Named a recipe for artificial red caviar at home

How to distinguish a surrogate from the “original”

On the eve of the winter holidays, the season of buying red caviar has begun: a New Year’s tradition. This year, Russian buyers are in for an unpleasant surprise: more and more affordable cans contain the so-called structured caviar. According to experts, it is created from waste fish raw materials, dye and gelatin, which forms balls. How to distinguish it from the real one and how, if necessary, to imitate caviar at home – MK found out.

Not everyone can distinguish structured caviar if it is fresh from the refrigerator (although the taste is not quite “the same”), but at room temperature the product “spreads”. And they absolutely do not like the “caviar” of a structured product spread on bread or put into a tartlet with a knife. And when eating – do not expect the “bursting” of bubbles-caviar on the tongue, which is familiar to red caviar. Because the eggs, in fact, are not here.

“It is believed that structured caviar is produced with the help of a gelling agent on a special plant from damaged so-called yasty caviar,” MK was told in a Moscow chain store specializing in caviar and fish products. – But there is, let’s say, a reasonable suspicion that all the remnants of the production of granular caviar are used. They are molded with gelatin, dye is added, since these residues do not have an orange color. It turns out a normal product, it can be eaten. But not caviar.

The entire “bottom of the market” (up to about 400 rubles per 100-gram can) is now divided between imitated (made from protein raw materials) and structured caviar, the store explained, referring to Moscow prices (in the Far East, of course, everything is different). After the mark of 400 – 450 rubles per can, granular caviar from frozen raw materials comes into play. And the classic granular caviar of this year is now quoted at no less than 600 rubles per jar (and more often more expensive).

“They buy about the same number of all categories,” the caviar store clerk said. – But I’m talking about what we have, at a specialized point. In supermarkets, they probably take more cheap varieties.

For many years, the situation on the supermarket shelves is as follows: on the open shelves in the fish departments, there is precisely structured and imitated caviar (along with pollock caviar, pike and other “ignoble” varieties). As for natural granular caviar, it is sold through special “caviar” refrigerators, locked and located near the cash registers – much like expensive strong alcohol.

– Distinguishing structured caviar from natural is as easy as shelling pears, it is always written on it! – explains the employee of the fish department. This is true, but there is a caveat: jars of a structured product (and most of the imitations) look familiar to natural caviar. The green-orange coloring of the 100-gram tin can has been familiar for decades – so they take it without looking too hard. Moreover, the price – who will refuse to buy caviar for less than 400 rubles?

It is interesting that structured (from caviar residues) caviar cannot be made at home (there is no raw material), but imitated – as much as you like. To do this, you need a glass of refined vegetable oil, a glass of fish broth, 6 teaspoons of gelatin or 1.5 tsp. agar-agar, up to 2 tbsp. l. tomato paste, salt to taste and one disposable syringe without a needle.

Put the oil in the refrigerator, mix the rest of the liquids and put on fire. Boil, cool to room temperature, and then use a syringe to squeeze drops (balls) of liquid into cold oil. Without sticking together, the “eggs” will smoothly sink to the bottom of the glass. After that, the product can be used instead of caviar or as decoration.

As for inexpensive, but natural caviar – for taste – “ignoble” varieties will help here, that is, pollock, pike and other types of caviar. After all, we don’t always need checkers…