Posts Tagged ‘Middle East’
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.
Purchase your caviar by clicking HERE.
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No CommentsRussian Caviar Review
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Just the words Russian caviar makes the mouths of many connoisseurs to water, especially the beluga black caviar. These large black unfertilized eggs that are the most sought after in the world for their delicate flavor.
Today because of the sharp decline in the number of beluga and other sturgeons swimming wild in the Caspian Sea, there is a restricted amount of Russian Caviar that is available on the open market. Russia has imposed a self ban on the amount of caviar they are exporting to the world in an effort to help the population of the sturgeons to recover from the decimation in their numbers from the past decades of over fishing. This has significantly increased the cost of obtaining the precious tins of Russian caviar.
Since the US placed the beluga sturgeon on the endangered species list back in 2005, the importation and distribution of Russian and all other countries that harvest caviar from the Caspian Sea has become illegal.
The caviar from Russia is lightly salted or as it is referred to by connoisseurs, malossol; this helps to preserve the caviar so it can be consumed up to six months after it is placed in the tin. Most recommend it be enjoyed within three months, but either way there is no legal wild Russian caviar in the US because it has been banned for over 6 years now.
The three major producers of beluga caviar are Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia. You can obtain this caviar in parts of Europe and the Middle East where there is no ban on the importation or selling of this delicacy. Luckily for the surviving mother sturgeons, the roe is now being harvested in a more human and practical way. This extraction of the roe without harming the mother sturgeons will help to allow the population to increase overtime.
It will take time for the population of the Caspian Sea sturgeons to recover since it takes up to 20 years for the roe to grow mature enough to breed themselves. For the younger generations, they will be able to see this transpire in their lifetime. This will only occur if safe and practical fishing practices are maintained in the harvesting of the precious roe.
Russian Caviar cannot be replaced or substituted. Just like anything else that is overindulged, there is a price to pay. Kaluga is now being sold as the beluga substitute, but it is not the same as the original black beluga Russian caviar that our fore fathers used to enjoy.
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- 6 Types of Caspian Sea Caviar (gourmetfoodblog.org)
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No CommentsCompare Wild and Commercial Caviar
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To first Compare Wild and Commercial Caviar you must understand that traditional caviar is from the wild sturgeon only that is caught in the Caspian or Black Seas. The reason commercial sturgeon farms have been created in Russia and other places is due to the sharp decline in the wild sturgeon population.
The term commercial is now a reference to aquatic life that is raised on fish farms for the sole purpose of being consumed as a food source. The known sturgeon’s fish farms are located in Russia and America at this time. The American sturgeon farms imported live Russian sturgeon of all three varieties so their numbers can multiple in a safe environment.
The exportation of real caviar has been banned for years by the world community, but still occurs on the black market from countries around the Caspian Sea including Iran. The largest market for this illegal caviar is in the EU, but other places still savor the taste including the Middle East.
The establishment of the sturgeon fish farms is in areas that reproduce the natural environment of the Caspian Sea in every aspect. The only exception to some of the farms is the cleanliness of the water. The farm’s water is cleaner and healthier for the sturgeon to live and breed in.
There are still some species of wild sturgeon roe that are being sold legally, but they are not from the wilds of the Caspian Sea. Most of them are from the rivers and streams of America. The two most popular wild species are the Hackleback Sturgeon and the Paddlefish. These species of fish survive in the wild in abundant numbers due to a regulated fishing season that is enforced by the US Government.
The commercial Russian caviar is labeled as 100% Russian caviar, but the word wild is omitted from the cans. This is the only way a person can tell the difference between the two. Many caviar connoisseurs believe they can tell the difference between the two by taste, but this is a highly debatable topic and no real scientific studies have ever been conducted.
The reason the studies have been avoided is due to the fact that there is a fear that the farmed sturgeon roe is superior in quality and taste due to a better environment the fish are kept in as compared to the highly polluted Caspian Sea.
To compare wild and commercial caviar is a personal thing. The largest difference a person will notice is the price variation from $2000 a kilo for wild to $100 for the commercial variety.
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- Beluga Caviar (gourmetfoodblog.org)
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No CommentsBuy Caviar
