Many buyers wonder: how to check red caviar at home - natural or not? Red caviar is one of the affordable but expensive delicacies. She is one of the best decorations on the festive table. Red caviar is not only good at sandwiches, but also rich in useful substances. This is not surprising, because caviar is a cluster of fish eggs in which embryos of fry should develop.
Most living organisms have organs where offspring develop, which will have rapid growth, saturated with fats, proteins and vitamins. Therefore, both plant seeds and bird eggs, as well as the fish roe mentioned by us, are very nutritious and carry vitamins. In the food industry, unfertilized caviar is usually used. And red caviar is the 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, indispensable for pregnant women - in its absence, the development of the neural tube of the fetus is disrupted. Of the trace elements in it there is, as in many seafood, iodine, in addition - calcium, phosphorus and iron. Rich in caviar and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Together with fish meat, its fat and vegetable oils, it is considered a valuable source of Omega-3 and Omega-6. They support the health of the cardiovascular system, provide the prevention of cancer, asthma, depression and obesity, despite their high calorie content. Calcium is good for bones, and iron boosts hemoglobin.
Such a valuable product will certainly want to fake! You may encounter low-quality goods or artificial caviar. But few people agree to go to the laboratory with a jar of caviar to evaluate the quality of the goods. It would be convenient to check red caviar at home. How to do it? Let's look at some points. In the article you will learn in more detail 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 can that sells caviar can tell you a lot. First, shock 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. Secondly, consider labeling. It must be pressed inside. If they are pressed from the outside, which is much easier to do, you are dealing with a fake. Release date is also informative. Caviar harvesting usually takes place in the summer, and it is quickly processed. Other dates should alert you.
See the composition. Avoid caviar that contains E239 - urotropin.
This substance is toxic. Sodium benzoate (E211) is also not useful. Both of these substances under certain conditions are converted to carcinogens. Preservatives in caviar are likely to be, but sorbic acid (E200), which is the most harmless, is preferred.
Buy by weight
By weight, it is much easier to distinguish a fake from the original - after all, all the goods are in full view. You can even taste it! But here it is important to be careful. To begin, take a look around the eggs and evaluate its appearance. If the nuclei are too large and have a dull color, polyphosphates may have been added to it. They are laid for weight gain as they retain moisture. This caused a strange bloating of eggs in size. Not only is buying water instead of caviar simply unprofitable, but polyphosphates are also very harmful. The ability to retain water is reflected in the human body - there are swelling and cardiovascular disease.
How to check red caviar at home? You can carry out the same inspection at home, and also taste it. This is one minus - the product has already been bought and the money spent. High-quality red caviar smells good. Take the egg in your hand. It should not have plaque, and when compressed, the egg bursts. Try it to your taste - you should feel the familiar taste of red caviar, any differences from which are an excuse to refuse to buy.
Dangers of Caviar
It’s convenient to buy by weight - all the caviar is in full view. But it must be taken into account that it is stored in packaged form for no more than 4 months. As is already known, salmon fish spawning occurs in the summer, so after November you should not buy caviar by weight. Most likely, she was already frozen and lost her unique flavor and texture.
The danger of weighted caviar is also in the fact that the seller can remove dried or muddy eggs (a sign of loss of tightness of the container) and add glycerin and perfumes. And the best option is to choose caviar in a glass container. It is tight and protected from manipulations by dishonest sellers, and at the same time it is visible.
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. At the heart of modern artificial caviar are gelling agents - agar and sodium alginate. The first is obtained from red algae, the second from brown.
Artificial caviar is made on the basis of eggs, milk and protein. By production salmon fish meat, fish oil can be used. This gives the caviar a fishy taste. But the taste is still inferior to the present. She is deprived of most of the beneficial substances found in this caviar. Dangers to health can be represented by dyes and flavors, which are designed to at least slightly bring its taste to natural.
In principle, a caviar substitute 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 with the goal of buying a natural delicacy, you will beware of fakes. Some buyers try to check red caviar at home. As often happens, not everyone can distinguish between natural caviar and surrogate, so it is important to familiarize yourself with the tips for choosing this product.
There is one more fact not in favor of artificial caviar. The agar-agar product is stored in open form for only a few hours. This red algae gelling agent is not accidentally used in a petri dish to grow laboratory bacteria. This is an excellent breeding ground for them. Therefore, leaving such caviar in the refrigerator, you risk getting a lot of unknown microorganisms with it.
Along with this, the question has ripened: how to check red caviar at home - natural or artificial?
What does the packaging hide?
Try checking 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 package. Perhaps it indicates that the product is an imitation of salmon caviar . But even if this fact is hidden, the composition may reveal the truth indirectly. If the caviar contains vegetable oil and dye, it is no accident! The oil is used so that the gelatinous eggs do not stick together, and the dye gives them a red tint. An unnaturally bright color may be a sign of the use of dye.
You should beware of too low a product price. Storage conditions can also reveal all the secrets. Natural caviar is stored at low temperatures, so if you see the storage temperature above zero, for example, from + 4 to + 8, you have a fake. Artificial caviar sticks when frozen, and when thawed it turns into porridge. To prevent this, the packaging does not indicate a temperature below zero.
Look at the address of the manufacturer. In the Far East, it makes little sense to produce artificial caviar, but if the place of production is in the continental part, then the likelihood of a fake is high. Check 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 there will be no nucleus in fake eggs, because they lack a germ! Artificial eggs can vary in size and shade, and natural ones are usually the same size and color.
What else are there ways to test red caviar at home - is it natural? How can this be done? Throw a couple of eggs in hot water. If the caviar is real, nothing will happen. And artificial will quickly give itself away. The gelatin shell dissolves in water. Caviar surrogate quickly stains water in orange.
Structure, taste and smell
It is worth putting eggs on the tongue and try to crush it. Bursting means real. Artificial caviar can only be bitten by teeth. While a real egg is a capsule with liquid contents, in which the fry should develop, technologies for the production of a surrogate have not reached such an accurate imitation. Its eggs are uniform in structure. Good caviar should not be excessively salty. Pay attention to the smell of caviar. The pronounced herring smell suggests that the caviar is made from meat and fish fat, that is, artificial, or flavorings are added to it, which also indicates not in its favor.
To summarize
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 studying the packaging. So, if you are observant enough, at home you can check whether the real red caviar or not. Buy quality products and enjoy the taste!