Caviar is the roe — the eggs — specifically from the sturgeon (Acipenseridae) family of fish. The best caviar is harvested from the female unfertilized sturgeon then carefully salt-cured with no other added ingredients.
Technically, all fish produce roe. But not all fish roe is caviar. Put simply, if it’s not from sturgeon, it’s not caviar!
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What makes sturgeon special?
Sturgeon is special for a few reasons. One, the fish is considered “primitive” because their physical traits have remained unchanged since the earliest fossil records. Second, they are anadromous, meaning they spend part of their life in saltwater and travel upstream to freshwater to spawn in the wild. Sturgeon is also a very large fish (they can grow up to 12 feet!) that is slow to mature and can live to be up to 100 years old. It can take 15-25 years for a female sturgeon to produce eggs, making the eggs extremely valuable when they are harvested.
These are just a few reasons why caviar is distinctly different than other types of roe, both in taste and value. Much like fine wine and liquors, the time one must wait for the delectable treat is part of what makes it so valuable.
Caviar is considered one of the oldest known delicacies and was first harvested by Russian and Persian fishermen in the Caspian and Black Seas. Aristotle is known to have praised the fine food that graced the banquet tables of his time, and records indicate that ancient Greeks, Romans, and Russian tsars also enjoyed this culinary wonder.
What’s the difference in taste between caviar and fish roe?
The reason this delicacy is different from any other type of fish roe is because of its color, distinct flavor, maturity, texture, and dense nutritional value. Within the sturgeon family, there are 27 species. Some rare, slow-producing sturgeon species take longer to produce their eggs, and that caviar comes with a higher price tag. Alternatively, caviar that is less expensive is derived from sturgeon that can produce more eggs in a shorter period of time.
If you try caviar from different species of sturgeon, like Beluga, Ossetra, Kaluga, or Hackleback (to name a few), you’ll notice a distinct difference in flavor and appearance. We’ll get into the wide swath of caviar flavor differences later.
Where does caviar come from?
Originally, this food came from wild sturgeon found in the Caspian and Black Seas. These were caviars of the Beluga, Ossetra, and Sevruga species. However, sturgeon are now farmed all over the world in order to protect and preserve the species in their wild habitat—and some of the best farms even help repopulate endangered sturgeon in the wild. The best caviar comes from sustainable, eco-friendly farms that closely mimic the sturgeon’s wild habitat in order to preserve the taste and quality of the roe when it finally makes it to your spoon.