Among the total shortage of food products in the Soviet Union, there were separate names of products that not only could be found on the shelves in almost any store, but they also had a unique taste. These products include canned food called squash caviar. By the way, and at its cost, it was available to everyone. Squash caviar, like in a store, is still remembered for its taste, which cannot be surpassed even by home-made caviar, which is prepared from fresh, young zucchini harvested in your garden. Many people, in an attempt to restore the very taste of caviar, have tried many recipes, but in vain. The caviar that is now sold in stores cannot be compared, according to connoisseurs, with caviar from Soviet-era zucchini. Some, trying to recreate the same taste, find caviar recipes according to GOST, but even in this case, many do not always get the original taste.
What is the mystery here?
The main components of zucchini caviar
First of all, it is worth noting that the GOST did not indicate the recipe and the technology for preparing squash caviar. This document usually considered the requirements for the quality of initial and final products, for packaging, storage conditions, and more. So, GOST 51926 -2002 describes all the above characteristics that are relevant to the manufacture of any vegetable caviar. And specific recipes and technological processes were usually described in detail in special documents.
In order to best answer the question of how to cook zucchini caviar according to GOST, it is necessary, first of all, to consider what real zucchini caviar should consist of. Below is a table in which all the main components of caviar are given as percentages in relation to the total volume of the finished dish.
Components | Percentage of |
|---|---|
Fried zucchini | 77,3 |
Roasted carrots | 4,6 |
Roasted white roots | 1,3 |
Onion fried | 3,2 |
Fresh greens | 0,3 |
Salt | 1,5 |
Sugar | 0,75 |
Pepper black ground | 0,05 |
Ground allspice | 0,05 |
Tomato paste 30% | 7,32 |
Vegetable oil | 3,6 |
As can be seen from the table, the composition of zucchini caviar includes white roots and greens. It is these components that are usually rarely used in the manufacture of caviar at home. But it is the white roots, and even fried in oil, that give the zucchini caviar that amazing, barely perceptible mushroom taste and aroma, which, apparently, brought zest to the taste range of store-bought caviar of ancient times. The composition of white roots according to the recipe included parsnips, parsley root and celery root. Moreover, the percentage of parsnips was twice as high as that of parsley and celery. The greens included in the squash caviar consisted of leaf parsley, dill and leaf celery. At the same time, the content of parsley was twice as high as that of dill and celery.
For those who find it difficult to translate the percentage of components into real weight values, the following is the amount of product in grams that must be taken to prepare caviar according to GOST, for example, from 3 kg of zucchini:
- Carrots – 200 g;
- White roots -60 g (parsnip -30 g, parsley root and celery root – 15 g each);
- Onion -160 g;
- Greens – 10 g (parsley -5 g, dill and celery 2,5 g each);
- Salt – 30 g;
- Sugar – 15 g;
- Black pepper and allspice ground 1 g each;
- Tomato paste 30% – 160 g;
- Vegetable oil – 200 ml.
It must be understood that all weight characteristics are given in the recipe already for vegetables fried in oil. Therefore, if initially most vegetables were taken by weight in their raw form, then since they will decrease in mass after frying and stewing, then the amount of salt, sugar and tomato paste will also need to be somewhat reduced. Since these three components are placed last in the manufacturing process.
This moment is very important. Because when you cook zucchini caviar according to GOST, you need to choose the largest, fully ripe fruits, with hard seeds and peel. It is their pulp that has the richest taste, which is transferred to the finished dish.
Technology of preparation
Since mature zucchini are used to prepare caviar, at the first stage it is necessary to remove the skin from them and remove all the seeds. The remaining pulp is cut into small pieces, no more than 1-2 cm in length.
Carrots and onions are peeled and cut into small cubes, white roots can be grated or chopped in any convenient way, as they can be quite hard and viscous.
Oil is poured into the pan and heated to a temperature of at least 130 °, so that white smoke comes from it, and only then pieces of zucchini are fried in it until golden brown. If there are quite a lot of zucchini, it is better to fry in portions to improve quality and taste. Fried zucchini are put in another pan, a few tablespoons of water are added to them, and they are stewed until cooked (softened).
Cooked and chopped other vegetables (carrots, white roots and onions) are fried sequentially in the same pan where the zucchini was fried before. Then, water is added to them, and they are also stewed until fully cooked.
Interestingly, when making squash caviar, as in a store, using the GOST rules, there is not much difference in whether the vegetables are fried individually or all together. Both options are allowed. But vegetables fried separately from each other have a richer taste.
In the next step, all the vegetables must be combined together and chopped using a blender or food processor. Then they are placed in a saucepan with a thick bottom and put on fire. Finely chopped tomato paste is added to the zucchini caviar and everything is boiled for 15-20 minutes with mandatory stirring. At the last stage, salt, sugar are put in the pan and both types of pepper and caviar are boiled for another 10 minutes until the spices are completely dissolved.
If you think that the caviar is too thin and are thinking about how to make it thicker, then you can use the following option. A few tablespoons of wheat flour are calcined in a dry frying pan until golden brown. Gradually add the resulting flour to the finished caviar, constantly stirring and continuing to heat.
While still hot, caviar must be laid out in small sterilized jars (preferably no more than 0,5 l) and sterilized for about 40-45 minutes. Roll up with sterilized lids, turn over, wrap and leave to cool for a day in this form.
It should be borne in mind that the real taste of store-bought squash caviar according to GOST is obtained only after the product has completely cooled, after about 24 hours. Therefore, at first it is advisable to postpone a certain amount in order to be able to try it in a day. If the taste is completely satisfied, then you can already prepare for the winter according to this recipe in larger quantities.
Cooking caviar from zucchini according to this recipe is not so difficult, but on the other hand, you will get a taste of the product that even the older generation who grew up in the Soviet era remembers. And there was something in him, if many still cannot forget him.
