Red Salmon Caviar 8 Interesting Facts about Caviar

A Detailed Guide to Buying and Eating Red Caviar

When you want to add a touch of class and sophistication to your festival dinner or indulge in a decadent breakfast on a lazy weekend morning, our delicious wild salmon caviar can come to your rescue. If you are a caviar novice and would love to know more about what is red caviar, how it is different from black caviar, and how you can use our Alaskan salmon caviar in your recipes, keep reading our detailed guide on how to buy and eat red caviar!

What is Red Caviar?

Salmon caviar or red caviar is the cured eggs of salmon and is harvested from the bellies of female fish. Good quality salmon caviar is orangish-red in color with a glossy appearance. It has a slightly salty, sweet, and fishy taste and makes a trademark popping sound when you press it against the roof of your mouth with your tongue.

Red caviar is usually made from the following salmon species – Coho Salmon, Pink Salmon, Sockeye Salmon, Chum Salmon, and King Salmon. The caviar made from these red caviar fish differs from each other in the size of the pearls as well as flavor and color. Size-wise, Chum Salmon caviar will have the biggest pearls and Sockeye Salmon caviar will have the smallest with Coho and Pink Salmon Caviar falling somewhere in the middle. Color-wise, Chum Salmon is light orange while Sockeye Salmon has a darker reddish pigment. The flavor difference between the different types of red caviar is subtle but noticeable to true gourmet lovers of caviar. Pink Salmon Caviar is slightly sweet while King Salmon caviar and Chum Salmon caviar have a richer flavor.

Benefits of Red Caviar

The exquisite, jewel-like appearance and delicious taste of Alaskan red caviar may have made it a staple on party menus across the world, but that’s not all it is known for. Salmon caviar is also one of the healthiest foods known to man. It is extremely rich in Omega-3 fats, which not only support eye, heart, and brain health in adults but are also essential for brain and eye development in children.

Red caviar is also a good source of protein (almost double the amount in beef or cottage cheese at about 4g per serving), vitamin B12 (more than 50% of your recommended daily intake), and selenium (15% of your daily recommended intake).

How to Eat Red Caviar

Earlier, red caviar was usually served with other accompaniments such as crackers, bread, and a light, creamy spread, but don’t let that stop you from experimenting. You can eat red caviar in a variety of ways – from using it to elevate your modest toast and scrambled eggs breakfast to creating elaborate entrees that use red caviar for that little bit of extra oomph. You can even simply eat it out of the jar with a spoon! Just make sure that you do not bite into the pearls. Instead, press the pearls between your tongue and the roof of your mouth for maximum taste and enjoyment.

Red Caviar vs. Black Caviar

While red caviar comes from salmon, the term black caviar, or just caviar, is used to refer to the cured eggs (roe) of a sturgeon fish. When we refer to the cured roe from any other fish, we use the name of the fish it came from before “caviar” to differentiate it from caviar. As the name suggests, black caviar is black in color with smaller pearls and may cost more than a hundred dollars per ounce because mature sturgeon fish are extremely rare. The female sturgeon fish has to be at least 10 years old before it lays eggs, but drastic overfishing has led to a decline in their population and very few of them grow up to reach that age.

In comparison, red caviar is more affordable and easily available, which may be a reason for its growing popularity.

8 Interesting Facts about Caviar

• Caviar is one of the oldest delicacies known to man and was enjoyed by aristocrats and nobles even as far back as the 10^th
• Caviar is not as expensive as it once was, and its prices have come down in recent years.
• Caviar has a long shelf life. An unopened jar of caviar can be frozen for up to three months at home or stored in the refrigerator for up to a month. For ensuring safety and quality, store red caviar in the bottommost shelf of your refrigerator where the temperature will be the lowest.
• National Caviar Day is celebrated on July 18^th.
• The word caviar comes from the Turkish word “havyar.” It is called “ikura” in Japanese and “ikra” in Eastern Europe.
• Mother-of-pearl spoons are normally used for serving caviar because metal can oxidize the eggs. You can also use glass.
• The most expensive caviar in the world, which is also the most expensive food in the world, costs about 40,000 euros per kilogram.
• Caviar - both black and red – is usually graded by the size, color, and texture of the pearls and its flavor.

Where Can You Buy Wild Salmon Caviar?

If you are looking for places where you can find red caviar for sale, Global Seafoods sells some of the highest quality red caviar in the market today. Your local grocery store and specialty food store may also have salmon caviar for sale, but always make sure that you fully know you are buying. A lot of caviar sold in jars and cans in stores have preservatives in them. The cost of your red caviar can vary greatly depending on the type of fish from which it was sourced, where it was produced, and so on.

If you are interested, you can also make salmon caviar or red caviar at home from fresh salmon roe, but let’s warn you – it’s not easy. To make about a half pound of salmon caviar, you will need at least one pound of fresh salmon roe, which can be a little tricky to get. If you are very lucky, you may find fresh eggs inside the wild-caught salmon you bought from your local fisherman. But let’s be real, the chances of that happening are really rare! In addition, you have to be very careful not to use metal utensils when making caviar at home because the roe can get oxidized very quickly if it comes into contact with metal. Since tap water can also alter the taste of caviar, make sure to use clean, filtered water if you try to make salmon caviar at home.

Instead of going through all that trouble to make caviar at home, you can always buy pink salmon caviar, red caviar, or wild salmon caviar online from Global Seafoods. Our salmon caviar products are served in many fine restaurants and are a favorite with Japanese chefs who use them to prepare different types of sushi. We stand by our quality and promise the finest in caviar, fish, and other seafood products to our customers, which is why we offer a full refund  if you are not happy with your order for some reason.

Buy your wild salmon caviar today from Global Seafoods to start your beautiful caviar journey!

How to Make a Salmon Caviar or Red Caviar Appetizer

If you are wondering if you could use our Alaska red caviar to make a fancy appetizer that will impress your friends, the answer is yes! Here is a quick recipe for you to try.

Blinis with Red Caviar and Smoked Salmon

This easy, make-ahead appetizer pairs cocktail blinis with red caviar and smoked salmon and takes less than 20 minutes to put together. If you haven’t used blinis before, these are small Russian and Ukranian pancakes made from buckwheat flour and make an excellent base for canapés.

What you’ll need:

• 2 packs of frozen cocktail blinis
• 3 oz. smoked salmon, sliced
• 1 jar of Alaska red caviar
• 4 oz. crème fraiche
• Fresh dill sprigs, for garnish

Method:

• Preheat your oven at 400 F.
• Arrange the frozen blinis in a single layer on a baking tray and pop it into the oven for a maximum of four minutes to heat them through. Let it cool down.
• Cut the smoked salmon into small pieces.
• Add ½ teaspoon of crème fraiche on to each of the cooled blinis.
• Top half of the blinis with the Alaskan salmon caviar and the remaining with smoked salmon.
• Garnish each prepared canapé with a tiny sprig of dill.

Note: You can make this dish up to two hours in advance and store it in the refrigerator in a lidded container. Just remember to remove it from the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving to let it come to room temperature.

If blinis are not available where you live, you can also use baked potatoes for your canapés. All you have to do is slice potatoes into ¼” slices, coat them with olive oil, and then bake them in a preheated oven for 20-24 minutes at 400 F. Your delicious salmon caviar canapé base is ready!