Dried caviar: varieties, taste features, cooking method

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Not only beer connoisseurs appreciated the taste and splendor of fish snacks, one of which is dried caviar. And this is not accidental, because there is nothing more appetizing than this natural, tender, moderately s alty and very tasty product. Gourmets from all over the world treat this dish with special trepidation and in many countries it is considered a real delicacy.

A bit of history

According to ancient Roman sources, fish caviar was dried at the beginning of the 6th century, long before they mastered the methods of preparing sturgeon and salmon. In those days, it was especially appreciated by merchants and pilgrims for its specific taste, nutritional value and ability to be stored for a long time. They took caviar with them on long journeys, so the technology of its preparation soon spread to most of Europe.

In ancient Russia, this dish was known as “pressed caviar”. Unlike ancient Roman technologies, dried caviar of vobla, pike perch, pike, carp and other common fish was prepared bycrushing the yastyk and marinating it for a long time in its own juice. From this, the taste of the dish became sharp and spicy. Such a product was almost always present in the daily diet of many villages in Russia. However, over time, it somewhat lost its significance in Russian cuisine, and for some time they forgot about it, replacing it with sturgeon and salmon caviar.

What dried caviar do we know today

Today, in many specialized stores you can find a wide variety of unusual snacks. Often among them there are also various variations of caviar dishes. And if it is hardly possible to surprise anyone with the usual granular scattering of unborn salmon, then the s alted, pressed and dried delicacy is of general interest. Today, many of us are curious to know what botargo, galagan or tarama are - this is how different types of dried caviar of different fish species are called in Russia.

Modern technologies for preparing this kind of delicacies involve the use of s alted yastiks pressed into long strips under a heavy load. Long-term pickling of caviar with the addition of various spices and spices gives a special piquancy and brightness to the taste. In France, Sicily and Sardinia, after pressing and drying, the finished product is preserved in beeswax. However, in Russia, its production is increasingly limited to vacuum packaging or packaged in cardboard boxes and then sold by weight.

What Botargo is made of

Botargo is the common name for s alt-cured yastiks in European countries. Foreign manufacturers use noble mullet as the main raw material. Dried caviar of this fish contains a large amount of protein and trace elements. After drying, the product acquires a homogeneous structure and can be perfectly stored for up to six months. It is this dish that is appreciated by gourmets all over the world.

What is galagan and tarama

Sometimes there are similar products made from other types of fish in our stores. Most often you can find dried caviar of flounder, grenadier, cod and even pollock.

At home, many craftsmen s alt the ovaries of a wide variety of representatives of local reservoirs. Moreover, the dried product obtained from pike, bream, pike perch and vobla is considered the most delicious and nutritious.

People call bream and roach caviar tarama, and pike perch caviar - galagan. They have long been used in their menu by residents of certain places where rivers and lakes abound with fish. However, not every person who lives where water bodies are not so rich is destined to taste such delights. Since these products are in demand, some fish processing enterprises actively produce them and then supply them to specialized stores.

Cooking technology

In fact, the technology for preparing caviar of river fish is not too different from the preparation of overseas botargo: the caught individual is butchered, and whole, intact ovaries are taken out, washed, s alted and placed underpress. To remove excess s alt, pickled caviar is soaked for some time in clean water. Then they are taken out and dried in dry, dark rooms for several months. The result is a very tasty product that goes well with foamy drinks, and can be served as a separate dish.

Taste

According to the taste characteristics of different dried caviar (gourmet reviews testify to this) can be very different. So, for example, roach tarama is in no way inferior in taste and nutritional qualities to fish meat, and pike perch, although it does not have a special taste, goes well with beer.

One of the varieties of white caviar is a product obtained from the belly of a bream. In the old days, it was greatly appreciated for its amazingly delicate taste and excellent aroma.

Dried pike galagan needs to know how to cook - this is the only species that should be cleaned from the yastik film. However, if the caviar is properly processed, s alted and dried, it acquires an amber color and a crumbly texture. Such a dish was very much appreciated in Russia and was considered a royal delicacy.

Pollock is a dietary product, but the caviar of this fish is distinguished by a unique composition of nutrients. When dried, it has a dense structure with a pronounced marine smell. A little bitter. Gourmets appreciate such a product for its piquant taste and specific aroma.

Surely, many have heard about dried salmon caviar, however, for a number of reasons, only a few had a chance to try it. She is consideredtruly a real delicacy, and it is not so easy to acquire it. Nevertheless, grenadier caviar can become a good alternative to this expensive product. The product made from this ocean fish has a special fat content and tastes very similar to dried red caviar.

The absence of heat treatment during the preparation of any dried caviar snacks is a guarantee of maintaining the vitamin and mineral composition in combination with the original taste. However, dried caviar is a product that is eaten infrequently and little by little.