Mother of Sturgeon
Dignified roe
by Kimberly Lord Stewart
There are few foods that can drive a woman to thievery, but caviar is one of them.
I have a friend (really, it’s not me) who keeps a mother of pearl spoon in her purse for the sole purpose of tasting caviar—at the store. When the moment is right, and the big round security mirror isn’t pointed at her, she twists open the jar—POP!—and dips in. If the buttery pearls meet her approval, she shells out the cash. If not, it goes back on the shelf.
While I don’t condone my friend’s behavior (really, it’s not me), it’s almost understandable. Through the years, international flight attendants have been arrested for caviar smuggling, and companies fined millions for purchasing tons of the stuff illegally. Why? It’s dignified, sophisticated, refined. And, it’s delicious.
But caviar hasn’t always been such a lofty food. Little did George Washington know when he crossed the Delaware, he could have financed the entire Revolutionary War with the sturgeon roe that lay in the murky waters beneath. By the mid-1800s, caviar was so plentiful in the Northeast that New York bars sold it for a nickel, slathered on white bread with mugs of beer.
American chefs, tired of the red tape and high prices for imported caviar, have put domestic caviar back on the menu for two reasons—accessibility and quality. Sustainable fishery management has improved sturgeon stores, while careful attention to detail has improved the taste and texture. The Yankee black pearls have a new level of respect, so don’t turn your nose at domestic caviar. And please, don’t resort to criminal behavior—American caviar is downright affordable at $15 to $30 per ounce.
American Black Pearl Primer
Sturgeon Caviar
Lake Sturgeon: highly prized for its likeness to imported beluga caviar; raised on fish farms in the U.S.
Idaho White Sturgeon: comparable to Caspian Sea beluga; found in the Snake River
Hackleback Sturgeon: buttery flavor, small eggs; from the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers
Other Roes*
Paddlefish: silky, rich flavor; found in Tennessee, Alabama and Missouri rivers
Salmon Caviar: large glistening red roe; from Chinook and Coho salmon
Whitefish or Golden Caviar: small, pale orange roe; from the Great Lakes and Canada
*By U.S. law, caviar can only come from sturgeon. If the roe is from any other fish, the name of the fish must precede the word caviar.
Eggs with Caviar
serves six
6 eggs
pinch cayenne pepper
pinch salt
5 Tbsp butter
1/2 c cream, whipped
2 Tbsp vodka
juice of 1/4 lemon
2 oz caviar
6 1-1/2 oz ramekins
Heat water in a double boiler. Pour eggs into a heat proof bowl. Add cayenne and salt to eggs; beat for one to two minutes. Place bowl over boiling water in the double boiler. When eggs begin to thicken, add the butter in small pieces; stir. Keep warm.
Fold the vodka and lemon into the whipped cream. Fill ramekins with eggs. Top with cream and sprinkle with caviar. Serve immediately.
Recipe from The World of Caviar, Frédéric Ramade, Diane Publishing Company, 1999.
Caviar Decorum
To avoid your own Tom Hanks moment (remember the movie Big?), never use a silver spoon to eat caviar; the metal reacts with the fragile eggs. Use a mother of pearl spoon instead or, at the very least, a wooden or plastic one. Connoisseurs will place a few grains on the back of the hand at the juncture of the thumb and forefinger and politely scoff it up. And even though you may love the stuff, it’s bad manners to eat more than a few spoonfuls.