Caviar, oh caviar where art thou caviar, is just in line with the thinking of Shakespeare and other great minds when it come to this delicacy. This is truly the food of the ancients and has been part of human history since man began to first walk upwards.

It is common knowledge that caviar is from the prehistoric fish called the sturgeon. This fish has out lasted the dinosaurs and has only had its existence threatened because of the human desire for its eggs.

There are hieroglyphs that depict fishermen collecting eggs from fish that predate 2500 BC from the Egyptian and Phoenician cultures. As for literature, the first reference to caviar is considered to be from the grandson Ghengis Khan, Batu Khan who wrote the word khvyar in 1240. The English version was first published in 1951.

All the old royal dynasties of Europe made the catching of every sturgeon on their territorial rivers their possessions. When a fisherman would catch on, they had to take it to the royal treasury or face prosecution.

By the 19th century, the America caviar industry was at its strongest. It is recorded that a great amount of the harvest of this product was sent to Europe each year. At one point, according to records found in Pennsylvania, 90% of the Russian caviar enjoy by Europeans was actually shipped over from caviar caught in American streams and rivers.

The caviar was so plentiful at this time in history that the bars and saloons in the 19th century America would server caviar instead of beer nuts for free to their patrons. Because of their abundance in the American streams and elsewhere in the world, the sturgeon was almost hunted to extinction. Today this species of fish is on the endangered species list and is protected. Most countries have abided by this international treaty, but poaching still occurs.

For true caviar, it must be from the beluga sturgeon that is caught in the Caspian Sea. This is now internationally recognized and respected in most instances. Today there are two different approaches to harvesting the precious roe. The Russians are known for hitting the head of the mature female sturgeon with a club, knocking it unconscious or stunning it before they remove the egg sack. The Iranians are known for outright killing the mature females before slicing the belly open and removing the egg sack.

All in a roe – black caviar could become cheaper

It is a luxurious delicacy for the most exquisite tastes. And yet black caviar could soon become more affordable after Russian scientists discovered a technique to harvest the eggs without killing the sturgeon. If applied, it might bring back the day…

No matter how it is harvested, the words caviar, oh caviar how I love my caviar are spoken around the world. Since the scarcity of this product has increased, this saying is more important than ever.

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Tags: Batu Khan, Beluga, Beluga caviar, caviar, Pennsylvania, Russia, Sturgeon, United States  |  Posted under All Caviar  |    No Comments