How do black caviar

• How do black caviar

During a trip to Saudi Arabia, I stumbled upon a real treasure! In Dammam is sturgeon farm, which manages Russian Yuri Alexandrovich Kitashin. He created it and together with his son. The farm is unique in that is located right in the desert, water is drawn from wells, is run on the concrete pool a few times and then merges into the desert. All built literally with their own hands.

The first time the farm has given spawn in August 2006. Yuri Alexandrovich arrived in Saudi Arabia four years earlier. Technology unique, much has been done according to the drawings of Yuri Alexandrovich. Once again, just imagine, in the desert in Saudi Arabia Russian peasant breeds sturgeon and makes the world's best caviar.

Caviar and fish from this farm is very much appreciated. For example, it buys the royal family of Saudi Aravan, it comes to the most expensive shops of Moscow. For caviar from this farm is worth literally turn. The advertisement Yuri does not need as many years, the demand exceeds the supply. Who is most difficult to decide whom to sell the eggs. And then came an order from the Royal Family to 2 tons and the farm all year yields - 4. The rest of the clients also can not be denied.

In this post I'll show you the farm and tell you how to breed sturgeon and caviar do.

Step one: the birth of a new life.

There is a selection of suitable female and male sturgeon. They are placed in a special mode: water temperature at 35-40 days decreased from 24 degrees to 4-6 (this hibernating mode), then increased to 16 degrees, and within about 30 hours of ovulation. Fish injected carp pituitary or bream, then it pruned small knife peritoneum (the fish roe is located directly in the abdominal cavity). Using tubes with a syringe at the end of the male taken sperm in the female-calf. In fact, the fish are milked like a cow. Caviar is mixed with sperm and transferred to trays. After 6-7 days after the onset of incubation, larvae appear. They are aged 2 weeks without feeding, feeding on its own protein. After 10 days, the larvae reach a weight of 700-800 mg.

The sturgeon lives in salt water, and multiplies - fresh. In nature, produced very low: of the calf eats fish often die due to environment. For example, we have only 2% of the fry reach the Caspian Sea.

Pituitary - cerebral appendage generating hormones that regulate growth, metabolism and reproductive function. 1 gram sturgeon pituitary worth 130-150 dollars, but it is very difficult to find in the sturgeon's head. Pituitary dried, aged in acetone, triturated, then diluted with water and injected fish.

Here bred fry.

Step two: after 4 months the fry reach a weight of 150-160 grams and transferred to a nearby shop for up to 30 tons of sturgeon, ie 8000 head. In general, the farm is being strict accounting of the number of fish. This unit sturgeon live to their first birthday. By 8 months of a hybrid of Russian and Siberian sturgeon weighs 1200 grams and in vivo - 200-300 grams.

Hybrid Russian and Siberian sturgeon to 3 years weighs 10 kg. Russian stunted (1.5, his weight is only 3.5 kg), but catching up on the 4-5 year life.

Yuri himself has designed and developed a unique water filtration system.

The process installation recirculation circuit (RAS).

1. Swimming with fish, dirty water from which goes to the cleaning unit. Besides fish faeces extracts ammonia and carbon dioxide through the gills.

2. The cleaning unit:

a) mechanical drum filter which removes suspended matter: fish feces and uneaten feed (if any), b) a biological filter consisting of a plastic substrate filler (small plastic wheels). Water passing through the filter is cleaned by bacteria from ammonia and nitrite, c) ultraviolet treatment, where the water disinfection, d) aerokanal where water via bubbling air purified of carbon dioxide and saturated with oxygen, d) a pump supplying a clean and oxygenated water to the fish in the pools. Water in the cleaning process is heated or cooled to a desired temperature. Automated management, in different sections of the ultrasound sensors are oxygen levels, temperature sensors, movement of water. In case of emergency (the pump stops, oxygen levels fall) an alarm is triggered and takes all necessary steps to correct the problem.

Step Three: here the fish lives up to his death. Since it is already possible to take the eggs. Caviar produced all year round. Herd inspected once 3-4 months, during which time it becomes black from the gray.

In the processing 3 female population, as they provide the eggs for 2.5 years. Total annual farm produces 4-6 tons of caviar and 90 tons of meat.

By the way, Yuri A. complained to the system of guest workers in Saudi Arabia set. Entrepreneur prepares an application for workers, and he brought them. However, neither the skills nor the nature, nor even knowledge of the language did not play any role. That is, you can not conduct an interview and choose the employee.

Now the fish will do, "ultrasound"

Sturgeon barely hold 2 guy. At this time, the monitor can see the eggs, you can also determine the sex of the fish.

Then pierce the fish special tube and take out a few eggs to check the quality. If everything is OK, the fish are prepared for cutting.

By the way, the cost of building a farm of 20 million dollars. only in the fifth year you can get the first spawn.

Fourth stage: pre-sale preparation.

There washed fish are selected for reproduction (and then returns to the first step) or for meat and eggs.

If the fish is intended for slaughter, she gets on the head with a hammer. Then he removed the gills, and sturgeon are suspended by the tail to the glass all the blood. Then she goes to recycling.

And this is just the place where the fish is processed. Here, a large smokehouse. Where do the meat hot and cold smoked balyk, bokovniki sturgeon sausages and sausages

Engineer

In this container is brought here from sturgeon pre-processing plant.

Then they are cut and take out the eggs!

Yellow - is fat. First washed caviar

It happens that a lot of fat.

Then the eggs through the grid is separated from the fat and films.

Tools

Next, the eggs are washed 3 more times. The eggs absorb water, so it is necessary to do everything very quickly.

Put the eggs in a bowl.

And add a special blend - salt and preservative. All the mix.

granular sturgeon caviar is not subjected to heat treatment, and its shelf life is very short. In the wild sturgeon fishing season lasts all year round, so there is a problem: how to maintain the gastronomic quality calf for at least several months (from the end of one fishing season to another)? In very distant Soviet years to increase the shelf life of caviar began to use preservatives, antiseptics: boric acid and sodium tetraborate. Because of this caviar could be stored for up to 4 months - this barely enough from the spring to the autumn fishing season. USSR delivered hundreds of tons of a sturgeon caviar abroad. Later, technology has been exported to Iran and other countries, where the mixture of preservatives called "borax".

All would be good, but there is a lack of borax: it is a carcinogen. The poison in the king's delicacies and it is impossible to eliminate the use of this poison. To this day, in the sanitary requirements of the European Union, the United States and some other countries, the use of boric acid and its derivatives in food are strictly prohibited for one exception: sturgeon caviar. Every year for decades Chief Sanitary Doctor of the USSR prolonged the period of 1 year permit for the use of borax in our country, in the hope that within a year will be able to still come up with something to replace it. Finally in 1994, after many years of Russian scientists have found a safe, effective alternative to borax - a dietary supplement LIV-1. The problem of preserving the fine bouquet of fresh sturgeon caviar has been solved, and the shelf life of caviar has increased up to 9 months.

A few years later LIV-1 was included in the Standard "caviar sturgeon", and thanks to its implementation of Russia became the first country in the world to completely eliminate the use of carcinogenic borax in sturgeon caviar and, moreover, to prohibit its use in all foods ( both produced in Russia and imported).

Sturgeon is on the rise (mainly in rich countries). Some producers are still lays eggs in borax, calling it "Iranianmethod", but at the same time every year more and more companies abroad use safer alternatives developed in Russia: LIV-1 and Vareks-11. For example the farm where I was. Thus, in this business, renowned for excellent sturgeon caviar, there was an advanced Russian trinity: Russian raw materials (Russian sturgeon), Russian Technologies (YA Kitashin) and Russian preservative (LIV-1).

The eggs may remain grease particles or film.

They removed

Then the eggs are placed in a special jar and cover with a lid. Pressed caviar. To remove all the moisture, the bank has put under the press.

That is such a bank is kept for another month. Caviar is dried.

The order for the Saudi royal family.

This is all technical packaging. Then they take out the eggs of these cans and packed in jars already stores.

And now the fun. caviar costs, when you get it from fish is only 10 dollars per kg! The most expensive in the calf - the jar. Yes, all these beautiful glass jars are actually the most expensive caviar. In the process of packaging and handling eggs more expensive in 10 times - the road preservative, expensive banks who bought in Italy. At the exit from the factory kilogram of caviar is worth $ 100 already. And then sell it. Price for wholesale customers at the factory in an average of $ 1,000 per kilogram. Well, in our stores caviar starts already cost $ 3,000 - shipping, customs and wrapping stores. A little help about himself Yuri Kitashina. He is a former military man, 20 years served in the Soviet Army in the early '90s, when all we have collapsed, went first to Syria, then to Saudi Arabia. In Russia, it was a lot of attempts to open the same farm, but all either deceived or sent. I invested in the construction of farm local sheikh, so that the gold mountain on this matter, Yuri did not earn. In general, the return on this business 10 years.