Posts Tagged ‘Adriatic Sea’
Beluga Caviar in Your Future
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The ban on beluga caviar in America has not stopped the Europeans or those in the Middle East from enjoying this delicacy. There are many theories as to why this particular caviar is the most enjoyable to eat of all the caviars in the world including every other type of sturgeon caviar.
The Beluga sturgeon is the only carnivore of all the sturgeons in the world that still exist. This might account for it also being the largest of its species. It can grow to over 20 feet in length and weigh over 3,400 pounds. Near the beginning of the last century this caviar accounted for over 40% of all caviar processed and enjoyed around the world. Since the ban on beluga caviar began in 2005 along the sharp decline in its population in the Caspian Sea, it now only accounts for less than 1% of what is processed and enjoyed.
The countries that still operate in the trade of beluga caviar include Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine. Of these Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia are the three largest.
The beluga sturgeon can also be found in the Black Sea and Adriatic Sea, but the market only seems to have a taste for the Caspian Sea variety. The only logical reason is the diet and the water.
Beluga Caviar is dark black when it is from a younger mother. The color lightens to grey and then white as the fish reaches the 100 year old plateau. This white caviar is called Almas, which is Persian for diamond. When you can locate a tin of this white beluga caviar, you can expect to pay over $800 an ounce for it.
You will recognize beluga caviar when it is served because it is a large black roe. This is larger than any other type of sturgeon still alive today. The taste is also unique being a mild buttery flavor. Because of the mild taste and its rarity, it is recommended that it be served on plain thin toast so its full flavor can be enjoyed.
When you can find it, the price per ounce of black beluga caviar will be in the neighborhood of just over $300 an ounce. To find this delicacy, you need to travel to the Middle East or Europe because the ban in American is not expected to be lifted any time soon.
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No CommentsBeluga Sturgeon Caviar
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The beluga sturgeon is the best known of these ancient fish that supply the world with the best caviar. This is a very large predatory fish that matures late and is very slow growing. It is said that some beluga have reached the age of 118 before dying of old age but take up to 20 years before they mature enough to spawn.
This is a sea creature that can be found mainly in the Caspian Sea but also are known to inhabit the Black and Adriatic Seas. Just like the salmon, the sturgeon lives their entire lives in the open sea but travel up fresh water rivers to span.
The largest known capture of one of these giants occurred in 1827 when a fisherman from the Volga estuary in Russia snagged it. It weighed 3,250 pounds and had a length of 24 feet. It was a female which is known to be as much as 20% larger than their male counterparts. The female sturgeon only produces eggs every three to four years, so their reproductive cycle is longer than most living creatures.
The beluga is well known for its roe or eggs. Unfortunately the meat of these large predatory animals is not so highly prized and goes to waste in most cases. The roe is the largest of the known caviar. It has a characteristic color of nearly black to a light grey. The lighter the color of the roe, the older the fish is.
There is another variety of beluga roe that is rarely seen anymore. This is the Almos roe or centennial beluga. The color of its roe is nearly white and is extremely rare since most sturgeons no longer reach the age of 100 due to the over fishing of this species that has existed for centuries.
Early in the 21st century the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species set quotas for the amount of caviar that can be harvested and sold on the open market. Unfortunately these quotas have done little to halt the decline in the wild population of the sturgeon as reported by the Pew Institute for Ocean Science. This decline has seen the population of the beluga to be reduced by 90 percent in the last 20 years.
Ironically the most valued of all caviar is not from the beluga sturgeon, but from their cousin the ossetra sturgeon. This is the source of the famous Russian Imperial Ossetra caviar.
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No CommentsTypes of Caviar
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There are many different types of caviar on the market today. For the delicacy, most connoisseurs and governments consider caviar as the roe from the sturgeon species of fish. The types of sturgeon that are considered to carry caviar are beluga, osetra, and sevrugu.
These types of sturgeons can be found in the Adriatic Sea and the Black Sea at times, but over 85% of the sturgeon populations are in the Caspian Sea. To be considered authentic caviar, the sturgeons that are caught, must have been living in the wild.
Because of the decimation in the population of this species, Russia has begun farming this fish in order to prevent the species population from collapsing and disappearing altogether. The first shipments of this farmed caviar were sent to Europe in January of 2011 and the verdict is still out on how well it was received.
The Almas caviar is from the albino sturgeon and is a light golden color. These eggs are from a fish over the age of 60 years.
The beluga caviar is the largest roe of all caviar and is light grey to black in color. They are the most sought after and rarest of all types of caviar.
The lowest salt content roe are called Malossol. These are naturally low in salt with the content being from 2.8% to 3.0%.
The pasteurized caviar is handled by the same process as milk to kill off any bacteria that might be present. Unfortunately, this pasteurization process changes the taste of the eggs. The advantage is that they last longer before spoiling.
The pressed caviar is from the broken and soft eggs that were damaged in the handling process. These have the highest salt content and are used mainly in cooking.
There are other species of roe that are considered caviar. To distinguish them from the sturgeon variety, the name of the fish species must be present on the label so the buyer is aware it is not from a sturgeon.
The other most popular species for caviar in America and Europe is salmon caviar. These are large red or orange eggs that are dramatically cheaper that their black cousins. The name salmon caviar is on the outside of the cans.
These are the basic types of caviar available on the open market today. If it just says caviar, it is from the sturgeon variety of fish.
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No CommentsBuy Caviar
