FOCUSING ON FOOD

Caviar - Tiny Black Pearls

Prepared by The Food Club’s Technical Department
Overview
 
Caviar, or tiny black pearls as it is sometimes referred to, is a Persian word meaning ‘bearing eggs’. It is the roe (eggs) of various species of sturgeon prepared as a piquant table delicacy, especially in Russia and Iran. The ovaries of the fish are beaten to loosen the eggs, which are then freed from the surrounding fat and membrane by being passed through a sieve. The eggs are washed several times in ice cold water, the liquid is pressed off and the eggs are mildly salted and sealed in small tins or jars.
 
Fresh caviar (the unripe roe), made in winter from high-grade eggs, is scarce and consequently expensive, especially when imported. The eggs, black, green, brown, and the rare yellow or grey, may be tiny grains or the size of peas. The caviar in Russia and Eastern Europe comes chiefly from the Black and Caspian seas and from the rivers which flow into them. In the United States an imitation of sturgeon caviar is produced from the roe of other fish such as paddlefish from the Mississippi valley.

Types of Caviar

There are three main types of caviar coming from three different kinds of sturgeon. Sevruga and has the smallest ‘pearls’. Osetra has a distinct nutty type flavour which is highly prized and Beluga has the largest pearls. Beluga is the rarest and, therefore, the most expensive. It takes nine years before the female is able to produce eggs and over 80% of the world’s supply comes from the Caspian Sea.

How Large is the Market?

The UK market is guestimated at being between 5 to 10 metric tonnes with a retail value of between £1,500-£3,000 per kilo.

The Sturgeon

The sturgeon is a primitive fish found in of the northern regions of Europe, Asia and North America. Unlike more evolutionarily advanced fish, it has a fine-grained skin, a cartilaginous skeleton, upturned tail fins, and a mouth set well back on the underside of the head. It also has four barbels or feelers that hang below the head which help to locate food and a gas bladder from which isinglass is made.

Sturgeons feed by sucking in their food eg crayfish, snails, larvae, and smaller fish from the water bottom through their small, toothless, fleshy-lipped mouths.

Some species are marine eg, the Atlantic sturgeon; some ascend rivers to spawn; and some (the largest of all the inland fish) are found in landlocked waters. The largest species is the Russian sturgeon, or beluga, from the Caspian and Black Seas. It reaches a length of 30ft, can weight up to a tonne and yield 15% of its weight in eggs.

The Pacific sturgeon weighs about half this amount and can attain a length of 12 ft.

Sturgeon can be smoked and is considered a delicacy in many areas

The Future

Russia, Iran, and other countries surrounding the Caspian Sea have undertaken conservation measures, including aquaculture, to try to save the threatened Russian sturgeon from extinction. In the USA they are now farming sturgeon and a sizeable industry has developed.

For More Information:-

http://www.caviarmalossol.com/allabout/

http://www.farm-2-market.com/products/caviar.html

 

Caviar -  Tiny Black Pearls.Sept2001
 

Last updated 12 November 2008