![]() Salmon roe (left) and sturgeon caviar (right) served with mother of pearl caviar spoons to avoid tainting the taste of the caviar. | |
Place of origin | Iran (Persia) and/or Russia |
---|---|
Region or state | Black Sea region, Sea of Azov region, Caspian Sea region |
Caviar or caviare is a food consisting of salt-cured roe of the family Acipenseridae. Caviar is considered a delicacy and is eaten as a garnish or spread. [1] Traditionally, the term caviar refers only to roe from wild sturgeon in the Caspian Sea and Black Sea [2] (beluga, ossetra and sevruga caviars). The term caviar can also describe the roe of other species of sturgeon or other fish such as paddlefish, salmon, steelhead, trout, lumpfish, whitefish, [3] or carp. [4]
The roe can be "fresh" (non-pasteurized) or pasteurized, which reduces its culinary and economic value. [5]
According to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, roe from any fish not belonging to the Acipenseriformes order (including Acipenseridae, or sturgeon sensu stricto , and Polyodontidae or paddlefish) are not caviar, but "substitutes of caviar". [6] This position is also adopted by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, [7] the World Wide Fund for Nature, [8] the United States Customs Service, [9] and France. [10]
The term caviar is sometimes used to describe dishes that are perceived to resemble caviar, such as "eggplant caviar" (made from eggplant) and "Texas caviar" (made from black-eyed peas).
The term caviare or caviar was first introduced into the English language in the late 16th century and appears to have been borrowed from a number of European languages at the same time, including French cavial, Italian caviale, Portuguese caviar, and Spanish cabial, all of which are ultimately derived from Turkish khāvyār. [11] Up to the 17th century, archaic spellings included chauiale, cavery, and cauiarie, and as early as 1625, it was becoming a three-syllable word, with the final "e" being dropped in speech. [11] In Russian, the term for caviar is ikra, a term that was used in the English language in the 16th and 17th centuries as ikary. [11]
Caviar and sturgeon from the Sea of Azov began reaching the tables of aristocratic and noble Greeks in the 10th century, after the commencement of large-scale trading between the Byzantine Empire and Kievan Rus'. [12] The Russians likely learned to process fish eggs with salt from Greek traders who had passed along the Black Sea coast, but it was not until after the Mongol invasions that the caviar industry developed in Astrakhan. [13] Production was for a long time centered on the Caspian Sea, with the Iranians and Russians accounting for most of its output. [14]
In the 16th century, François Rabelais described caviar as the finest item of what is now called hors d'oeuvre. [14] By 1569, the Russians had conquered the entire Volga River to its mouth. [15] The Volga and its tributaries offered a diverse range of fish, including sturgeon and its caviar, as well as sterlets, a type of small sturgeon that pleased both Russian locals and foreigners. [15]
Caviar was eaten differently in the past compared to today. [13] Medieval Russians often ate it hot. [13] The Travels of Olearius in Seventeenth-Century Russia says "they expel the roe from the membrane in which it is contained, salt it, and after it has stood for six to eight days, mix it with pepper and finely chopped onions. Some also add vinegar and country butter before serving it. It is not a bad dish. If one pours a bit of lemon juice over it, instead of vinegar, it gives a good appetite, and has a restorative effect." [13]
The main types of caviar from sturgeon species native to the Caspian Sea are Beluga, Sterlet, Kaluga hybrid, Ossetra, Siberian sturgeon and Sevruga. American White Sturgeon caviar is abundant and native to California and the U.S. Pacific Northwest. 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 colour from pale silver-grey 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, light brown to rich brown Ossetra, also known as Russian caviar. Others in the quality ranking are the grey sevruga caviar, the Chinese Kaluga caviar, and the American white sturgeon caviar. The Siberian variety with black beads is similar to sevruga and is popular because of its reduced (five years) harvest period, but it has a higher brine content than other kinds. The Chinese Kaluga hybrid varies in colour from dark grey to light golden green and is a close cousin of beluga caviar.[ citation needed ]
An expensive caviar example at 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) sold for £20,000 (then US$34,500) is the Iranian 'Almas' product (from Persian : الماس, "diamond") produced from the eggs of a rare albino sturgeon between 60 and 100 years old from the southern Caspian Sea. [16] Wild beluga sturgeon caviar from the Caspian Sea was priced in 2012 at $16,000 per 1 kilogram (35 oz). [17] Cheaper alternatives have been developed from the roe of whitefish and the North Atlantic salmon.[ citation needed ]
Conventional sturgeon caviar was priced in 2014 at about $105 per 1 ounce (28 g) and from albino sturgeon up to $800 per ounce. [18] Other quality factors are texture – with firmness having higher quality value – flavour qualities, such as creaminess, butter taste, and brine or mild fish finish, and whether the caviar was taken from the fish by massage (higher value) rather than by killing it. [18] Caviar is generally sold in ounces. An ounce of sturgeon caviar costs between $45 and $1,000, depending on the variety of sturgeon and other factors.
Country | Caviar (Tonnes) |
---|---|
China | 100 |
Russia | 49 |
Italy | 43 |
France | 37 |
Poland | 20 |
Germany | 16 |
USA | 16 |
Bulgaria | 8 |
Uruguay | 6 |
Israel | 5 |
Saudi Arabia | 5 |
Spain | 5 |
Armenia | 4 |
Belgium | 4 |
Finland | 4 |
Iran | 4 |
China produces the most caviar of any single country. [20] The largest caviar company in the world is the Chinese brand Kaluga Queen, which cultivates sturgeon at Qiandao Lake in Zhejiang. [21]
In the wake of over-fishing, the harvest and sale of black caviar were banned in Russia in 2007. [22] 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. [23] Russian caviar exports were also banned from 2002 to 2011. [24]
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". [25] 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. [26] 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. [27] 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. A new owner sporadically continued production until 1972, when the sturgeon stopped swimming up the Po River. Since 2015, some sturgeon have reappeared in the Po. [28]
Currently, Italian caviar is obtained almost entirely from bred sturgeons. The caviar production is concentrated predominantly in Brescia, which is considered the capital of Italian caviar: [29] in this area, in Calvisano, is located the world's largest sturgeon farm [30] that produces annually 25 tonnes of caviar. [29] Italy is a top producer of caviar. [31]
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 East Coast of the United States. The American caviar industry 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. Around the same time, sturgeon was fished from the Columbia River on the West Coast of the United States, also supplying caviar. American caviar was so plentiful at the time that it was given away at bars to induce or prolong patrons' thirst. [32] [33]
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 [34] has greatly increased. In particular, northern California is reported to account for 70% to 80% of U.S. production. [35]
In 2021, a significant illegal sturgeon egg harvesting and selling ring run in part by the former top sturgeon biologist for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) was discovered and broken up by investigators. [36]
In coastal British Columbia, Fraser River white sturgeon are sustainably farmed to produce caviar. [37]
The 17th-century book Don Quixote mentions "cavial" [38] [39] in a banquet of German pilgrims. Until 1992, sturgeons and caviar were collected at the lower parts of rivers Guadalquivir, Ebro, Duero and Tajo. From 1932 to 1970, the Ybarra family had a factory in Coria del Río. [40] Overfishing, pollution and the Alcalá del Río dam eliminated the wild population of Acipenser naccarii . In Spain, a fish farm called Caviar de Riofrío [41] produces organic caviar [42] at Loja, Granada, Andalusia.
As well with Canada and the United States, Uruguay has become a major producer and exporter. [43]
Kibbutz Dan in Israel [44] produces four tons of caviar a year. The farm is fed by the Dan River, a tributary of the Jordan River. [45]
Madagascar is the first African country that produces and exports caviar since 2018. [46]
In Malaysia, caviar production is relatively new and smaller in scale. Caviar is harvested from farmed sturgeon fish in Tanjung Malim, Perak. The caviar produced here is marketed as "tropical caviar". [47] The first Malaysian brand of tropical caviar was launched in March 2019. [48]
Overfishing, smuggling and pollution caused by sewage entry into the Caspian Sea have considerably reduced the sea's sturgeon population. [49]
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. [50] In January 2007, this ban was partly lifted, allowing the sale of 96 tons of caviar, 15% below the official 2005 level. [51] In July 2010, Russia and some other CIS countries restarted the export of caviar. [52] The 2010 quotas allow for the export of three tons of beluga, 17 tons of sevruga and 27 tons of osetra. [52] 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 of the 80 tons allowed up until 28 February 2011. [53]
Commercial caviar production historically involved stunning the fish and extracting the ovaries. Another method of extracting caviar is by removing eggs through a small incision, which allows the female to continue producing roe. [54] Other farmers use a process called "stripping", which extracts the caviar from the fish via a small incision 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. [55] [56] Removing the caviar by massage may yield higher quality and a more sustainable source. [18]
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 eggs are packed into lacquer-lined tins that will be further processed or sold directly to customers. [57]
A sturgeon caviar imitation is a black or red-coloured lumpsucker caviar sold throughout Europe in small glass jars.
In Sweden and Finland, the roes of many fish species, including vendace, burbot, salmon and common whitefish, are also commonly eaten in a similar manner as caviar. However, they are not caviar 'substitutes' but are enjoyed in their own right.
Spherification of liquids with alginate (a seaweed polysaccharide) is used to recreate caviar's texture. With liquids flavored to resemble caviar, one obtains kosher and vegan caviar substitutes. They resemble beluga caviar in appearance and are either used as a food prop for television and film or enjoyed by vegetarians and other people worldwide. [58] [59]
In Scandinavia, a type of sandwich spread is available, made from smoked cod roe and other ingredients, which is referred to as smörgåskaviar (meaning "sandwich caviar"). Outside Scandinavia, the product is referred to as creamed smoked roe or in French as Caviar de Lysekil.
Caviar is highly perishable and must be kept refrigerated until consumption. [60]
Caviar is 48% water, 25% protein, 18% fats, and 4% carbohydrates. [61]
In a common serving amount of 16 grams (one tablespoon), caviar supplies 44 kilocalories of food energy, 53% of the Daily Value (DV) of vitamin B12, and moderate amounts (10-15% DV) of sodium, iron, magnesium, and selenium, with no other micronutrients in significant content. [61] [62]
Sturgeon is the common name for the 28 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the Late Cretaceous, and are descended from other, earlier acipenseriform fish, which date back to the Early Jurassic period, some 174 to 201 million years ago. They are one of two living families of the Acipenseriformes alongside paddlefish (Polyodontidae). The family is grouped into four genera: Acipenser, Huso, Scaphirhynchus, and Pseudoscaphirhynchus. Two species may be extinct in the wild, and one may be entirely extinct. Sturgeons are native to subtropical, temperate and sub-Arctic rivers, lakes and coastlines of Eurasia and North America. A Maastrichtian-age fossil found in Morocco shows that they also once lived in Africa.
Acipenseriformes is an order of basal ray-finned fishes that includes living and fossil sturgeons and paddlefishes (Acipenseroidei), as well as the extinct families Chondrosteidae and Peipiaosteidae. They are the second earliest diverging group of living ray-finned fish after the bichirs. Despite being early diverging, they are highly derived, having only weakly ossified skeletons that are mostly made of cartilage, and in modern representatives highly modified skulls.
Paddlefish are a family of ray-finned fish belonging to order Acipenseriformes, and one of two living groups of the order alongside sturgeons (Acipenseridae). They are distinguished from other fish by their elongated rostra, which are thought to enhance electroreception to detect prey. Paddlefish have been referred to as "primitive fish" because the Acipenseriformes are among the earliest diverging lineages of ray-finned fish, having diverged from all other living groups over 300 million years ago. Both living and fossil paddlefish are found almost exclusively in North America and China.
The American paddlefish, also known as a Mississippi paddlefish, spoon-billed cat, or spoonbill, is a species of ray-finned fish. It is the last living species of paddlefish (Polyodontidae). This family is most closely related to the sturgeons; together they make up the order Acipenseriformes, which are one of the most primitive living groups of ray-finned fish. Fossil records of other paddlefish species date back 125 million years to the Early Cretaceous, with records of Polyodon extending back 65 million years to the early Paleocene. The American paddlefish is a smooth-skinned freshwater fish with an almost entirely cartilaginous skeleton and a paddle-shaped rostrum (snout), which extends nearly one-third its body length. It has been referred to as a freshwater shark because of its heterocercal tail or caudal fin resembling that of sharks, though it is not closely related. The American paddlefish is a highly derived fish because it has evolved specialised adaptations such as filter feeding. Its rostrum and cranium are covered with tens of thousands of sensory receptors for locating swarms of zooplankton, its primary food source. The only other species of paddlefish that survived to modern times was the Chinese paddlefish, last sighted in 2003 in the Yangtze River in China and considered to have gone extinct no later than 2010.
The Chinese paddlefish, also known as the Chinese swordfish, is an extinct species of fish that was formerly native to the Yangtze and Yellow River basins in China. With records of specimens over three metres and possibly 7 m (23 ft) in length, it was one of the largest species of freshwater fish. It was the only species in the genus Psephurus and one of two recent species of paddlefish (Polyodontidae), the other being the American paddlefish. It was an anadromous species, meaning that it spent part of its adult life at sea, while migrating upriver to spawn.
Roe, or hard roe, is the fully ripe internal egg masses in the ovaries, or the released external egg masses, of fish and certain marine animals such as shrimp, scallop, sea urchins and squid. As a seafood, roe is used both as a cooked ingredient in many dishes, and as a raw ingredient for delicacies such as caviar.
Beluga caviar is caviar consisting of the roe of the beluga sturgeon Huso huso. The fish is found primarily in the Caspian Sea, which is bordered by Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan. It can also be found in the Black Sea basin and occasionally in the Adriatic Sea. Beluga caviar is the most expensive type of caviar, with market prices ranging from $7,000 to $22,000/kg.
The beluga, also known as the beluga sturgeon or great sturgeon, is a species of anadromous fish in the sturgeon family (Acipenseridae) of the order Acipenseriformes. It is found primarily in the Caspian and Black Sea basins, and formerly in the Adriatic Sea. Based on maximum size, it is the third-most-massive living species of bony fish. Heavily fished for the female's valuable roe, known as beluga caviar, wild populations have been greatly reduced by overfishing and poaching, leading IUCN to classify the species as critically endangered.
The kaluga, also known as the river beluga, is a large predatory sturgeon found in the Amur River basin from Russia to China and near Hokkaido in Japan. With a maximum size of at least 1,000 kg (2,205 lb) and 5.6 m (18 ft), the kaluga is one of the biggest of the sturgeon family. Like the slightly larger beluga, it spends part of its life in salt water. Unlike the beluga, this fish has five major rows of dermal scutes and feeds on salmon and other fish in the Amur with its nail-like teeth in its jaws. They have gray-green to black backs with a yellowish green-white underbelly.
Ossetra caviar is one of the most prized and expensive types of caviar. It is obtained from the Ossetra sturgeon, which weighs 50-400 pounds and can live up to 50 years.
Sevruga caviar is one of the highest priced varieties of caviar, eclipsed in cost only by the Beluga and Ossetra varieties. It is harvested from a variety of critically endangered sturgeon fish species, that are known for their small, grey colored eggs. In eastern Europe, it is harvested from the Sevruga sturgeon, the Sterlet sturgeon and the Siberian sturgeon, which are native to the Caspian Sea and the surrounding rivers.
Fauna of Azerbaijan or animal kingdom of Azerbaijan refers to the diversity of various types of animals, which inhabit and populate a defined ground or water area in Azerbaijan.
The starry sturgeon, also known as the stellate sturgeon or sevruga, is a species of sturgeon. It is native to the Black, Azov, Caspian and Aegean sea basins, but it has been extirpated from the last and it is predicted that the remaining natural population will follow soon due to overfishing.
The Persian sturgeon is a species of fish in the family Acipenseridae. It is found in the Caspian Sea and to a lesser extent the Black Sea and ascends certain rivers to spawn, mainly the Volga, Kura, Araks and Ural Rivers. It is heavily fished for its flesh and its roe and is limited in its up-river migrations by damming of the rivers. Young fish feed on small invertebrates, graduating to larger prey such as crabs and fish as they grow. The threats faced by this fish include excessive fishing with the removal of immature fish before they have bred, damming of the rivers, loss of spawning areas and water pollution. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed the fish as critically endangered and has suggested that the increased provision of hatcheries could be of benefit.
The Russian sturgeon, also known as the diamond sturgeon or Danube sturgeon, is a species of fish in the family Acipenseridae. It is found in Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Romania, Russia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine. It is also found in the Caspian Sea. This fish can grow up to about 235 cm (93 in) and weigh 115 kg (254 lb). Russian sturgeon mature and reproduce slowly, making them highly vulnerable to fishing. It is distinguished from other Acipenser species by its short snout with a rounded tip as well as its lower lip which is interrupted at its center.
Snail caviar, also known as escargot caviar or escargot pearls, is the fresh or processed eggs of land snails. It is a luxury gourmet speciality produced in Austria, Czechia, France and Poland. They were also a delicacy in the ancient world, also known as "pearls of Aphrodite" for their supposed aphrodisiac properties.
Kaluga Queen is a Chinese brand of caviar made by the caviar company Hangzhou Qiandaohu Xunlong Sci-Tech Co., Ltd. The company produces 60 tonnes of caviar annually, making it the largest producer of caviar in the world and responsible for 60% of world production. Kaluga Queen supplies caviar for 21 of the 26 3-starred Michelin restaurants in Paris.
Russian Caviar House is a Russian group of companies that grows sturgeon and sells black caviar. It is Russia's largest producer of black caviar.
The Caviar of Kladovo was a type of caviar produced in eastern Serbia. It was named after the town of Kladovo, in Central Serbia, part of the Danube's Iron Gates Gorge between Serbia and Romania. Made from various fishes' roe, the caviar was granted the protected geographic designation and was considered an expensive delicacy, which was even served on the RMS Titanic. With the construction of large dams in 1972 and 1984, jointly by the two states, the fish migrating from the Black Sea upstream the Danube were prevented from reaching their old spawning areas, and production of caviar was discontinued in the 21st century.
Exotic and Unusual Fishes of North America is a series of PBS documentary television specials about three species of American fish: The Alligator Gar: Predator or Prey?, The Paddlefish: An American Treasure, and Sturgeon: Ancient Survivors of the Deep. They were presented by KUHT Houston television station, and aired in the United States from 1992 to 1995.