Food and Water Pairing for Caviar

 FineWaters Balance | Still: Finé (Mount Olympus, Spa, ...)
 FineWaters Balance | Effervescent: Voss (Gleneagles, Hildon, ...)


The saltiness of the caviar requires a water with a low TDS and a FineWaters Balance | Still or Effervescent. Very important is also the presentation of the water. Upgrade your water glasses and don't put a generic PET (plastic) bottle next to a tin of Caviar as it just looks rediculus and deflates the whole epicurian experience. If the water you would like to drink only comes in a plastic bottle - decant.

Caviar
The popularity of caviar is hardly a contemporary phenomenon. The dish dates back to ancient times and has been prized in many cultures. The sturgeon is a prehistoric fish that has been around for 250 million years, surviving since the time of the dinosaurs. Sturgeon can live to be over 100 years old and can grow to weigh over 3,000 pounds

It has been suggested that by 2400 B.C. ancient coastal Egyptians and Phoenicians had learned to salt and pickle fish eggs to make them last through war, famine or trips at sea. Bas-reliefs at the Necropolis near the Sakkara Pyramid show fishermen catching fish and removing their eggs. According to Aristotle, the ancient Greeks were no strangers to caviar either, as “lavish Greek banquets would end with trumpet fanfare announcing the arrival of heaping platters of caviar garnished with flowers.” Some claim it was the Turkish who first coined the word “khavyar” from which the English term “caviar” originates. Others suggest the term “caviar” comes from the Persian word “chav-jar” which translates loosely to “cake of power” or “piece of power.” The Persians considered caviar to be a medicine for a multitude of illnesses, and would eat it in stick form to give them energy and stamina. In the 1240s the first written record of the word “khavyar” was found in the writings of Batu Khan (grandson of Ghengis Khan), while the word first appeared in English print in 1591.

Caviar was enjoyed in France as early as 1553 according to Rabelais and his work Faits et dits Heroiques du Grand Pantagruet (1553). Meanwhile, the Larousse Gastronomique cites la Dictionnaire du Commerce (1741), mentioned the dish as well: “kavia is beginning to be known in France where it is not despised at the best tables.” Of course, the Russian czars must be mentioned in any discussion of the early popularity of caviar. As the main consumers of caviar in Russia, the czars levied a caviar tax on sturgeon fishermen. It is said that Nicholas II was given 11 tons of the finest caviar each year by his fisherman subjects.

Settlers of America discovered sturgeon to be the most prolific fish of the North American continent. In the beginning of 19th century, the United States was the major producer of caviar in the world and produced 90% of the world's caviar.

The American caviar industry got started when Henry Schacht, a German immigrant, opened a business catching sturgeon on the Delaware River. He treated his caviar with German salt and exported a great deal of it to Europe. At around the same time, sturgeon was fished from the Columbia River on the west coast.

At one time, caviar was so common in America  it was served in saloons to encourage thirsty drinkers. Hudson River sturgeon were so plentiful that the flesh was referred to as "Albany beef." A nickel could get you a serving of the best caviar available in New York, and many of the most lavish establishments, including the Waldorf Astoria, offered free-flowing caviar as an amuse-bouche opening to an elegant meal. Caviar was also a common food in California during the gold rush days.

American Caviar
This holiday season may be the last one in which beluga  caviar graces American tables. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service  declared beluga sturgeon to be "threatened with extinction" in April 2004, and it will issue a final decision on trade restrictions for the delicacy in early 2005. This listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act could result in a ban on beluga caviar imports to the United States, the world's largest market for the delicacy.

A ban would be good news for the beluga sturgeon, whose population has declined by 90 percent in the past 20 years. The sturgeon must be killed for caviar production, and global demand for its eggs has prompted overfishing and rampant illegal trade. The United States, which imports 60 percent of the world's beluga caviar, is the major source of that demand, and a prohibition on imports would significantly reduce pressure on the fish. The beluga can take 15 years to reach reproductive age and can live to be 100, so it is vital that the long road to recovery begins immediately.

Recently, the United States has made a strong comeback in caviar production from farmed fish.

"Right now there are two major kinds of sturgeon being marketed in the U.S., white sturgeon and paddlefish," says Ellen Pikitch, director of marine programs with the Bronx-based Wildlife Conservation Society. Other fish eggs such as salmon roe and trout roe, are also often called caviar. Technically they are not, but as long as the fish is identified, as in "salmon caviar" or "trout caviar," the practice is acceptable, says Pikitch.

"American caviar is a better choice environmentally, and in a number of blind tests, they have rated very well," she says. "And they are less expensive than Caspian caviar."

American caviars —Caviars from farmed white sturgeon, farmed paddlefish, farmed rainbow trout and wild Alaska salmon are produced via environmentally responsible methods and are popular alternatives to caviars from endangered Caspian Sea sturgeons.

This holiday season several of the nation’s top restaurants are teaming up with Seafood Choices Alliance and Caviar Emptor to celebrate Seafood Greetings, a holiday collection of luxurious, great-tasting seafood recipes that are good for us and the oceans. 

Participating restaurants in 14 U.S. cities will be promoting ocean-friendly choices this holiday season, beginning right after Thanksgiving. The choices include American caviars, spot prawns, stone crabs, oysters, bay scallops and Alaskan Winter King salmon.  Wild Edibles, the famed New York seafood marketplace and supplier, will also promote these excellent holiday seafood choices to all its customers, both chefs and consumers.

Participating restaurants include Restaurant rm (New York City), Restaurant Jean-Louis (Greenwich, CT), Restaurant Nora (Washington, DC), The Hayes Street Grill (San Francisco), The Rattlesnake Club (Detroit), Richmond Hill Inn (Asheville, NC), The Little Nell (Aspen), East West Bistro (Athens, GA), McCrady's Restaurant (Charleston, SC), Emily's Restaurant (Northville, MI), Opah Grille (Gladstone, NJ), The Herbfarm (Woodinville, WA), Rivers Restaurant (Portland, OR), Lark (Seattle), Higgins (Portland, OR). 

Traditional beverages to serve with caviar are ice cold Vodka or a dry Champagne.

Resources:
Caviar Emptor : www.caviaremptor.org
Seafood Choices Alliance : www.seafoodchoices.org