How to choose red caviar?

August 21, 2025

Red caviar is a very tasty and healthy delicacy product. However, as with any food, the quality can vary. Let's look at how to choose red caviar: What should you know about the product? What criteria should you use? How do you recognize a fake?

Types of Red Caviar

Red caviar differs in color and size of the grains:

Chinook salmon – red-orange, very large grains (7–9 mm). With a delicate casing and a slightly spicy taste.
Chum salmon – large, bright amber grains (5–7 mm). With a firm casing and a creamy taste.
Pink salmon – bright orange, medium-sized grains (3–5 mm). With a soft casing and a mild taste.
Coho salmon – bright red, small grains (2–3 mm). With a firm casing and a slightly bitter taste.
Sockeye salmon – dark red, small grains. With a firm casing and a hint of bitterness.
Trout – light orange, smallest grains (up to 2 mm). With a firm casing and a slightly bitter aftertaste.

The Best Red Caviar – How to Recognize It?

There are some recommendations on how to recognize good caviar already from the packaging:

Pay attention to the production and packaging date. The difference should not be more than 6 months.

Hold the jar up to the light. Make sure there are no burst grains.

Cloudy grains are considered inferior. If the caviar is labeled "first choice," the eggs must be intact and elastic, without membranes or blood traces. The optimal salt content is 3–3.5%.

Check the barcode. It should be registered exactly for this brand and match the product.

Read the ingredient list carefully. It includes salt and sorbic acid. Caviar must be stored in the refrigerator. Make sure the storage temperature does not exceed -4 °C.

Quality control of caviar in metal cans is more difficult than in glass containers. Therefore, glass packaging should be preferred. Otherwise, there is a risk of counterfeiting. When shaken, a can should not make gurgling sounds.

If it is loose caviar, it should be purchased in the first months after the fishing season (September–October). Later, preserved caviar is preferable. Due to additives and colorants, it is difficult to objectively assess the quality of loose goods. Nevertheless, you can test the smell: Fresh caviar smells pleasantly of fish; if this smell is absent, it is frozen goods; a strong, unpleasant smell indicates spoiled caviar.

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