Delicious red caviar for the New Year's table, how to choose

Delicious caviar of different salmon

The most famous representatives of salmon, who supply delicious red caviar for the New Year's table, are chum salmon and pink salmon.

Chum salmon caviar is large eggs, 5-7 mm (only chinook caviar is larger), the taste is traditional, familiar from childhood - creamy. The color is reddish-amber with a red glow, the film is thin and elastic. The eggs are soft.

Pink salmon caviar practically does not differ from chum salmon, only the grain size is smaller - 4-5 mm.

There is soft salmon caviar (2-3 mm) and coho salmon caviar (medium hard, 3 mm). Their bright color and delicious, piquant taste with a light noble bitterness is not for everyone's taste and is not clear to everyone.

Trout spawns in late autumn-winter, and by the winter-spring holidays its caviar is the freshest on the table. Eggs are small 1-3 mm, color from orange to dark red, depending on the habitat. The taste of trout caviar is almost neutral, and the eggs themselves are moderately dense.

How to choose delicious red caviar.

Do not rush to buy caviar in advance for the New Year's table. Usually, producers of salmon caviar set storage conditions from minus 4 to minus 6 ° C. In domestic household refrigerators, in the absolute majority of such temperature regimes there are no such temperature regimes: freezer compartment (-18 ° С), zero chamber (0 ° С) and main compartment (from +4 to -6 ° С), so it is best to buy caviar just before the holiday ...

Delicious caviar is always caviar from one type of fish. It is uniform in color (non-uniformity of color for caviar of sockeye salmon and coho salmon is allowed), with a clean elastic grain without a film, blood clots, white inclusions between the grains, low viscosity, without foreign smell.

Fresh ripe caviar has a dense, elastic, strong shell. Weak, fragile, easily bursting shell can be signs of immature eggs, twitching freezing and subsequent thawing.

When choosing tasty caviar, also pay attention to packaging and labeling. Be aware that a product without labeling is considered dangerous and is not allowed to be sold to the public. The packaging must be clean, intact, undamaged. It's a good idea to buy caviar packed in glass containers - this way you can appreciate the appearance of caviar.

The marking of caviar must necessarily indicate the type of fish from which the caviar was obtained. If granular caviar is made from frozen caviar of fish of the salmon family, the words “made from frozen raw materials” are indicated in the labeling. Such caviar can have a weak, fragile, easily bursting shell of grain and a dented appearance.

The shelf life and storage conditions of caviar are established by the manufacturer. It depends on the method of processing, the use of preservatives and the type of packaging. As already noted above: at temperatures from -4 to -6 ° C, canned caviar without preservatives can be stored for no more than 4 months, with preservatives - no more than 12 months.

How to combine delicious red caviar with drinks.

Delicious red caviar and white wine

Caviar has a salty taste, wines with high acidity are perfectly combined with it and, preferably, they are not too alcoholic and full-bodied. The best option is wines from cool regions of Europe without aging in oak. For example, Chablis or Muscadet from the Loire Valley. The "crispy" thin dry (or off-dry) riesling, which smooths the salty caviar and refreshes the receptors, will show itself perfectly. For example, the Riesling from the German Moselle or Reigau.

Delicious red caviar and champagne

Champagne is a classic. But there is also a more budgetary, although no less worthy option - sparkling wines made according to the traditional Champenois method, but not from Champagne. For example, cremans from any wine region of France will perfectly fulfill the role of "noble bubbles". Spanish kava goes well with delicious red caviar, only different manufacturers have a fairly serious variation in quality. At the same time, in the Gran Reserva category, you can find cava of very high quality, but at the same time, when compared with classic champagne brands, at fairly reasonable prices.

5 combinations of delicious red caviar with other foods

1. Delicious red caviar + slices of salted salmon + cream cheese + dill. Using this combination, you can make salmon rolls, toast or canapes. A piece of slightly sour wheat bread or sweetish rye bread will not be superfluous here.
2. Delicious red caviar + boiled eggs (chicken or quail) + salted whipped cream + chives. This is a great snack. Eggs can be boiled soft-boiled or poached and served on the festive table in small glasses as an aperitif.
3. Delicious red caviar + potato mini-pancakes + fat country sour cream + shallots. Large potato pancakes are not very good for a festive table - there is something rustic and everyday in them. At the same time, without begging for the taste of potato pancakes, make them small - no more than 7-8 cm in diameter and let them replace a slice of baguette or butter roll.
4. Delicious red caviar + pieces of butter roll fried in a dry pan + whipped butter + sea or black salt. It's very simple, but the classics are timeless and always good, especially if all the ingredients of the sandwich and toast are of the highest quality.
5. Delicious red caviar + fresh cucumbers + curd cream cheese + green adjika + Greek yogurt + green onions. Combine cheese, adjika, yogurt and very finely chopped green onions until smooth. Long-fruited cucumbers can be cut into pieces and make a "cup" from each. Fill each with cheese mass and top with a generous serving of delicious red caviar. So an almost instant cold snack is ready.

Option to serve red caviar with light salted salmon, eggs, pancakes and cucumbers