week of December, the price will be much higher.
- The cost of caviar has increased by almost a third over the past year due to rising inflation, the pricing policy of fishing companies, as well as an increase in the cost of delivery and fuel and lubricants, - says the specialist.
According to Ilya Bereznyuk, 1 kg of caviar caught in the period from summer to early autumn this year will cost from 4.2 thousand rubles (pink salmon) to 5-5.5 thousand rubles, depending on the seller.
At the same time, the price of the final product will also warm up the New Year's excitement, so you can buy products for the table in advance, given that canned caviar can wait a long time in the freezer if storage conditions are met.
What is useful for
Red caviar, present on almost every New Year's table, has great health benefits. The delicacy, consisting of a third of easily digestible protein, is rich in vitamins A, D, E, C, group B, as well as trace elements – zinc, calcium, iron, sulfur, phosphorus.
Caviar consists of omega-3, -6, -9 unsaturated fatty acids, which normalize cholesterol levels and prevent the formation of atherosclerotic plaques. In addition, it is useful for blood vessels, heart, hair, skin and nails.
Red caviar helps to raise the level of iron in the blood, which can contribute to an increase in hemoglobin, and the high content of calcium in it helps to strengthen bones.
It is especially useful for rickets, because it contains a large amount of vitamin D, which can even make up for the daily norm. There is no such thing in any other product. And a double daily allowance of iodine.
At the same time, when eating caviar, it is important to observe moderation: all trace elements and vitamins in its composition are in a concentrated form, overeating the delicacy can cause allergic reactions, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Caviar should also be treated with caution by people with increased body weight: the product has a high calorie content and delays the exchange of fluids in the body.
Red caviar is contraindicated for people with intolerance and children under three years of age. Due to the high salt content, it can harm people with arterial hypertension and kidney diseases. It can provoke an increase in blood pressure and the occurrence of edema.
For those who have no contraindications, doctors do not advise eating red caviar every day – one tablespoon is enough several times a week. Caviar is best combined with green vegetables and herbs, arugula, lettuce leaves, parsley, they contain substances that improve the digestibility of fatty acids.
And if it's artificial?
As Ilya Bereznyuk notes, there is also caviar from artificially grown aquaculture fish on the market. It is not harmful if it is a proven manufacturer. Therefore, according to the expert, there is no need to be afraid of the words "artificially grown" trout or salmon.
There is also artificially produced caviar, which, according to the founder of the ArtNauka project Nikolay Novoselov, most often contains two main components: calcium chloride and sodium alginate. Less often, calcium lactate is used instead of calcium chloride.
- The production of such caviar is quite simple: almost any "flavor-containing" liquid is mixed with sodium alginate and digested into calcium chloride or lactate. In the air, when falling, the drop becomes a ball and falls into the solution. Inside the solution, calcium chloride replaces sodium alginate, causing the molecules to connect with each other. It turns out that the ball is liquid inside, with a jelly-like shell, - says the interlocutor of Izvestia.
At the same time, the "taste-containing" liquid can be any – fish or even sweet. Sweet "caviar" from syrup can, for example, decorate cocktails.
According to Novoselov, artificial caviar is not harmful to health, since it is made from natural ingredients: the same sodium alginate is just an extract from algae, which is classified as a food additive E401. It is used even in medicine – for the treatment of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and intestinal infections.
- Calcium chloride (E509) is also actively used in medicine, there is even a drug of the same name. Therefore, the foundation itself is safe. But what is used to recreate the aroma of caviar requires analysis–" the expert notes.
