Caviar

Caviar

Zubereitung:
QUICK CAVIAR FACTS The word caviar comes from the Turkish word
"havyar," meaning salted fish rö. "Real" caviar is made only from
sturgeon rö.
There are 26 species of sturgeon world wide, five of which swim in
American rivers. But, as a source of caviar, only a handful have
commercial importance. Fish rös other than sturgeon rö may be used
for caviar, but then the label should indicate the name of the fish
from which it was made, such as, "salmon caviar, " or "whitefish
caviar." Take into account that such caviars range in color from black
to br ight red and are sometimes even dyed to increase their likeliness
to sturgeon caviar as well as their marketability. The dye dös not
affect the flavor, but may leave a tinge of color in your mouth.

Between 80 to 90 percent of the world's caviar comes from the Caspian
Sea area. But as the environmental catastrophies around the Caspian Sea
increase, quantity, and quality, of their caviar plummet . A serious
concern for the wholesomeness of the Caspia n caviar is therefore
justified. In the last decade a significant new caviar producing region
has emerged from Far East Siberia and Manchuria, producing a much finer
and fresher quality of caviar. These two regions were deve loped by the
owners of California Sunshine in the mid 80's. These Eastern Siberian
rivers contribute about 8 to 10 percent of the total world caviar
suppply.

Beluga Among the four classic varieties of caviar, the choice of the
connoisseurs is the Beluga caviar. It is produced from the eggs of the
Huso Dauricus and the Huso Huso sturgeon, the largest in the sturgeon
family. Both these sturgeon are carniverous, eating other fish such as
salmon and carp. These sturgeon may re ach up to 2000 lbs and produce
an equivalent of 300 lbs of caviar. The taste is exquisitely delicate,
soft, and smooth, with a hint of sweetness to a slight nutty taste. A
decade ago, only five percent of the total production of Caspian Sea
caviar was Beluga.
Currently this amount has shrunk even further to less than one percent,
or less than one ton. The eastern Siberian rivers generate about 45
percent Beluga of the tot al harvest, or approximately 10 tons of
Beluga caviar per year.

Osetra The second most prestigious caviar is the Osetra. The Osetra
caviar is produced from the rö of a hand full of sturgeon from the
Asipenserea family. The eggs of the Osetra caviar are
characteristically yellow brown to dark black/green color with a sheen
o f gold. Its flavor is rich and full with a hazlenut taste. The Osetra
sturgeon are smaller than the Beluga and can weigh up to about 500 lbs
with an average weight of about 200 to 300 lbs. The Asipenser sturgeon
may sometimes produce a rö which is light yellow to gold brown in
color. Caviar from such rö is called Imperial caviar or Sturgeon
Golden Caviar. It originates from an albino sturgeon and while it is
quite rare in the Caspian Sea, it is more frequently found in the
eastern Siberian rivers. In the past, such caviar was reserved for the
Russian Tsars, the Shah of Persia and the Emperor of Manchuria.

Sevruga The Sevruga sturgeon is the smallest of the three sturgeon and
seldom reaches a length of more than five feet and a weight of some 50
to 60 pounds. It is omnivorous, like the Osetra. It feeds off algea and
crustaceams which may contribute to an inconsiste nt taste of the
caviar in some rare instances. The Sevruga Caviar is gray black with a
medium to small grain, much smaller than the Osetra Caviar. It has a
strong yet delicate flavor. The Sevruga Caviar is the most affordable
of the three caviars. This sturgeon is unique to the Caspian and Black
Sea regions and is not found in the eastern Siberian River System.

Pressed Caviars Pressed Caviar is simply overmature, moist -yet fresh-
caviar which has been pressed to sift out the excess liquid. This
caviar has a stronger flavor, somewhat fishy, with an above average
salty taste. The cost of Pressed Caviar is only slightly less than that
of the Sevruga.

Sturgeon grow slowly, reaching sexual maturity in the wild at 15 - 20
years old and can live as long as 100 years. Once the females have
reached sexual maturity they will produce millions of eggs every two to
three years. The harvest season begins in earl y spring when the
sturgeon begin swiming up river to spawn.
However, for premium quality caviar, the rö should not be harvested
early in the spawing season, but rather towards the end of the season.
A late harvest gives the rö a firmer and more succulen t flavor.

It is extremely important to use a gentle hand while processing the rö
to avoid damaging the soft, delicate eggs. After rinsing, cleaning and
draining the rö, it is processed with pure salt, drained again and
packed into tightly sealed cans. This proc ess has not changed in its
essential parts over the past few centuries, with the exception that a
significantly smaller amount of salt is now used. In the days of no
refrigeration the sturgeon rö was heavily salted up to 12 to 15
percent of its weight so it could be preserved for a longer period of
time.
Today, however, caviar contains a scant amount of 2.8 to 3.5 percent
salt. This caviar is refered to as "Malossol," Russian for "little
salt." Malossol Caviar is not a trade mark, rather an important des
cription of how the caviar was processed.

About two weeks after the processing, the caviar is ready to eat.
But experienced caviar tasters prefer to eat the caviar within the
first six months when the caviar is at its fullest and freshest taste.
With proper packaging and storing-- in the original tin, chilled
between a constant temperature of -5C (23F) and -2C (26F) and tightly
sealed-- the caviar can stay fresh for about two years. Keep in mind
that home refrigerators are too warm and the freezers too cold so the
caviar may not last as long as it dös in our temperature controlled
refrigerators. Caviar suppliers repack the caviar into smaller jars to
the selection and choice of each customer. When packed in smaller jars
the caviar should be consumed within a few weeks.
Once the jar is opened, the caviar should be enjoyed within a few days.

Only the finest, purest salt should be used for processing. The salt
should contain no iodine or other additives. Caviar produced for most
European countries, such as France and England, as well as caviar
produced for duty free shops contain borax or boric acid as a
preservative agent. This gives the caviar a sweeter taste. Dü to
health regulations, however, these two ingredients are not permitted in
the USA or Japan.

Russian=Ikra, Khavyah=Persian Caviar, by law, is the salted rö of
sturgeon. If it comes from another fish, it has to be indicated as
such, eg. Keta, Whitefish, Flying Fish etc. There are 3 commercially
viable species harvested for rö processing in order of importance: 1.
) Beluga, the largest and produces also the largest rö.Black in color
with tinge of silver-gray. Most expensive with one exception=Golden or
Shah Kavia from a fourth species, the sterlett, mainly extinct, mainly
from Iran (export block).

2. ) Sevruga, the smallest, silver tinged, harder eggs. Less expensive
(no caviar is cheap by any means), most abundant.

3. ) Osetra, sometimes as large as beluga ( the rö, not the species).
Brownish black in color. Most often confused with beluga. Abundant. The
majority is caught in the caspian sea, the mouth of the volga river.
Some production in the black sea and Kamchatka peninsula. Processed
malosol=1 lbs of salt per pud (42 lbs) of screened rö. Packed in 1.8
kg tins and repacked by importers into smaller units. Sometimes
reference is made to a another type of caviar=Ship. That refers to not
yet another sturgeon species but to caviar processed with a small
amount of borax. A salt and an excellent preservative. Mostly served
years ago on oceanliners crossing from Europa. It is however still
produced but outlawed in the USA cause one rat turned in her spoon when
fed too much borax. Borax processed caviar is much less salty, sweeter
and generally much more flavorfull. You have to go to Russia to get it.
Caviar is high in protein and therefor highly perishable. Buy with your
tastebuds only. Serve with Blini, Kwas (sort of like creme fraiche,
just slightly more acidic), lemon if you must and frozen wodka only.
All other accoutrements like onion, chopped eggs, capers, chopped
beets, are used to mask the flavor of inferior caviar only. The caviar
should remain in its original tin from whence it came and should not be
served icecold. It will chill its taste. Only spoons made of horn
should be used for service, traditionally and because silver tends to
react with the salt in caviar. Caviar is color graded from single to
triple Zero. From darkest to lightest.
America had a thriving caviar industry before the turn of the century
on the Hudson river in NY and pollution all but destroyed it. There is
some caviar processed in WA&OR from the Columbia river, however,
insignificant amounts. Its hard to beat the Russians and Iranians. They
have been doing it for centuries and are excellent at it. Major
American importers are Petrossian, Romanoff and Iron Gate. For more
info consult the pricey but excellent book : Caviar! Caviar! Caviar! by
Gerald M. Stein, ISBN 0-8184-0315-2.

H.W. Kuntze, CMC hkuntze@cris.com



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