Let's figure it out, is it possible to eat squid caviar? Why are there constant debates on this topic?
Squid is a delicacy that is sold in any modern hypermarket and supermarket. Depending on the form of release, the squid carcass can be purchased either raw, frozen, or canned or smoked. People think about the edibility of its caviar after they cut up the defrosted mollusk. And often, after a long search for the truth on various forums, such as mail.ru Questions and Answers, they throw “inedible squid eggs” into the trash.
Product properties
Squid caviar can be safely called a unique product. Its composition of vitamins, microelements and minerals is very rich. And this is with low calorie content. This product has a number of properties that are not inherent in fish.
The taste of the eggs is pleasant, has a mild fishy taste and smell. The human body accepts this product well. Caviar consists of pure, healthy and easily digestible protein. Consumption of such eggs helps strengthen the immune system, promotes cell restoration and even prevents the development of cancer. Squid caviar can stop the growth of cancer cells. Only because of this property can you include it in your diet.
This product can be prepared in different ways, it goes well with other products and is used as an independent dish. Caviar can be eaten during fasting and when following a diet.
Eggs contain a large amount of iodine, which is necessary for every person. Lack of iodine provokes the development of dangerous diseases. If you regularly consume squid caviar, you can improve your memory and normalize your hormonal levels.
Cephalopods as food
Squids are ten-armed cephalopods. Since they are predators, they have suction cups on their tentacles for obtaining food and protection from enemies. Those that are edible reach an average size of 30-50 cm. But there are also huge, 20-meter cephalopods that can rarely be found on the shelves of a regular store. Squids have two eyes. In structure they are close to vertebrates. All together, this gives excellent focusing on the object and the ability to more accurately determine the distance to it.
The color of squids varies and can change when exposed to electric current. These bibranched mollusks have a torpedo-shaped body and move using a reactive method of movement (throwing out water from the body absorbed specifically for this purpose). There are “wings” on the sides that help with swimming. They live everywhere, even in northern waters, but, quite naturally, they prefer warm places - China, Japan, Vietnam, the Falkland Islands.
Salad for special occasions with sturgeon, squid and caviar
koolinar.ru30 min |
krisenok |
Ingredients (11) |
100 g cold smoked sturgeon |
4 medium squid carcasses |
7 chicken eggs (whites only) |
2 tbsp. red caviar |
half a head of sweet salad onion |
For refueling: |
125 ml natural yogurt (see recipe https://www.koolinar.ru/recipe/view/115610) |
2 tsp mustard |
Salt, pepper, sugar, lemon juice - to taste |
To submit: |
Black caviar, sprig of dill |
Show all (11) |
In the form of cutlets
Fish cutlets are a very tasty, appetizing and healthy delicacy. It's easy to prepare. The following components are needed:
- main component – 400 g;
- one egg;
- semolina – 3 tbsp;
- baking soda slaked with vinegar – 1 tsp;
- spices, salt.
Cooking algorithm:
- Beat the mixture with a fork and remove the film. Add salt and pepper.
- Mix with egg, semolina, slaked soda. Let it sit for about 10 minutes for the semolina to swell.
- Pour sunflower oil into a hot frying pan.
- Spoon the product out with a spoon. Fry for five minutes on all sides until a golden brown crust appears.
- Place cooked cutlets on paper towels to remove excess fat.
Serve with mashed potatoes, any kind of side dish, vegetable salads. Can be served with sour cream. If semolina is not available, you can replace it with flour. It takes about half an hour to prepare the dish. Calorie content is 1000 Kcal, protein – 125 g, fat – 39 g, carbohydrates – 43 g.
How to cook
- Place the squid roe in a bowl and add salt as you would salt any other dish (or a little more). Cover with a lid and put in the refrigerator. You can try after a day (or after 12 hours).
- Serve as a sandwich (on a white bun/loaf with butter). Or just on a slice of loaf, without butter it’s also very tasty!
I didn’t eat it right away and forgot about it for 2-3 days. But the result was amazing. Delicious!
Out of 6 squids, one had caviar. Surprising and very nice!
Caviar from 1 squid, there is quite a lot of it, more than from 1 herring.
Squid caviar on a slice of white loaf. Everything that they managed to take off when they came to their senses. It was so delicious that we simply forgot about the photo.
Other squid recipes
Squid salad with potatoes, pickled cucumber and corn;
Squid on a wire rack in the oven;
Squid in Greek sauce;
Lenten squid stuffed with rice (squid are sea creatures, not fish, they are allowed to be eaten during Lent).
White and pink squid caviar, tasty, although quite dull.
Salted squid caviar on a bun
Sea kale
What's the benefit?
Advice | |
Kelp is sold dried or canned. Both dry and canned seaweed retain the entire set of vitamins, so what to prefer is a matter of taste. If you opt for dried seaweed, you will have to do a little fiddling before eating the seaweed. First, rinse the dry raw material in cold water and soak for 10–12 hours for swelling (5–6 parts of water are taken for 1 part of kelp), then bring the contents of the saucepan to a boil and do not remove from the stove for another 15–20 minutes. Boil the cabbage twice more, changing the broth. This three-fold approach significantly improves the taste of the kelp. |
If you don’t have time to stand at the stove, feel free to take canned cabbage. Just make sure that the jar is not wrinkled. By reacting with damaged packaging, kelp loses its beneficial qualities.
The main wealth of kelp is iodine. Without this microelement, proper metabolism is impossible. Products containing iodine must be present in the menu of residents of megacities, because this element is capable of removing heavy metal salts and other substances that pollute the air of large cities from the body.
Those whose work involves mental work should not forget about kelp - iodine is necessary for concentration and good memory.
How to choose?
Before buying cabbage, inquire about its origin. The most useful algae are those that grow in the cold White and Barents Seas.
They contain much more vitamins and microelements than kelp from tropical waters.
Pay attention to the composition indicated on the label.
Seaweed does not require artificial preservatives.
At home, open the jar and carefully examine its contents. If it is a complete mess, the seaweed is so soft that it falls apart into pieces at any touch, the product is spoiled.
High-quality seaweed, even in canned form, should be elastic, but not hard. The brine is supposed to be transparent, with a pleasant marinade smell.
Fried squid with garlic and nuts
- 300 g squid;
- 2–3 cloves of garlic;
- 60–70 g walnuts or other nuts;
- 1–2 sprigs of dill;
- 20–30 g butter;
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil;
- salt - to taste;
- black pepper - to taste.
Place the squid in boiling water for a couple of seconds, peel and rinse. Then cut into pieces. Chop the garlic and nuts. Chop the greens.
Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat and fry the squid for 2-3 minutes. Place on a plate and cool.
In another frying pan, heat vegetable oil over medium heat. Fry the garlic and nuts for 15–20 seconds. Salt, pepper and mix with herbs. Pour the nut-garlic sauce over the squid and serve.
Types of diets
- For gout, table No. 6 is prescribed.
- Gout + overweight – table No. 6E
Diet No. 6 involves limiting or eliminating the consumption of foods containing purines, oxalic acid and table salt. The diet necessarily includes alkalizing foods - milk, fruits and vegetables. The volume of fluid is increased, the intake of fats and proteins is slightly reduced.
MEAT:
Boiled turkey, rabbit, chicken.
VEGETABLES:
Potatoes, carrots, cabbage, zucchini, eggplant, cucumbers, beets.
DAIRY PRODUCTS:
Milk, kefir, fermented baked milk, yogurt, acidophilus, low-fat cottage cheese, cheese, yogurt, butter.
FRUIT:
Apples, pears, apricots, plums, oranges.
DESSERT:
Marmalade, marshmallow, jam, marshmallow, honey.
GREATS:
Buckwheat, oatmeal, rice.
What does the product look like
Squid caviar looks very unusual. It is different from the eggs of any other marine inhabitant. The eggs have an oval shape, which is very similar to an egg - the oval is more elongated towards the top.
The eggs are colored pink with beige elements; they are translucent and shimmer beautifully in the light. This product has a slight stickiness, which is typical for fish caviar. Because of this, it can be compared to pink mush.
In some cases, the eggs are white. This is considered a variant of the norm. But a product with a yellow tint is unsuitable for consumption because it is stale. If such a product is found in a squid, it means that the mollusk itself is also stale.
Cooking methods
If there is caviar in the squid, you should not throw it away just because you have never cooked or tried such a product before. Squid roe may surprise you, but it can also be a disappointment. In any case, it’s worth trying to cook it and then you will know for sure whether you like this product.
- Baked squid caviar is an unusual dish that definitely needs to be tried. It's difficult to compare it to anything else because it doesn't resemble any other food. We will need caviar, 2 tablespoons of sunflower or olive oil, a little lemon juice and spices to taste. The caviar will need to be thoroughly washed and marinated in lemon juice. Leave the product in this form to marinate for 5 minutes. At this time, mix the oil, salt and spices, we get a marinade that will be used for baking. Lubricate the caviar with the resulting marinade, place it in a mold, pour over any good white wine (2 tablespoons will be enough) and place in the oven over low heat, 18 minutes will be enough.
- In this recipe, squid roe will be used as a filling for the meatballs. The eggs will need to be ground first using a mortar. To prepare the filling you will need to take 30 g of caviar, mashed potatoes made from 5 potatoes, an onion and herbs. Mix all these ingredients and add crushed crackers to them. Place the prepared filling into meatballs and fry in oil.
- Squid roe can simply be fried with onions in olive oil. At the end of cooking, you can add wine vinegar (a few drops) to make the dish more piquant. This snack goes well with strong alcohol.
- Squid eggs can be salted, just like regular caviar of any fish. True, the taste will be special and not everyone will like it. In any case, you need to try it and then draw conclusions. It is in salted form that caviar can be stored for a long time.
- Squid caviar can be added to any salad that contains fish. This will not spoil the taste of the dish, it will only become richer and more interesting.
To prepare the casserole you will need to take 0.5 kilograms of squid caviar. For this amount of product you need:
- two onions;
- 200 grams of bread and the same amount of milk;
- 2 tablespoons oil;
- 250 grams of tomato-based sauce;
- salt, pepper and other spices are added to taste.
Chop the onion and fry it, add it to the caviar and bread, previously soaked in milk. We pass this mass through a meat grinder, season it with sauce and spices. Grease a baking dish with oil, spread the mixture and sprinkle breadcrumbs on top. Bake in the oven at moderate temperature.
This dish goes well with potatoes: fried, baked, boiled new or mashed potatoes.
To prepare the pie you will need the following ingredients:
- squid caviar in the amount of 750 g;
- 2 eggs;
- bread, crackers can also be used (2 slices or 5 tablespoons);
- anchovy paste - 1 tablespoon;
- lemon juice;
- oil for lubricating the mold;
- mashed potatoes - 250 g;
- spices to taste.
The caviar is placed in boiling water and boiled for 10 minutes. All ingredients, except mashed potatoes, are mixed and placed in a greased form. Mashed potatoes are placed on top and the pie is placed in the oven. Baking lasts half an hour over medium heat.
See below for the beneficial properties of squid.
Shrimps
Advice | |
If you throw shrimp into cold water, it won't taste good. It is better to put them in boiling water and cook for no more than 3-4 minutes, so that at least some of the vitamins reach their destination and do not remain at the bottom of the pan. |
You can give shrimp a special taste and aroma if before cooking you keep them (after washing them!) in a marinade made from a mixture of olive oil, pepper, cloves and bay leaf.
What's the benefit?
Shrimp are rich in B vitamins (needed by the nervous system), vitamin A (needed by the eyes), vitamin D (without it, bones become fragile and mood becomes depressed). And in terms of microelements content, shrimp are not inferior to squid.
How to choose?
There is a general rule: the colder the water in which the shrimp lives, the smaller the size of the mollusk and the more pronounced its taste. For example, in Europe, small pink shrimp from the cold waters of the Atlantic are considered the best, while in our country they prefer large king or striped tiger shrimp, native to Indonesia, Thailand or the United Arab Emirates. The latter have a less intense taste, but, as they say, a large piece makes your mouth happy.
The only drawback of large shrimp is that before you put them in your mouth, you need to gut all the insides.
If shrimp are sold prepackaged, their size can be determined by caliber - this parameter means the number of shrimp per kilogram (the 100/120 marking means that there are from 100 to 120 cephalopods in a kilogram bag) and should be indicated on the packaging.
Advice | |
It is not at all necessary to limit yourself to expensive red caviar and almost inaccessible black caviar. The caviar of other fish - whitefish, pike, halibut, pollock, cod - is not inferior to the red and black "aristocracy" in terms of the amount of useful substances. |
What's the benefit?
Caviar proteins are absorbed by the body much more easily than meat and fish proteins, which is why caviar is often recommended for weakened and convalescent people. In addition to protein, caviar lovers receive polyunsaturated fatty acids, which protect against cardiovascular diseases, serve to prevent cancer, improve vision and reduce the level of bad cholesterol. By the way, due to the high content of the latter, many people refuse caviar. And completely in vain. Along with dietary cholesterol, fish eggs also contain lecithin, a substance that lowers cholesterol levels in the blood. Therefore, the “harmfulness” of caviar is, as it were, balanced by its “usefulness”.