Grey mullet bottarga, tuna bottarga, sea urchin, sea products

Sardinian Bottarga,
Gold dust with that sweet smell of the sea

Amber coloured nectar gifted to gourmet tables by Neptune, the god of the sea, or rather by nature, often so generous with its unexpected bounties.

Our Bottarga

Grey mullet bottarga, a product obtained by salting and curing the roe sac of fish belonging to the grey mullet family. The colour of the bottarga can vary from light to dark amber, depending on where the fish originates from and where it has fed. The origins of bottarga production date back to the Nuragic period when Phoenician settlements were established on Sardinia between 1000 and 500 BC. They introduced bottarga to the local populations and taught the fishermen how to salt and cure the roe.

Preparation

The roe arrives at the processing facility freshly frozen and ready to be taken through the various preparation phases by our experts, who process it manually in accordance with tradition. The initial steps involve washing the roe sac and checking that it is perfectly intact, the roe is then carefully cleaned to remove any veins and impurities that may potentially leave an unpleasant taste, enable microbial growth or alter the appearance of the finished product.

Salting

The salting phase, strictly conducted using only sea salt from the saltworks of southern Sardinia, involves covering and massaging the roe with the salt and leaving it to rest for a period of time which varies depending on the size of the roe. This enables any water and excess liquid to be extracted from inside the roe sac, and allows the salt to penetrate the sac as it dissolves which contributes to naturally preserving the product.

Washing

The excess salt is carefully cleaned away from the roe under running water, so as to make sure it is perfectly ready for the subsequent phases. During this phase a further quality and aesthetic compliance check of the roe is conducted, it is of vital importance that the roe remains intact in order to ensure the final product meets the high standards of quality we set ourselves.

Pressing

Once the salting and washing phases are complete, the roe is then placed in layers on wooden trays and pressed to force out the excess brine and liquid (a process commonly referred to as “purging”). Pressing also offers another important benefit, it helps to prevent tiny cavities from forming inside the product and facilitates the uniform penetration and permeation of the salt. If this doesn't happen the product ends up not being cured uniformly, with different layers and variations, with negative consequences for its preservation.

Shaping

During this phase each roe is carefully and skilfully shaped by the hands of our experts. We call it the bottarga's “cuddling” phase during which, whilst still fresh and soft, it is massaged until it takes on the ideal shape for curing. The shaping process continues and completes the pressing phase, making sure the roe is perfectly uniform and thus ensuring it is ready for curing.

Curing

Soon after the pressing is complete the roes are laid on stainless steel microperforated panels, which allow air to uniformly pass through them, and transferred into curing chambers where the microclimatic conditions are maintained at a constant level. The curing times vary depending on a number of factors, such as the season, the external atmospheric conditions and the size of the roes. The larger the roes, the longer the curing period. The roes are also turned several times to ensure perfect, uniform curing.

Selection

Once they've been cured the roes have a wonderful amber colour throughout and the membrane is perfectly adherent… now we can finally call it BOTTARGA. Only the most beautiful become the most flavoursome, this explains why in this phase we're so careful to eliminate the roes whose shape isn't perfect, or that do not meet the exacting standards of quality and aesthetics that our customers have come to expect from us.

Packaging

Even today, bottarga is sometimes sold as it is on completion of the curing phase. The problem in this case is that natural oxidation significantly darkens the product and the exposure to the air continues the curing process, thus rendering the product even harder. Our packaging process ensures the bottarga is vacuum sealed as soon as the product has reached perfection in terms of aesthetics and quality, after which the product is constantly maintained and transported at low temperature all the way to the supermarket shelves and to the kitchens of the finest restaurants.

Our grated bottarga

Naturally, our bottarga is also available in grated form. Obtained from roe which has been cured for longer compared to the product that is sold whole. Only once the moisture level in the roe has been carefully checked can it then be grated. The aim is to obtain a balanced product, not too dry and not too moist, so as to ensure it's at its very best.

Grating

The grating phase is an extremely delicate process that must be undertaken with the utmost care so as to ensure the unique flavours and fragrance of our golden yellow grated bottarga are perfectly preserved. To achieve this we use a grating or milling system which, unlike the “industrial cutters” used by most bottarga producers, does not stress or overheat the product, thus ensuring its colour, taste and fragrance remain unaltered. Moreover, our system separates the roe sac (the bottarga's external casing) from the eggs, this process leads to the creation of swarf (processing residue) which is then completely removed during the subsequent sifting phase.Inoltre il nostro sistema di macinatura separa la parte relativa alla sacca ovarica (involucro esterno della bottarga) dalle uova, questo processo crea dello sfrido (residuo di lavorazione) che viene completamente eliminato nella successiva fase di setacciatura.

Sifting

The grating process must be followed by the sifting phase which enables the removal of any remaining impurities contained in the roe sac, thus offering our customers a product that is free from impurities and capable of lifting fish dishes and salads to a whole new level, or that can simply be used to prepare the classic dish spaghetti alla bottarga.

Packaging

Our grated bottarga is packaged as soon as the grating and sifting phases have been completed, in so doing the unique fragrance and flavour of our bottarga is preserved at its very best. Our grated bottarga is packaged in glass jars of 40 g or 70 g and in vacuum sealed bags of 50 g, 100 g or 250 g.

Our Company

We are young, entrepreneurial and driven. Our hands are our strength, achieving the highest levels of quality and reliability is our objective: this is the slogan of Blue Marlin and the secret of our success.

Because ever since 1996, the year the company was born, We have had just one purpose: to shine a spotlight on one of the most mouth-watering specialities our island has to offer, bottarga.