Despite the uncertainties of the census of its total population and sustainability studies when harvested in a larger commercial scale, is lumpfish roe caviar truly pass muster as sustainably-harvested caviar?
By: Ringo Bones
When tenured zoologists keeping tabs on the declining population of the beluga sturgeon and related sturgeon species in the Caspian Sea region finally sounded the alarm during the latter half of the 1990s that we might be driving these sturgeon species to extinction via uncontrolled caviar harvesting, the search for more plentiful roe from species that can sustainably harvested slowly over the years became an industry of its own. Fast forward to the first decade of the 21st Century, the beluga caviar substitute industry has started to boom thanks to caviar connoisseurs conscientious enough to forgo consuming the endangered species of sturgeon caviar to allow the species to sustainably recover back to commercially sustainable population levels. But do some sturgeon roe caviar substitutes – like lumpfish roe caviar – really pass muster as a more sustainable substitute for beluga sturgeon sourced caviar and related species?
Lumpfish – also known as lumpsucker – is a generic term for the small scorpaeniform marine fish of the family Cyclopteridae. The most well-known of which is the smooth lumpsucker or lumpfish whose scientific name is Aptoyelus ventricosus. Lumpfish are one of the oddest looking fishes that are currently commercially harvested – think Slimer from Ghostbusters. These fish don’t have gas bladders and are found primarily between the continental shelf and continental slope regions at depths between 100 to 1,700 meters.
From a zoological perspective, lumpfish - or lumpsuckers - are a poorly studied group of fishes. In which still very little is known of their behavior, biology and total population - which is the primary reason why most major fisheries regulatory bodies are still reluctant to give the green light for a much increased commercial harvesting of lumpfish or lumpsucker roe as a beluga caviar substitute.
As far as ichthyologists currently know, at least some species – like the smooth lumpfish – are known to travel great distances in order to spawn in shallow intertidal waters during the months of December to June. The male of the species are known to guard the brood of spherical eggs. The egg mass comprising of thousands of individual roes clumps together in adhesive packets which will break open when the eggs are ready to hatch. Very young lumpfish typically stay in shallow waters until they are fully developed, making them easy prey for predators.
Lumpfish have evolved one interesting trait. Their pelvic fins are sticky – which means that the fish can use their sticky fins to “velcro” themselves to hard rocky surfaces. Since they are bottom dwellers, this trait can be quite when they anchor themselves as they wait for a passing meal.
Lumpfish roe is now commonly sold as a beluga caviar alternative. But hardcore caviar connoisseurs often see red over the lumpfish roe caviar industry because some unscrupulous dealers often sold lumpfish roe as genuine true-blue beluga caviar or true sturgeon roe to unseasoned buyers given that its texture can easily fool novice and “first-time” caviar connoisseurs.
While the more well-heeled caviar snobs often look down their noses at lumpsucker roe or lumpfish roe caviar, it can be quite good when it is prepared in a proper way. If lumpfish roe is prepared properly – and carefully – it will have its own unique and distinct effervescing feel in one’s mouth – i.e. each roe bursting open in response to the gentle pressure of one’s teeth. Preparation-wise, lumpfish roe caviar is more unforgiving if improperly handled and prepared in comparison to its classier Caspian Sea sturgeon sourced cousins. Lightly salted or malossol lumpfish roe caviar can be used like beluga sturgeon sourced caviar to accompany various appetizers, and also be added to pasta sauces and spreads, as well as main dishes like omelettes.
Lumpfish roe comes in a range of colors. Most of the lumpfish roe sold commercially is dyed to be either red or black. If one is fortunate enough to find lumpfish roe caviar that is not artificially dyed, it can really make for an unusual appetizer as the roes naturally have that iridescent mother-of-pearl in color. Improperly handled lumpfish roe – like improperly handled sturgeon roe – for caviar use can truly have atrociously-tasting results. If you happen to purchase lumpfish roe caviar with an oily texture and a fishy smell – return it immediately to the retailer and demand a refund.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Bowfin Caviar: The Best Sturgeon Caviar Substitute?
As a member of a family of fish that’s even more ancient than the sturgeon, is the bowfin roe caviar currently the best sturgeon caviar substitute?
By: Ringo Bones
The bowfin – scientific name Amia calva – is classified in the order Amiiformes, family Amiidae. In America, the bowfin is better known by its Cajun name “choupique”, also called dogfish, grindle and lawyer. The fish is not related to the sturgeons but belongs to a more ancient family. The bowfin is a primitive fish and a sole living member of a family of fish that flourished as far back as the Jurassic period. As a species, bowfin is more closely related to the gar and is found in the swamps, rivers and lakes of North America from the Mississippi River eastward. The fish has a mottled olive body. The male grows about 18 inches, the female 24 inches.
The bowfin is easily recognized by the bony plate, the gular plate below its lower jaw, and by its long dorsal fin. The fish usually remains in deep water during the day. From time to time, it rises to the surface to gulp air. Anatomically like some archaic fishes, the bowfin’s primitive lung – which later developed into the gas bladder (also called swim or air bladder) is still connected to the gullet and in consequence such fishes, like the gar and bowfin, have, in effect, primitive lungs. Bowfin feeds on other fish, crustaceans, molluscs and insects. They’re nests are a saucer-like depression, about 2 feet wide built in a quiet bay or inlet. The eggs and young are guarded by the male.
To caviar connoisseurs now worried on the declining population of Caspian Sea beluga caviar, the bony bowfin yields a black roe with a distinctive flavour and makes a good tasting but way less expensive substitute for sturgeon caviar. Unlike sturgeon roe, bowfin roe will turn red when heated – which could be off-putting to the inexperienced. Taste wise, many swear by it as the best cost-effective substitute for Caspian Sea beluga sturgeon sourced caviar.
By: Ringo Bones
The bowfin – scientific name Amia calva – is classified in the order Amiiformes, family Amiidae. In America, the bowfin is better known by its Cajun name “choupique”, also called dogfish, grindle and lawyer. The fish is not related to the sturgeons but belongs to a more ancient family. The bowfin is a primitive fish and a sole living member of a family of fish that flourished as far back as the Jurassic period. As a species, bowfin is more closely related to the gar and is found in the swamps, rivers and lakes of North America from the Mississippi River eastward. The fish has a mottled olive body. The male grows about 18 inches, the female 24 inches.
The bowfin is easily recognized by the bony plate, the gular plate below its lower jaw, and by its long dorsal fin. The fish usually remains in deep water during the day. From time to time, it rises to the surface to gulp air. Anatomically like some archaic fishes, the bowfin’s primitive lung – which later developed into the gas bladder (also called swim or air bladder) is still connected to the gullet and in consequence such fishes, like the gar and bowfin, have, in effect, primitive lungs. Bowfin feeds on other fish, crustaceans, molluscs and insects. They’re nests are a saucer-like depression, about 2 feet wide built in a quiet bay or inlet. The eggs and young are guarded by the male.
To caviar connoisseurs now worried on the declining population of Caspian Sea beluga caviar, the bony bowfin yields a black roe with a distinctive flavour and makes a good tasting but way less expensive substitute for sturgeon caviar. Unlike sturgeon roe, bowfin roe will turn red when heated – which could be off-putting to the inexperienced. Taste wise, many swear by it as the best cost-effective substitute for Caspian Sea beluga sturgeon sourced caviar.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Paddlefish Caviar: Beluga Caviar Alternative Du Jour?
With Caspian Sea sourced beluga caviar already in danger of being eaten into extinction, will paddlefish caviar serve as an abundant alternatively flavored substitute?
By: Ringo Bones
Let’s assume your conscience is callous enough to allow you to consume an endangered species into extinction, it is more likely that you will be stopped by your sparsely loaded wallet. Since being classified as an endangered species back in 1997, whatever legally allowed quotas of beluga caviar being made available on the market since then, their prices had been steadily rising since the start of the 21st Century. But can a more environmentally-friendly substitute be found that’s just as tasty but doesn’t cost almost an arm and a leg?
The humble - and obscure to most caviar connoisseurs – paddlefish (scientific name Polyodon spathula) had lately become the must have beluga caviar substitute du jour. Often called spoonbills, paddlefish are a cousin to the sturgeons and yields a roe that range in color from pale through dark steel-gray and golden oscetra brown. Paddlefish roe caviar is also widely known for their smooth and silky texture and rich flavor.
As a species paddlefish belong to the family Polyodon and is found in the Mississippi River and in some still pristine rivers in China. Described as “degenerate” in evolutionary terms, paddlefish bags its food with its enormous mouth. A relative of the first major group of ray-finned fishes, it has a cartilaginous skeleton and an almost scale-less body, unlike its heavily-scaled predecessors. Paddlefish fecundity is no more or no less than that in comparison to most species of sturgeon. Its relative abundance is mostly due that it is not yet relatively hunted for its caviar.
By: Ringo Bones
Let’s assume your conscience is callous enough to allow you to consume an endangered species into extinction, it is more likely that you will be stopped by your sparsely loaded wallet. Since being classified as an endangered species back in 1997, whatever legally allowed quotas of beluga caviar being made available on the market since then, their prices had been steadily rising since the start of the 21st Century. But can a more environmentally-friendly substitute be found that’s just as tasty but doesn’t cost almost an arm and a leg?
The humble - and obscure to most caviar connoisseurs – paddlefish (scientific name Polyodon spathula) had lately become the must have beluga caviar substitute du jour. Often called spoonbills, paddlefish are a cousin to the sturgeons and yields a roe that range in color from pale through dark steel-gray and golden oscetra brown. Paddlefish roe caviar is also widely known for their smooth and silky texture and rich flavor.
As a species paddlefish belong to the family Polyodon and is found in the Mississippi River and in some still pristine rivers in China. Described as “degenerate” in evolutionary terms, paddlefish bags its food with its enormous mouth. A relative of the first major group of ray-finned fishes, it has a cartilaginous skeleton and an almost scale-less body, unlike its heavily-scaled predecessors. Paddlefish fecundity is no more or no less than that in comparison to most species of sturgeon. Its relative abundance is mostly due that it is not yet relatively hunted for its caviar.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
North American Whitefish: Caviar for the Masses?
With most sturgeon sourced caviar now in danger of being consumed to death, could the North American whitefish become the best source of caviar for the masses?
By: Ringo Bones
For as long as there been a whitefish industry in America and Canada, it has been suggested – for some time now – that whitefish eggs or roe may be made into caviar. And with the looming inevitability of sturgeon sourced caviar being eaten into extinction, whitefish sourced caviar – like its “fishy” counterpart could become an industry in itself. Fortunately, whitefish has an edge – in fecundity terms – in comparison to its sturgeon counterparts. But can whitefish caviar hold its own in the increasingly diversified – and competitive – caviar market?
Whitefish is an important salmon-like fish of the family Coregonidae. Found in North American lakes from about the latitude of the Great Lakes and northward, it is represented throughout its range by several subspecies. The whitefish, scientific name Coregonus clupeiformis, are very important food fish in the Great Lakes region. And although virtually depleted in some areas of the northern United States due to overfishing and pollution, about 4 million pounds are still marketed annually. Whitefish brings a high price; most of which are sold fresh while some are smoked. Whitefish roe has been made into caviar for as long as there is a whitefish industry in America, but most of it is only sold domestically.
Whitefish lives on a diet of insects and shellfish in moderately deep water for most of the year. It migrates shoreward in late spring and again in fall, when it spawns over shoal areas in depths of 4 to 20 feet. The average specimen runs between 2 and 4 lbs. but it reaches a maximum weight of over 20 lbs. The oldest specimen on record, as determined by reading the year marks on the scales, was 26 years of age. The Rocky Mountain whitefish or mountain herring, scientific name Coregonus williamsoni, is also an excellent food fish which may be caught by dry fly. Other species of whitefish are found in the Northern Hemisphere in temperate and Arctic regions.
Whitefish has crisply sparkling yellow eggs that burst with fresh flavour. Its naturally mild taste lends itself well to various flavour infusions like raw sea urchin to make it taste more like beluga caviar and smoking process. As a whole, mild flavoured caviars’ flavour variability are very dependent of the source fishes’ prevailing environmental conditions which it lived and the ingredients used in the roe’s preparation. Given the species’ excellent fecundity rate and increased anti-pollution and restocking campaigns, not to mention its good price-to-taste ratio, whitefish sourced caviar could well be the caviar for the masses.
By: Ringo Bones
For as long as there been a whitefish industry in America and Canada, it has been suggested – for some time now – that whitefish eggs or roe may be made into caviar. And with the looming inevitability of sturgeon sourced caviar being eaten into extinction, whitefish sourced caviar – like its “fishy” counterpart could become an industry in itself. Fortunately, whitefish has an edge – in fecundity terms – in comparison to its sturgeon counterparts. But can whitefish caviar hold its own in the increasingly diversified – and competitive – caviar market?
Whitefish is an important salmon-like fish of the family Coregonidae. Found in North American lakes from about the latitude of the Great Lakes and northward, it is represented throughout its range by several subspecies. The whitefish, scientific name Coregonus clupeiformis, are very important food fish in the Great Lakes region. And although virtually depleted in some areas of the northern United States due to overfishing and pollution, about 4 million pounds are still marketed annually. Whitefish brings a high price; most of which are sold fresh while some are smoked. Whitefish roe has been made into caviar for as long as there is a whitefish industry in America, but most of it is only sold domestically.
Whitefish lives on a diet of insects and shellfish in moderately deep water for most of the year. It migrates shoreward in late spring and again in fall, when it spawns over shoal areas in depths of 4 to 20 feet. The average specimen runs between 2 and 4 lbs. but it reaches a maximum weight of over 20 lbs. The oldest specimen on record, as determined by reading the year marks on the scales, was 26 years of age. The Rocky Mountain whitefish or mountain herring, scientific name Coregonus williamsoni, is also an excellent food fish which may be caught by dry fly. Other species of whitefish are found in the Northern Hemisphere in temperate and Arctic regions.
Whitefish has crisply sparkling yellow eggs that burst with fresh flavour. Its naturally mild taste lends itself well to various flavour infusions like raw sea urchin to make it taste more like beluga caviar and smoking process. As a whole, mild flavoured caviars’ flavour variability are very dependent of the source fishes’ prevailing environmental conditions which it lived and the ingredients used in the roe’s preparation. Given the species’ excellent fecundity rate and increased anti-pollution and restocking campaigns, not to mention its good price-to-taste ratio, whitefish sourced caviar could well be the caviar for the masses.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Albany Beef: A More Responsible Way to Consume Caviar?
Given that caviar consumption is inherently wasteful from a natural resource utilization viewpoint, does consuming the whole fish that the caviar is taken from more resource friendly?
By: Ringo Bones
Caviar connoisseurs had it lucky compared to shark-fin soup eaters because most sturgeon varieties have a fecundity edge over sharks. But still, given that roe extraction for caviar processing results in the death sentence of the whole sturgeon is it less wasteful if the whole sturgeon is sold along with the caviar? After all, it was proposed back in the 1980s that whole sharks should be sold along with the extracted fins – though fishmongers later learned that sharks reproduce slowly and most of them eventually bowed down to the demands of environmental pressure groups to halt the trade of shark fins. At least a majority of them anyway.
Back to caviar consumption, the female sturgeons are seldom – if at all – consumed after the roe is taken for processing into caviar. It does therefore make better sense that the whole fish should be consumed and marketed. Back in the 19th Century, it was routine practice in the US to sell the sturgeon after the roe is taken. Fishmongers even marketed the product as “Albany Beef”.
Acipenser sturio – or the common sturgeon – was once very plentiful in the Hudson River before overfishing and pollution reduced its numbers. It has been raised successfully in other parts of the United States as a source of domestically grown caviar. The common sturgeon once got the moniker of Albany Beef due to its red flesh that was once considered a delicacy in fine restaurants of New York until the Hudson River’s population of common sturgeon fell below commercially viable numbers. Since it has been grown in other parts of the US in commercially viable numbers, maybe it is time to reintroduce Albany Beef as a delicacy to New York’s fine diners.
By: Ringo Bones
Caviar connoisseurs had it lucky compared to shark-fin soup eaters because most sturgeon varieties have a fecundity edge over sharks. But still, given that roe extraction for caviar processing results in the death sentence of the whole sturgeon is it less wasteful if the whole sturgeon is sold along with the caviar? After all, it was proposed back in the 1980s that whole sharks should be sold along with the extracted fins – though fishmongers later learned that sharks reproduce slowly and most of them eventually bowed down to the demands of environmental pressure groups to halt the trade of shark fins. At least a majority of them anyway.
Back to caviar consumption, the female sturgeons are seldom – if at all – consumed after the roe is taken for processing into caviar. It does therefore make better sense that the whole fish should be consumed and marketed. Back in the 19th Century, it was routine practice in the US to sell the sturgeon after the roe is taken. Fishmongers even marketed the product as “Albany Beef”.
Acipenser sturio – or the common sturgeon – was once very plentiful in the Hudson River before overfishing and pollution reduced its numbers. It has been raised successfully in other parts of the United States as a source of domestically grown caviar. The common sturgeon once got the moniker of Albany Beef due to its red flesh that was once considered a delicacy in fine restaurants of New York until the Hudson River’s population of common sturgeon fell below commercially viable numbers. Since it has been grown in other parts of the US in commercially viable numbers, maybe it is time to reintroduce Albany Beef as a delicacy to New York’s fine diners.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Iranian Beluga Caviar: Too Tasty To Be Banned?
Given that the UN Security Council has newly voted punitive sanctions against Iran for their “questionable” nuclear weapons program, will Iran’s caviar exports be banned again this time?
By: Ringo Bones
It was made official back in June 9, 2010 that another round of punitive sanctions aimed against Iran over their “questionable” nuclear weapons program. With the UN Security Council voted twelve to two with one abstention in favor of renewed sanctions that are primarily aimed at arms purchases and the freezing of offshore bank assets of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard – rumored to make up a quarter of Iran’s GNP. Given the latest punitive sanctions, what does this mean to Iran’s beluga caviar exports?
There might be some truth to those free-floating rumors that Iranian beluga caviar exports – especially when destined to the United States - is just “too tasty” for a ban to be successfully enforced. Not surprisingly, during the mid 1960s at the height of the Cold War, Volga River Delta-sourced Caspian Sea sturgeon beluga caviar – i.e. Soviet Union caviar – never got the same US government restrictions that got “supposedly” slapped on Cuban cigars. At that time, American gourmets gladly paid 9 US dollars a serving for Soviet beluga caviar.
Fast forward to the 1979 Islamic Revolution that got underway in Iran that resulted in the hostage taking of American citizens who staffed the US Embassy in Tehran had made drastic decline of Iranian exports of beluga caviar to the United States. While in 1987, then US president Ronald Reagan banned all Iranian exports to the US – including beluga caviar (albeit probably in name only) – in response to the “increasingly bellicose behavior” by Iran that included attacks on American forces and American-flagged Kuwaiti ships on the Persian Gulf. Not surprisingly the word bellicose is still inextricably connected to Iran given Tehran’s recent inability to fulfill their obligations as a signatory country of the Nuclear Weapons Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Iranian caviar exports to the US may be in decline, but it is not a result of UN Security Council approved sanctions but due to the inevitable decline of the Caspian Sea beluga caviar after facing over-fishing and pollution challenges. Even though it probably now only forms a minor part of Iran’s overall export one does wonder if Iran’s beluga caviar exports falls under the purview of the Revolutionary Guard? Which is the main reason why America should develop its own homegrown sustainable caviar industry.
By: Ringo Bones
It was made official back in June 9, 2010 that another round of punitive sanctions aimed against Iran over their “questionable” nuclear weapons program. With the UN Security Council voted twelve to two with one abstention in favor of renewed sanctions that are primarily aimed at arms purchases and the freezing of offshore bank assets of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard – rumored to make up a quarter of Iran’s GNP. Given the latest punitive sanctions, what does this mean to Iran’s beluga caviar exports?
There might be some truth to those free-floating rumors that Iranian beluga caviar exports – especially when destined to the United States - is just “too tasty” for a ban to be successfully enforced. Not surprisingly, during the mid 1960s at the height of the Cold War, Volga River Delta-sourced Caspian Sea sturgeon beluga caviar – i.e. Soviet Union caviar – never got the same US government restrictions that got “supposedly” slapped on Cuban cigars. At that time, American gourmets gladly paid 9 US dollars a serving for Soviet beluga caviar.
Fast forward to the 1979 Islamic Revolution that got underway in Iran that resulted in the hostage taking of American citizens who staffed the US Embassy in Tehran had made drastic decline of Iranian exports of beluga caviar to the United States. While in 1987, then US president Ronald Reagan banned all Iranian exports to the US – including beluga caviar (albeit probably in name only) – in response to the “increasingly bellicose behavior” by Iran that included attacks on American forces and American-flagged Kuwaiti ships on the Persian Gulf. Not surprisingly the word bellicose is still inextricably connected to Iran given Tehran’s recent inability to fulfill their obligations as a signatory country of the Nuclear Weapons Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Iranian caviar exports to the US may be in decline, but it is not a result of UN Security Council approved sanctions but due to the inevitable decline of the Caspian Sea beluga caviar after facing over-fishing and pollution challenges. Even though it probably now only forms a minor part of Iran’s overall export one does wonder if Iran’s beluga caviar exports falls under the purview of the Revolutionary Guard? Which is the main reason why America should develop its own homegrown sustainable caviar industry.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Salt Matters
As if the now very rare Beluga caviar is not yet enough to be snobby about, the salt used in its preparation matters too. But do snootier salts make top shelf caviar really taste better?
By: Ringo Bones
The gourmet food world is in a constant search of ways to make them and their preparations snootier than your typical mass-market fast food chain. After all, they had always been the paragon of tastier (for those who can sense and for those who care) and healthier alternatives to fast food chains – albeit the preparation takes a tad longer. But what about those tales about the special kind of salt that goes into the packaging of Beluga caviar, are they just mere stories used to add snob appeal to the finished product?
After carefully extracting them from the Beluga sturgeon’s egg sac, sturgeon eggs are rinsed then the berries are classified according to size and color, and then salted by a specialist referred to as the Master Salt Blender. The best berries are treated as “malossol” meaning literally “little-salt” – meaning that the salt added is no more than 5% of the weight of the batch of eggs to be treated. And the kind of salt used to process the Beluga caviar matters to.
Prior to 1914, the salt used for preparing the caviar was taken from delta of the Volga River in the Astrakhan Steppe in Russia. But ever since the widespread industrialization of the region around the Volga River Delta region that lead to the widespread pollution of the Volga River, the salt taken from its waters via evaporative means is no longer fit for human consumption. It would take 7 years or more of dry storage just to remove the chlorine and other volatile pollutants – like polychlorinated biphenyls / PCBs – from the salts of this now polluted river, while removing heavy metal contaminants involves a not-so-cheap feat of chemistry.
Because of this predicament, salt used in Beluga caviar preparation is now sourced from more pristine remote corners of the Volga River Delta is used. Iran had recently began to purchase salt from Russia to ensure that their Beluga caviar products are as consistent in taste, texture and color as their Russian counterparts.
As it is with chocolate and wine, salt is fetishized by region and the snootier salts can sell for as much as 15 US dollars per kilogram. There’s gray salt, red salt, French salt, Spanish salt, Italian salt, Portuguese salt, salt with algae, salt mixed with herbs, even smoked salt. Each one is a “secret ingredient” of a particular special regional cuisine, like you’ll be hard pressed to replicate the taste of a certain Bavarian sausage you are trying to make yourself using sea salt from your hometown instead of using salt taken from a certain Bavarian salt mine.
Such a wide variety was the norm up until the 20th Century, when salt producer Morton’s used an evaporator to make salt white, fine and uniform, says Mark Kurlansky, author of “Salt: A World History”. According to the author, “It’s an irony of history”, “What saltmakers wanted to do was to have this consistent, pure white salt, and once they succeeded, we got completely bored with it.” So true indeed, and out of hundreds of regional salt types, here are some regional delicacies.
Fleur De Sel, France – Long considered as the Dom Pérignon of salt, it is gathered from the top ponds on an island in Brittany. It’s clean, dry and light, with a nice crunch, no aftertaste and great meltability.
Alaea Sea Salt, Hawaii – Once used only in religious rituals, this salt, the pink color of which became a turn-off for Captain James Cook, has clay impurities. It is a bit harsh and lingers on the tongue. But for me, this is my personal favorite for seasoning sunny-side-up fried eggs. Because Alaea Sea Salt makes my eggs salty enough using quantities smaller that typical run-of-the-mill table salt, it might work as a low-sodium seasoning.
Maldon Sea Salt, England – A salt with a good following even though the last time I tasted one was 25 years ago used in some really great tasting homemade British smoked meats. This sea salt is preferred by chefs and is cheaper in comparison to the others that I’ve mentioned. It looks like tiny pieces of shaved ice. Mineral-like cleavage with a long finish, it has a slight crunch and dissolves slowly.
Ravida, Italy – From Sicily, these fine crystals, which dissolve immediately, are extremely powerful, almost stinging the tongue. Even a small sprinkling feels like swallowing a liter of seawater, which is ideal for preparing homemade gourmet hams and other preserved meats than can be set aside without refrigeration.
I haven’t yet tried using any of the gourmet salts listed above in my DIY caviar preparations, although those with access to some other righteous roe could experiment with them. You can drop me a line and tell which of them works as a salting agent for caviar or caviar substitute preparation.
By: Ringo Bones
The gourmet food world is in a constant search of ways to make them and their preparations snootier than your typical mass-market fast food chain. After all, they had always been the paragon of tastier (for those who can sense and for those who care) and healthier alternatives to fast food chains – albeit the preparation takes a tad longer. But what about those tales about the special kind of salt that goes into the packaging of Beluga caviar, are they just mere stories used to add snob appeal to the finished product?
After carefully extracting them from the Beluga sturgeon’s egg sac, sturgeon eggs are rinsed then the berries are classified according to size and color, and then salted by a specialist referred to as the Master Salt Blender. The best berries are treated as “malossol” meaning literally “little-salt” – meaning that the salt added is no more than 5% of the weight of the batch of eggs to be treated. And the kind of salt used to process the Beluga caviar matters to.
Prior to 1914, the salt used for preparing the caviar was taken from delta of the Volga River in the Astrakhan Steppe in Russia. But ever since the widespread industrialization of the region around the Volga River Delta region that lead to the widespread pollution of the Volga River, the salt taken from its waters via evaporative means is no longer fit for human consumption. It would take 7 years or more of dry storage just to remove the chlorine and other volatile pollutants – like polychlorinated biphenyls / PCBs – from the salts of this now polluted river, while removing heavy metal contaminants involves a not-so-cheap feat of chemistry.
Because of this predicament, salt used in Beluga caviar preparation is now sourced from more pristine remote corners of the Volga River Delta is used. Iran had recently began to purchase salt from Russia to ensure that their Beluga caviar products are as consistent in taste, texture and color as their Russian counterparts.
As it is with chocolate and wine, salt is fetishized by region and the snootier salts can sell for as much as 15 US dollars per kilogram. There’s gray salt, red salt, French salt, Spanish salt, Italian salt, Portuguese salt, salt with algae, salt mixed with herbs, even smoked salt. Each one is a “secret ingredient” of a particular special regional cuisine, like you’ll be hard pressed to replicate the taste of a certain Bavarian sausage you are trying to make yourself using sea salt from your hometown instead of using salt taken from a certain Bavarian salt mine.
Such a wide variety was the norm up until the 20th Century, when salt producer Morton’s used an evaporator to make salt white, fine and uniform, says Mark Kurlansky, author of “Salt: A World History”. According to the author, “It’s an irony of history”, “What saltmakers wanted to do was to have this consistent, pure white salt, and once they succeeded, we got completely bored with it.” So true indeed, and out of hundreds of regional salt types, here are some regional delicacies.
Fleur De Sel, France – Long considered as the Dom Pérignon of salt, it is gathered from the top ponds on an island in Brittany. It’s clean, dry and light, with a nice crunch, no aftertaste and great meltability.
Alaea Sea Salt, Hawaii – Once used only in religious rituals, this salt, the pink color of which became a turn-off for Captain James Cook, has clay impurities. It is a bit harsh and lingers on the tongue. But for me, this is my personal favorite for seasoning sunny-side-up fried eggs. Because Alaea Sea Salt makes my eggs salty enough using quantities smaller that typical run-of-the-mill table salt, it might work as a low-sodium seasoning.
Maldon Sea Salt, England – A salt with a good following even though the last time I tasted one was 25 years ago used in some really great tasting homemade British smoked meats. This sea salt is preferred by chefs and is cheaper in comparison to the others that I’ve mentioned. It looks like tiny pieces of shaved ice. Mineral-like cleavage with a long finish, it has a slight crunch and dissolves slowly.
Ravida, Italy – From Sicily, these fine crystals, which dissolve immediately, are extremely powerful, almost stinging the tongue. Even a small sprinkling feels like swallowing a liter of seawater, which is ideal for preparing homemade gourmet hams and other preserved meats than can be set aside without refrigeration.
I haven’t yet tried using any of the gourmet salts listed above in my DIY caviar preparations, although those with access to some other righteous roe could experiment with them. You can drop me a line and tell which of them works as a salting agent for caviar or caviar substitute preparation.
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