Stages of Red Caviar Production
Have you ever wondered why salmon caviar is such an expensive product? The answer lies in the complex, multi-stage production technology, the first step of which is the extraction of caviar. This is followed by sorting, processing, and salting. The final step is the packaging of the product.
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Extraction of Red Caviar
The main fishing areas for red caviar are the Pacific Ocean, the Sea of Okhotsk, and the Bering Sea. Fishing is highly developed in both Russia (Kamchatka, Sakhalin, and Khabarovsk region) and the USA (Alaska). Fishing is carried out using trawl nets, gillnets, and other fishing gear available to salmon fishing vessels. The caviar season begins in June and lasts until October.
Fishing usually takes place in coastal areas where fish gather to ascend rivers for spawning. This significantly facilitates caviar extraction. Nevertheless, there are difficulties here too – the caviar must be removed within 2-3 hours to prevent spoilage. Salting and packaging must also not be delayed. If immediate salting is not possible, the caviar is frozen to extend its shelf life.
How is Caviar Produced?
The faster the caviar is removed from the fish, the better its quality. Therefore, processing takes place directly on board – on trawlers or so-called "factory ships." The caviar is washed and sorted with seawater, while the fish is further processed and the offal is discarded. Caviar from different fish species must not be mixed, so the roe sacs (yastiks) are separated by salmon species. Roe sacs are natural membranes that prevent the eggs from moving freely within the fish.
To remove the roe sacs, connective tissue, and inferior grains, special screening machines, called "grokhotki," are used. The eggs are sieved out by vibration. Typically, they pass through two machines and are then passed over diagonally stretched gauze cloths, which remove residual impurities. After this screening process, the caviar is placed in tuzluk – a concentrated brine solution. At the same time, the final cleaning of the grains takes place. The ratio of caviar to tuzluk is 1:3. The salt content can be between 3 and 7%.
After 10-20 minutes in the salt bath, the caviar is placed in a centrifuge to remove excess liquid. This is followed by quality control, and a preservative is added. The finished caviar is filled into small plastic containers, sealed, and labeled before being sent to the factory for final packaging.
The more you know about red caviar and the basics of its production, the better you can choose the right product for yourself. Caviar production requires care and high effort. To enjoy the taste of premium caviar, strict adherence to technology and the hard work of many people are necessary.
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Caviar Production – How is Red Caviar Produced?
Article: How is red caviar obtained and produced? Stages of red caviar production.
