Not to be confused with
Kavya, which is an Indian name and a Sanskrit
literary style.
Caviar is the processed, salted roe of certain species of fish,
most notably the sturgeon. It is commercially marketed worldwide as a delicacy and is eaten as a garnish or a spread; for example, with hors
d'œuvres.
Etymology
The word caviar entered English from Turkish,[1] but there are various purported etymologies of the word. While some claim that it
was the Turkish who first generated the word khavyar, some say it derives from the Persian word خاگآور (Xâg-âvar), meaning "the roe-generator"; others say chav-jar,
which means "cake of power", a reference to the ancient Persian practice of eating caviar
in stick form as a kind of elixir. [2]
In Persian, the word refers to both the sturgeon and its roe; in Russian, the word
икра (ikra), "roe", is used. The Russian word "malossol" ("little salt") sometimes appears on caviar tins to show that the
caviar is minimally salted; typically, caviar is 4% to 8% salt, with the better-brand varieties generally being less salted.
Varieties
Contemporary black caviar is roe from sturgeon fished from the Caspian Sea by
Azerbaijan, Iran, Russia and Kazakhstan. The highest prices paid are for the Beluga, Ossetra, and Sevruga varieties.
(The large-grained Beluga caviar is from the Beluga sturgeon, a fish which is unrelated
to the Beluga whale, a mammal.) The golden Sterlet caviar was
once a favorite of czars, shahs, and emperors. Currently, the dwindling fishing yields consequent to overfishing
and pollution have resulted in the creation of less costly, though popular, caviar-quality roe
alternatives from the whitefish and the North Atlantic
salmon.
Ecology
In the early 1900s, Canada and the United States were the major caviar suppliers to Europe; they harvested
roe from the lake sturgeon in the North American midwest, and from the Shortnose sturgeon and the Atlantic sturgeon spawning in
the rivers of the Eastern coast of the United States. Today, however, the Shortnose sturgeon is rated Vulnerable in the
IUCN Red List of endangered species and
rated Endangered per the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
In Spain a fish farm called Caviar de Riofrio has begun to produce organic caviar. The company raises sturgeon in such a way
that it has earned organic certification by CITES.[3]
Current aquaculture of sturgeon is an economically viable means of sustainable,
commercial caviar production, especially in Spain, France,
Uruguay, and California.[4] Hackleback caviar is a
popular, inexpensive product of this industry. Paddlefish, a sturgeon cousin, is also farmed
in increasing numbers.
Recently, the amount of allowed wild fish harvesting has been decreased, consequently increasing caviar prices. In September
2005, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service banned the
import of Caspian Sea Beluga caviar, to protect the endangered Beluga sturgeon; a month
later, the ban included Beluga caviar from the entire Black Sea basin. In January 2006,
CITES, the convention for trade in endangered species, announced they were "unable to approve the
[caviar] export quotas" for 2006 from wild fish stocks.[5]
In January 2007, this ban was partly lifted, allowing the sale of 96 tons of caviar, 15% below the official 2005 level.[6]
Production
Caviar is traditionally served with horn, wood,
gold, nacre, or plastic utensils.
[1] Commercial
caviar production normally needs stunning the fish (usually by clubbing its head) and extracting the ovaries; some commercial fish farmers are experimenting with surgically removing roe from living sturgeon,
allowing the females to continue producing more roe during their lives.
Alternatives and imitation
Typical Swedish sandwich with hard-boiled eggs and cod roe caviar from a tube
In Scandinavia, a significantly cheaper version of caviar, made from smoked
cod roe, is sold in tubes as a sandwich filling. Black and red colored lumpsucker caviars are sold in small glass jars to make a tasty and cheap replacement for sturgeon caviar.
Caviars from the burbot, the vendace, and the common whitefish are available in Finland, in their natural form, as
an alternative to sturgeon caviar. Some gourmets regard burbot caviar as a delicacy outranking Beluga caviar in taste and
flavour[citation needed], at a fraction of the price.
The retail price of burbot caviar in Finland is about 30 €/kg.[citation needed]. In the vegetarian foodstuffs market, soy-based imitation caviar is produced and sold as a caviar alternative.
Cultural
Given its high price in the West, caviar is synonymous with luxury and wealth. In Russia and other Eastern European cultures, though still expensive, caviar is commonly served at holiday feasts, weddings,
and other festive occasions. Sturgeon-derived caviar is generally not eaten by Jews who keep
kosher, because sturgeon lacks scales and thus is not
considered kosher; however, this does not apply to every roe-yielding fish species. In
Islam all sea or river animals such as fish are lawful and halal which applies to the sturgeon as well as its caviar.
Arthur C Clarke once said: "In orbit, caviar is cheaper than bread." This statement
considers the cost of lifting mass to orbit. By present means, the cost of lifting a kilogram to orbit exceed $10,000
USD; the cost of beluga caviar was on the order of $1000/kg when Clarke spoke, but
it is now about $10,000. The price of bread is under $10/kg, but it is not as concentrated a source of protein or calories, so
more bread than caviar would be needed to sustain life.
References
- ^ Merriam-Webster Online - Caviar entry
- ^ LEDA at Harvard Law School - A Brief History of Caviar
- ^ www.boston.com - More than one fish egg in the sea
- ^ California Farm Bureau Federation - Farmers tame prehistoric fish to make food fit for a king
- ^ news.bbc.co.uk - International caviar trade banned
- ^ news.bbc.co.uk - UN lifts embargo on caviar trade
Gallery
Russian Beluga Caviar from the time of the USSR
|
Russian blinis served with sour cream, onion, caviar, pickled cucumbers, sweet champagne and vodka
|
Russian salmon caviar on buttered bread
|
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
