Banded Sea Snake Caviar: The Rarest Form of Caviar?

Even though this roe does not come from a fish species, does banded sea snake caviar qualifies as the world’s rarest form of caviar?

By: Ringo Bones

This delicacy is quintessentially Okinawan, but its rarity is largely due to the fact that the source animal is not only venomous but preparation also requires expertise in order for those who consume it won’t suffer from banded sea snake poisoning and / or invenomation. The dish is often referred as a culinary unicorn due to its rarity even in Japan, banded sea snake caviar is even considered rarer than the Japanese fugu / blowfish.

In the Japanese island of Okinawa, those who know how to prepare banded sea snake dishes properly – sadly, most of them are now over 70 years of age – procure the snakes in the most sustainable way possible via subsistence beachcombing during low tide. During the snakes breeding season, caught pregnant banded sea snakes are often made into a soup and the eggs are often smoked to be preserved and turned into a form of caviar. Expertise in preparation is a must due to the sea snake’s venomous nature and the animal’s venom is more toxic than that of land based venomous snakes.

The Many Splendored Cod Roe: The Most Versatile Beluga Caviar Substitute?

From Scandinavia to the northern parts of the Far East, is cod roe caviar the most versatile of the more sustainable substitutes of the Beluga caviar?

By:  Ringo Bones

Kalles Kaviar and related cod roe recipes may be a runaway Scandinavian / North Atlantic haute cuisine, but did you know that in the northern part of the Far East, a somewhat similar dish also exist? A Far Eastern form of this gourmet roe caviar also raised online controversy that could, might as well be, the greatest viral marketing for this product. Have you ever heard of the Japanese cod roe flavored mayonnaise that is sold in sheet form?

On February 20, 2020, the Japanese snack company Bourbon announced that its new “Mayonnaise Sheet” product will be available in stores starting the second day of March. The announcement has sparked a discussion online, eliciting mixed reactions from mayonnaise lovers and haters. The mayonnaise sheets come in tuna mayo flavor and a menta mayo flavor – which is made to taste like mentaiko – a traditional Japanese spicy cod roe sauce that has its origins from Korea.

Japanese spicy cod roe is sometimes referred to as karashi mentaiko, which means spicy pollack or cod roe.  “Karashi” means spicy in Japanese, so karashi mentaiko is the spicy version of mentaiko. Originally a traditional Korean cuisine, mentaiko became popular in Japan after World War II.

Cod is a fish that is among the most valuable food resources of the northern seas. Cod is the name given to certain species of the genus Gaddus. It is also the name for the entire family of fish that includes not only those species but also the haddock, pollack and whiting. The Atlantic cod, Gaddus callarias, is the most important species. It is found on both sides of the North Atlantic and as far south as Virginia on the American coast. The fish lives commonly on the North Atlantic banks, over hard bottom in water 30 to 60 fathoms deep. The Atlantic cod is identified by its three dorsal and two anal fins, small fleshy barbel on the chin and spotted body.

Fish taken along the shore average about 10 to 12 pounds and are about 30 inches long, on the banks they sometimes develop to tremendous size. The record weight of cod is 211 pounds. Shellfish and other bottom-dwelling organisms furnish most of its food. The cod spawns chiefly in winter. While the eggs, larvae and young drift on the surface with the current, the adults migrate extensively.

The cod fisheries of the North American banks yield over a billion pounds of fish annually to the markets of the United States, Canada and Europe. Much of the codfish is marketed fresh or frozen and a small quantity is smoked and salted. Cod liver oil is one of the principal sources of vitamin D. A type of high-quality glue is made from the skins of cod. Cod was a more important resource during the 19^th Century when salting was the only economical way of preserving fish because its white flaky flesh is well adapted for drying and salting.

The Pacific cod, Gaddus macrocephalus, is similar to the Atlantic cod but smaller. It is abundant in the North Pacific region and is an important Japanese food fish. The cods are classified in the order Gadiformes, family Gadidae (cod).

Kalles Kaviar: The Swedish Caviar?

Based on a recipe that dates back hundreds of years, is Kalles Kaviar Sweden’s very own version of this quintessentially Russian delicacy?

By: Ringo Bones

I’ve only tasted Kalles Kaviar back near the end of December 2018 here in the Philippines after an “unofficial heavy metal music convention” also had Scandinavian heavy metal enthusiasts bringing their own regional delicacies. Together with fermented shark meat, this type of caviar was said to rank in most American’s lists of “top ten worst foods in the world”, but surprisingly, I fell in love with its smoky, savory taste. But does Kalles Kaviar truly deserve the title of “Sweden’s National Caviar”.

Kalles Kaviar probably earned the distinction of Sweden’s national caviar after it was stocked in Ikea outlets here in East Asia around 2010. Even though it has been a runaway commercial success in Sweden ever since its market launch there back in 1954, Kalles Kaviar is based on a recipe that dates back several hundred years from Sweden’s Lysekil region. The product is mainly made of salted cod roe (scientific name gadus morhua) sustainably harvested from the roughest parts of the North Sea, sugar, canola oil and spices and the exact recipe of cod roe caviar based delicacy had been a closely guarded recipe by manufacturer Abba Seafood since its launch.

Kalles Kaviar is also often served in haute cuisine French restaurants as this type of caviar is sometimes referred to as caviar de Lysekil. Other manufacturers of similar caviar type are Öhnbergs Kaviar (often referred to as the connoisseur’s alternative, and currently also owned by Abba Seafood) and Boviks Kaviar. Kalles Kaviar’s tube label has maintained the same design since 1954. At present, there are 8-types or flavors of Kalles Kaviar including one referred to as banana flavor”. Kalles Kaviar is often eaten with crackers and although many around the world had acquired a taste of it, it is more often the Americans who in the recent age of social media had been the most vocal in referring it, along with Swedish fermented shark meat, as one of the most awful tasting foods in the world. 

Caviar From Stem Cells: Most Environmentally Friendly Way To Produce Caviar?

Although various early-stage biotech companies have tried it, could we someday make caviar from stem cells?

By: Ringo Bones

During the last two years, various early-stage biotechnology companies have spent a significant portion of their research and development budget on ways to produce fish, meat, fruit and vegetable products from stem cells. Despite of the current difficulty of perfecting such a process – let alone making it currently economically viable – it has one glaring advantage over current conventional ways that we catch and / or grow our most popular foods – it has a much lower carbon footprint than out current methods of fishing and farming them.

One of these early stage biotechnology companies is Finless Foods. Were founder and CEO Mike Selden’s mission is to develop and mass produce pioneering marine animal food products for human consumption. The company’s objective is to create seafood sustainably using scientific cellular agriculture technologies – i.e. growing fish from stem cells, which will produce a cost-effective and healthier appetizing alternative to conventionally caught and commercially farmed seafood.

Imagine if they one day successfully be able to grow Caspian Sea sturgeon caviar in the lab from stem cells. Not only will this prevent the now endangered Caspian Sea sturgeon from going extinct, but also means that since no fishing boats went to the open waters to catch the sturgeon, the carbon footprint of lab-grown caviar is drastically much lower than those harvested from the wild.

Salmon Caviar: Best Caspian Sea Sturgeon Caviar Alternative?

Given that it has a better fecundity rate than the famed Caspian Sea sturgeon, is salmon the best alternative to the now endangered sturgeon sourced caviar? 

By: Ringo Bones 

Since the late 1990s, salmon sourced caviar – i.e. salmon roe – had been promoted as a better alternative to the endangered Caspian Sea sturgeon sourced caviar as typified by the “Sustainable Salmon Roe Caviar” advert. While salmon not only has a much better fecundity rate than the now endangered Caspian Sea sturgeon but also there are several species of salmon that are commercially fished. But which species of salmon makes the best Caspian Sea sturgeon caviar substitute? 

An important food and game fish, salmon is found in northern regions. It is characterized by a long body, small cycloid scales and a small fatty fin on the dorsal surface opposite the anal fin and the absence of spines. It is related to the trout. Salmon typically swim up from the oceans or lakes into rivers or streams to spawn. They usually return to the same waters in which they were hatched; some scientists believe that the salmon find their way by smell. Some species of salmon are landlocked in lakes. 

The Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, is found on both sides of the Atlantic and once was common in waters north of the Hudson River. Now it is limited to a few rivers in eastern Maine and Canada. Pollution – primarily PCBs or polychlorinated biphenyls before they are banned, impassable dams near the mouth of rivers, overfishing, destruction of spawning grounds through deforestation and loss of their young in hydroelectric power plant turbines have all contributed to reducing the population of this fish. 

The adult fish migrates from the ocean into rivers in its fifth year, when it weighs 8 to 16 pounds. It spawns over gravel beds, where the eggs remain buried for five to six months before the fish hatch. When the fish is about one month old, it comes out of the gravel and feeds on crustaceans. After dark vertical bands and red spots have formed on the sides, it is called parr. At the end of their third winter, when it has lost its markings and become silvery, it is called smolt. It is then 5 to 6 inches long. The smolt moves downstream to the sea, where it feeds on fishes and grows rapidly for about two years. Then as an adult, the salmon moves upstream but returns to the ocean after it has spawned. A variety of the Atlantic salmon – the landlocked salmon, Salmo salar Sebago – is found in some lakes of the northeastern United States and the Maritime Provinces. 

 The Pacific salmon belongs to the genus Oncorhynchus. There are five species in the eastern Pacific. The red sockeye or blueback salmon – Oncorhynchus nekra – averages 2 feet in length and weighs 3 ½ to 8 pounds with exceptional specimens reaching 100 pounds. The coho or silver salmon – Oncorhynchus kisutch – reaches 15 inches and weighs about 3 to 8 pounds. The pink or humpback salmon – Oncorhynchus gorbuscha – weighs about 6 pounds. The chum, keta or dog salmon – Oncorhynchus keta – grows to 12 pounds. The adult lives in the ocean and when mature swims up the rivers of its birth to spawn over gravel. Some species, like the king and coho, make long journeys; others like the pink and chum, move only short distances upstream. The spawning season varies from late summer to early winter. The nest, or redd, is a depression in the bottom of the stream, where the eggs incubate in gravel. 

Unlike the Atlantic salmon, the Pacific salmon dies after spawning. After a period that varies with the species, the young move down the sea to feed. The pacific salmon is the most valuable fishery resource belonging to the United States. About 90-percent of U.S. production and 55-percent of world production is taken in Alaska. The Pacific salmon is also among the most popular sport fishes. The salmon is classified in the order Clupeiformes, family Salmonidae. 

Mullet Roe Caviar: The Most Environmentally Sustainable Caviar Substitute?

Of all the Caspian Sea Beluga caviar substitutes that have hit the market in the 21^st Century, is mullet roe caviar the most environmentally sustainable? 

By: Ringo Bones 

If worldwide fishing quotas in tropical and subtropical waters are strictly enforced, mullet roe caviar could become the most environmentally sustainable source of Caspian Sea Beluga caviar substitute. Not just environmentally friendly due to its better fecundity than the Caspian Sea Beluga sturgeon, the mullet roe caviar is also probably the most popular kind of Beluga caviar substitute in the world’s haute cuisine scene in the form of Karasumi – a Taiwanese Caspian Sea Beluga caviar substitute often sold in Japanese sushi restaurants that's derived from mullet roe. 

Mullet are a small fish of the genus Mugil of world-wide occurrence in tropical and subtropical waters. Both fresh and salt water species are known while the salt water species are numerous along the Atlantic coasts of North America and South America. Mullets have small teeth and feed on vegetation on the bottom. They run in very large schools in which individual fish keep jumping, sometimes clearing the water by up to 3-feet. These huge schools move southward in autumn and immense commercial catches are sometimes made. One catch batch weighing 60,000 pounds was taken in a single net haul. About 37-million pounds worth of mullet are fished annually. Compared to other commercial fish, mullets are relatively low priced and are usually sold fresh. The striped mullet – scientific name Mugil cephalus – are common in both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and reaches a length of 2-feet. 

Flying Fish Roe Caviar: Most Versatile Caviar Substitute?

Even though it first debuted in exclusive high-end restaurants away from the hoi-polloi of your typical hipster foodie hangout, could the increasing popularity of flying fish roe caviar revolutionize the world caviar scene?

By: Ringo Bones 

Even though it only became widely known to the hipster-foodie-scene-at-large near the end of the first decade of the 21^st Century, flying fish roe caviar – popularly known as Tobiko – was hailed to be the most versatile ingredient in cutting edge newfangled dishes. No longer the exclusive “proprietary secret ingredient” of top sushi chefs; the shiny, crunchy, vibrant orange and dense black versions of this Caribbean fish roe are a total delight for both chef and aficionado alike. But what makes flying fish roe - i.e. that orange colored pearl-like tasty stuff in sushi rolls -  caviar a more “environmentally-friendly” option in comparison to the “traditional” true blue Caspian Sea sturgeon sourced caviar? 

Flying fish - the common name of some 50 species of fishes in the family Exocetidae, they are found in warm seas, like the Caribbean, and usually far from land. Flying fish range in color from blue or greenish on the upper portion of their bodies and silvery white at the bottom as a form of protective camouflage coloration typical of open-water ranging fishes. Its ability to glide is made possible via the great enlargement of the pectoral fins in the two-winged flying fish. Ordinarily, flight is made in order to escape enemies and the action is often initiated by any large body – such as a ship – cutting through the water. 

Since the wings are held rigid, the flight can in no way be compared that of a bird or bat but is more like that of an unpowered fixed-wing glider. The propulsive thrust is supplied by the tail, the lower lobe of which is extended. Flying fish swim rapidly and when the surface of the water is reached, they set the pectoral fins at right angles to the body. They then skim the water, the tail remaining submerged and moving laterally with powerful strokes. Now they tremble all over from the thrust so that the tips of the pectorals may alternately touch the water in a manner which falsely suggests that they are voluntarily moved. They shoot into the air at a speed of 30 or 40 miles per hour. The glide may last 30 seconds and cover 300 yards, although the time in the air and the distance covered vary greatly. The flight ends as the fish dive into the water; but in many cases they turn immediately at right angles and take off again. 

Flying fish lay their eggs supplied with fine sticky threads which anchor them in crude rests in drifting seaweed. The species of seaweed the flying fish laid and anchored their eggs to plays a factor in the resulting final color (and inherently varying nutritional content?) of the Tobiko caviar. The young differ in color from the adults and often have a pair of whisker like appendages on their lower jaws. 

Flying fish are an excellent food fish. They also serve as forage for important food fish such as tuna and are often used as bait. In the Philippines, flying fish caught locally are usually prepared with a sugar and salt blend marinade since the species found locally tend to have a bitter / blander taste in comparison to other locally sea caught food fish.