Caviar

This article is about sturgeon roe. For other uses, see Caviar (disambiguation).

"Black caviar" redirects here. For the Australian racehorse, see Black Caviar.

Salmon roe (left) and sturgeon caviar (right) served with mother of pearl caviar spoons to avoid tainting the taste of the caviar.

The rarest and costliest caviar comes from the critically endangered beluga sturgeon that swim in the Caspian Sea

Caviar is a delicacy consisting of salt-cured fish-eggs of the Acipenseridae family. The roe can be "fresh" (non-pasteurized) or pasteurized, with pasteurization reducing its culinary and economic value.

Traditionally, the term caviar refers only to roe from wild sturgeon in the Caspian and Black Sea (Beluga, Ossetra and Sevruga caviars). Depending on the country, caviar may also be used to describe the roe of other fish such as salmon, steelhead, trout, lumpfish, whitefish, and other species of sturgeon.

Caviar is considered a delicacy and is eaten as a garnish or a spread.

Terminology

Beluga caviar

Russian and Iranian caviar tins: Beluga to the left, Ossetra in middle, Sevruga to the right

Ossetra caviar, salmon creme fraiche, potato shallot croquette, basil oil, egg whites and yolks

Trout roe with bread

According to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, roe from any fish not belonging to the Acipenseriformes species (including Acipenseridae, or sturgeon sensu stricto, and Polyodontidae or paddlefish) are not caviar, but "substitutes of caviar." This position is also adopted by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, the World Wide Fund for Nature, the United States Customs Service, and France.

The term is also used to describe dishes that are perceived to resemble caviar, such as "eggplant caviar" (made from eggplant or aubergine) and "Texas caviar" (made from black-eyed peas).

Varieties

The four main types of caviar are Beluga, Sterlet, Ossetra, and Sevruga. The rarest and costliest is from beluga sturgeon that swim in the Caspian Sea, which is bordered by Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan. Wild caviar production was suspended in Russia between 2008 and 2011 to allow wild stocks to replenish. Azerbaijan and Iran also allow the fishing of sturgeon off their coasts. Beluga caviar is prized for its soft, extremely large (pea-size) eggs. It can range in color from pale silver-gray to black. It is followed by the small golden sterlet caviar which is rare and was once reserved for Russian, Iranian and Austrian royalty. Next in quality is the medium-sized, gray to brownish osetra (ossetra), and the last in the quality ranking is smaller, gray sevruga caviar.

Cheaper alternatives have been developed from the roe of whitefish and the North Atlantic salmon. The American caviar industry got started when Henry Schacht, a German immigrant, opened a business catching sturgeon on the Delaware River. He treated his caviar with German salt and exported a great deal of it to Europe. At around the same time, sturgeon was fished from the Columbia River on the west coast, also supplying caviar. American caviar was so plentiful that it was given away at bars for the same reason modern bars give away peanuts - to make patrons thirsty. In the wake of overfishing, the harvest and sale of black caviar was banned in Russia in 2007. There was an unsuccessful effort to resume export (in 2010, limited to 150 kg).

Royal sturgeons

The British Royal family has held a long affinity with the sturgeon since 1324, when Edward II decreed it a Royal Fish, whereby all sturgeons found within the foreshore of the Kingdom are decreed property of the monarch. Today, in the British Isles there is only one producer of sturgeon caviar, Exmoor Caviar. Prior to starting caviar production in the United Kingdom, the company received a letter from Buckingham Palace confirming that the Queen would not extend the royal prerogative and that the sturgeons held by Exmoor Caviar would therefore remain the property of the company.

Suppliers

In the early 20th century, Canada and the United States were the major caviar suppliers to Europe; they harvested roe from the lake sturgeon in the North American midwest, and from the Shortnose sturgeon and the Atlantic sturgeon spawning in the rivers of the Eastern coast of the United States. Today the Shortnose sturgeon is rated Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List of endangered species and rated Endangered per the Endangered Species Act. With the depletion of Caspian and Black Sea caviar, production of farmed or "sustainable" caviar has greatly increased. As well as Canada and the United States, Uruguay has become a major producer and exporter. In particular, northern California is reported to account for 70% to 80% of U.S. production. In addition, a "no-kill" caviar harvesting technique has been developed in Germany and implemented in California.

In 2009, Iran was the world's largest producer and exporter of caviar, with annual exports of more than 300 tons, followed by Russia. Iranian expertise helped China produce ten tons of farmed caviar in 2013.

According to Eric Ripert, chef and proprietor of Le Bernadin, a leading seafood restaurant in New York, and Jean Francois Bruel, chef of Daniel, a Michelin-rated restaurant in Manhattan, the best caviar on the market is produced by Kibbutz Dan in Israel. The kibbutz produces 4 tons of caviar a year. The farm is fed by the Dan River, a tributary of the Jordan River.

Uruguay produces Black River caviar from Acipenser gueldenstaedtii (Russian surgeon). The production process is organic and 100% sustainable. The sturgeon is raised in 8,000 hectares of river delta, allowing the fish to live as conditions in the wild.

Italy is the world's largest producer and exporter of farmed caviar, delivering 25 tons in 2013.

The ban on sturgeon fishing in the Caspian Sea has led to the development of aquaculture as an economically viable means of commercial caviar production. Caviar Court, in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, was established in 2001 and began harvesting caviar in 2007. It produced about five tons per year in 2011 and is building a larger facility in Abu Dhabi hoping to produce 35 tons by 2015. In Spain, a fish farm called Caviar de Riofrio produces organic caviar. In Canada, a sturgeon farm called Target Marine Hatcheries is now the first producer of organic caviar in North America called "Northern Divine".

Ecology

Over-fishing, smuggling and pollution caused by sewage entry into the Caspian Sea have considerably reduced the sea's sturgeon population.

In September 2005, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service banned the import of Caspian Sea Beluga caviar to protect the endangered Beluga sturgeon; a month later, the ban was extended to include Beluga caviar from the entire Black Sea basin. In January 2006, the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) supported an international embargo on caviar export. In January 2007, this ban was partly lifted, allowing the sale of 96 tons of caviar, 15% below the official 2005 level. In July 2010, Russia and some other CIS countries restarted the export of caviar. The 2010 quotas allow for the export of three tons of beluga, 17 tons of sevruga and 27 tons of osetra. In September 2010, Kazakhstan launched a state monopoly brand, Zhaik Balyk, from the Kazakh word for the Ural River. Under the CITES agreement, Kazakhstan was granted the right to produce 13 out of the 80 tons allowed up until 28 February 2011.

Extraction

Commercial caviar production historically involved stunning the fish and extracting the ovaries. Another method is extracting the caviar surgically (C section) which allows the females to continue producing roe but this method is very painful and stressful for the fish and is illegal in some countries. Other farmers use a process called "stripping", which extracts the caviar from the fish without surgical intervention. A small incision is made along the urogenital muscle when the fish is deemed to be ready to be processed. An ultrasound is used to determine the correct timing. This is the most humane approach towards fish that is presently available but not all farmers use it due to the lack of knowledge in this field.

Caviar preparation

Preparation follows a sequence that has not significantly changed over the last century. First, the ovaries are removed from a sedated female sturgeon and passed through a sieve to remove the membrane. Freed roes are rinsed to wash away impurities. Roes are now ready to become caviar by adding a precise amount of salt for taste and preservation. The fresh product is tasted and graded according to quality. Finally, the golden eggs are packed into lacquer-lined tins that will be further processed or sold directly to customers.

Caviar substitutes

Caviar substitutes

In Scandinavia, a cheaper version of caviar is made from mashed and smoked cod roe (smörgåskaviar meaning "sandwich caviar") sold in tubes as a sandwich spread, however this Swedish "Felix Sandwich Caviar" cannot be called "caviar" in Finland. Instead it is called "Felix Roe Paste". When sold outside Scandinavia, the product is referred to as creamed smoked roe or in French as Caviar de Lysekil.

A sturgeon caviar imitation is a black or red coloured lumpsucker caviar sold throughout Europe in small glass jars. A more expensive alternative sold in Sweden and Finland is caviar from the vendace. In Finland caviars from burbot and common whitefish are also sold, but not as "caviar", since the word "caviar" is exclusively reserved for sturgeon roe.

There are also kosher and vegan caviar substitutes made of seaweeds such as Laminaria hyperborea. They closely resemble beluga caviar in appearance and are either used as a food prop for television and film, or enjoyed by vegetarians and other people throughout the world.

Another common technique is to use spherification of liquids to recreate the texture, albeit not the flavour, of caviar.

History of caviar production in Italy

The Caspian Sea had not always been the only source of caviar. Beluga sturgeon were common in the Po river in Italy in the 16th century, and were used to produce caviar.

Sturgeon fishing in the Po river in 1950, Italy

Cristoforo da Messisbugo in his book Libro novo nel qual si insegna a far d'ogni sorte di vivanda, Venice, 1564, at page 110, gave the first recorded recipe in Italy about extraction of the eggs from the roe and caviar preparation "to be consumed fresh or to preserve". The writer and voyager Jérôme Lalande in his book "Voyage en Italie", Paris, 1771, vol. 8 page 269, noted that many sturgeon were caught in the Po delta area in the territory of Ferrara. In 1753 a diplomatic war broke out between the Papal States, governing the Ferrara territory, and the Venetian Republic about sturgeon fishing rights in the Po river, the border between the two states. From about 1920 and until 1942 there was a shop in Ferrara, named "Nuta" from the nickname of the owner Benvenuta Ascoli, that processed all the sturgeons caught in the Po river for caviar extraction, using an elaboration of the original Messisbugo recipe, and shipped it to Italy and Europe. Production was sporadically continued by a new owner until 1972, when sturgeon stopped swimming up the Po river.

Storage and nutritional information

Caviar is extremely perishable and must be kept refrigerated until consumption. Pasteurized caviar has a slightly different texture. It is less perishable and may not require refrigeration before opening. Pressed caviar is composed of damaged or fragile eggs and can be a combination of several different roes. It is specially treated, salted, and pressed.

Although a spoonful of caviar supplies the adult daily requirement of vitamin B₁₂, it is also high in cholesterol and salt. 1 tablespoon (16 g) of caviar contains:

• Energy: 42 kcal
• Fat: 2.86 g
• Carbohydrates: 0.64 g
• Fibers: 0 g
• Protein: 3.94 g
• Sodium: 240 mg
• Cholesterol: 94 mg
• Zinc: 12.18 mg

In popular culture

The film God Loves Caviar is based on the true story of Ioannis Varvakis, a Greek caviar merchant and benefactor from Psara who was a former pirate.

In a play on his surname, science fiction author Theodore Sturgeon titled an anthology of his best short stories Caviar.

See also

• List of hors d'oeuvre
• Snail caviar

Further reading

• Peter G. Rebeiz, Caviar - a magic history, ISBN 978-88-6373-103-3, Sagep Editori, Genova, Italy, 2010.

External links

• Cooking For Engineers: Caviar
• Sturgeon population in Hudson River - Once-Endangered Sturgeon Rebounding in Hudson River, Study Says
• Caspian caviar in peril
• Russian caviar: an old fish learns some new tricks
• Black Gold: Russian caviar