The following information has been excerpted from the October 28, 2002 issue of The Rosengarten Report. Each individual caviar product mentioned gets either *** stars (exceptional), ** stars (excellent), * (very good), or no stars (good enough to buy).
Caviar from American White Sturgeon
The grand-prize winner--the one caviar that would be indistinguishable from
a group of terrific Caspian Sea caviars in a blind tasting--was produced by
Sterling Caviar, from a white sturgeon raised at Stolt Sea Farm near Sacramento,
California. What is white sturgeon? It is neither beluga, osetra, nor sevruga--but
a true species of sturgeon (acipenser transmontanus) that is indigenous to the
waters and rivers of North America's Pacific Coast (from southern Alaska down
to Ensenada, Mexico). It is a huge sturgeon, sometimes measuring 20 feet long,
weighing 1500 pounds, and sometimes living for over 100 years; it is the largest
fresh-water fish in North America. It was once abundant in the wild (it was
found, among other places, in the Sacramento Delta), and in the 19th century
a great deal of American caviar was produced from it. Sadly, it too is almost
depleted in the wild; happily, a number of aquafarms in California are raising
white sturgeon, producing caviar from it, and doing extremely well. Please don't
balk at the prospect of farmed sturgeon; the best White Sturgeon caviar from
these California farms is very like Caspian Sea osetra. Of course, you'll be
paying osetra-like prices.
The very best product in my tasting was the Sterling Premium (***/$42 an ounce),
a caviar with all the complexity and nuance you'd expect from Caspian Sea caviar.
The eggs that I tasted were gray-yellow-brown, light-ish in hue (osetra-like).
The way they held together was extraordinary: they formed a creamy mass, in
which every egg was nevertheless distinct (but not crunchy). On the palate was
a gorgeous harmony of flavors, with no one element sticking out. The specifics
were pure Caspian Sea osetra: a right-on seaweedy taste, married with the lingering
flavor of egg yolks. Really sexy, complex, delicious--and not the most expensive
alternative caviar!
STERLING CAVIAR
STOLT SEA FARM, LLC
2730 E. 37th St.
Vernon, CA 90058
800.525.0333 (tel)
www.sterlingcaviar.com
Caviar from American Hackleback Sturgeon
Another true sturgeon that did well in my tasting is an American one--the hackleback
sturgeon, which is native to the Mississippi River and the waters that drain
off of it. Its scientific name is scaphiryhnchus platoryhnchus--a real mouthful,
meaning "spade snout broad snout" in Greek, which well describes the
look of this fish. Sometimes called the "shovelnose sturgeon," or
the "sand sturgeon," it is the most abundant sturgeon in the American
wild. Hackleback is a very small fish, rarely exceeding three feet in length
at maturity. Hence, the size of its eggs: small. They are almost always black,
or near-black, and can have a sweet butteriness reminiscent of beluga caviar.
The hands-down, no-snout-about-it hackleback winner in my tasting was the Carolyn
Collins American Fresh Water Hackleback Sturgeon Caviar (***/$35 an ounce) from
a great company in Chicago. The small eggs were jet-black, shiny, wet and sticky--breaking
up into extremely pleasing lumps of roe. Balance was extraordinary: mild and
sweet, low salt, no bitterness, a pleasure for novices and connoisseurs alike.
There was a range of subtle, earthy flavors. But the big news was the butter--as
amazingly buttery as any beluga I've ever tasted. Considering the attractive
price of this phenomenal stuff, this is big news indeed.
CAROLYN COLLINS CAVIAR
925 W. Jackson Blvd.
3rd Floor
Chicago, IL 60607
800.226.0342 (tel)
312.226.2114 (fax)
www.collinscaviar.com
Caviar from American Paddlefish
Is it or ain't it? Most sources call the native American paddlefish (polyodon
spathula), found primarily today in the Mississippi River system, a "cousin"
of the sturgeon--related to sturgeon, but not sturgeon. However, a U.S. government
ruling four years ago officially made the paddlefish a sturgeon! What power!
Today, merchants are divided on this subject. The U.S. government says that
the roe of sturgeon may be called simply "Caviar," whereas the roe
of other fish can be called "Caviar" only if the name of the fish
comes first. Accordingly, some purveyors market paddlefish roe as "caviar,"
others market it as "paddlefish caviar." To me, the roe is subtly
different from sturgeon roe. Not in size: though paddlefish can weigh as much
as 200 pounds, they are usually between 10-15 pounds, and yield small-medium
eggs. Color is also sturgeon-like, with most examples in varying shades of grey.
In flavor, the kinds of earthy-eggy thrills you get from sturgeon eggs are also
present in paddlefish eggs--though the latter usually carry a little more bitterness.
But the big difference, to me, sets in when you consider texture. Most paddlefish
caviar does not have the sticky, hold-together mass of sturgeon caviar; the
best description of its looser texture would be "soupy."Paddlefish,
also known as "spoonfish" or "spoonbills"--or, locally,
as "Chattanooga beluga"--are truly ancient, going back 300 million
years and surviving the dinosaurs. They were once found much more widely in
North America--all the way up to the Great Lakes in Canada. The species today
is much less common, and is even on the endangered species lists of a few states.
Because of its classification murkiness (is it or ain't it?), I think, paddlefish
caviar usually comes at a very reasonable price.
The best example I tasted was the Browne Trading Company American Spoonbill
Caviar (*/$20 an ounce), distributed by a Maine company that is revered for
the quality of its Caspian Sea caviar. These small-ish eggs were steel-grey,
and among the lightest in color of the dozen or so paddlefish samples I tried
from around the country. True to form, the egg mass was not sticky, and a little
soupy in texture; the individual eggs were not particularly firm, but not mushy
either. The best part was the buttery-eggy-earthy taste, with real Caspian-type
interest. And, this sample was less bitter and less salty than most of the others.
BROWNE TRADING COMPANY, INC.
Merrill's Wharf
260 Commercial St.
Portland, ME 04101
800.944.7848 (tel)
207.766.2404 (fax)
www.browne-trading.com
Trout Caviar
The eggs from rainbow trout are one of my very favorite sturgeon caviar alternatives--and
at about 10% the cost of beluga!. They are normally orange in color (like salmon
eggs), smaller than salmon eggs, less salty than sturgeon caviar, mild in flavor,
and very juicy. I can think of no better way to start the day than with a plate
of cream-cheese-smeared, trout-roe-topped bagels or bialys.
The most delicious trout roe I tasted on this go-round was the Carolina Rainbow
Trout Caviar, Sunburst Trout Company (***/$8 for an ounce). I'm nuts about this
stuff--and I'm delirious about the price! It's made from farmed rainbow trout,
raised high in the Carolina Balsam Range--and is yet another argument in favor
of farmed caviar. Gorgeous, glistening, small, intensely orange eggs--in a silky
mass that held its shape beautifully. Positively striking taste of life underwater;
the flavor is so concentrated, so filled-in, you could believe that each egg
was injected with a great fish stock. Wonderfully subtle notes of earth, seaweed,
iodine and egg yolk. This is one non-sturgeon caviar that I'd be delighted to
eat with only a spoon!
SUNBURST TROUT COMPANY
128 Raceway Place
Canton, NC 28716
800.673.3051 (tel)
828.648.9279 (fax)
www.sunbursttrout.com
Salmon Caviar
Ever since I fell in love with sushi bars 25 years ago, I've been partial to
salmon roe (which is considerably larger than most trout roe). At the bar, of
course, ikura (salmon roe) is usually served on rice, wrapped in nori--a fabulous
combination of flavors. But you can also enjoy salmon roe on its own, or on
top of oysters, or mixed with sour cream and diced purple onion as a spread,
or in a million other ways. From what I can determine, most of the salmon eggs
we see in the market come from Chinook salmon, or possibly Coho salmon, that
has been caught or raised in the West (including Alaska).
There are lots of salmon caviars out there--but the most exciting one I tasted
was the Browne Trading Company Salmon Caviar (**/$5 an ounce). These were big,
translucent eggs, not very dark, that fell into a lovely, sexy, clingy mass.
The eggs I tasted had an ocean-load of flavor. The immediate impression was
very sea-like; then a second set of more complex and haunting flavors kicked
in. Something petrol-like? Something wonderful like sheep's milk cheese? Can't
nail it--but, together with very, very tame salt and bitterness, it all added
up to a terrific bite.
BROWNE TRADING COMPANY, INC.
Merrill's Wharf
260 Commercial St.
Portland, ME 04101
800.944.7848 (tel)
207.766.2404 (fax)
www.browne-trading.com
Whitefish Caviar
These golden eggs might be the most culinarily flexible eggs of all--because
they are so mild in taste, normally lacking the salt and bitterness that threaten
most other caviars. Hence, they don't run into flavor conflicts with food--but
add a lovely, piscine background to the right combinations (try whitefish roe
as a garnish for slices of warm hard-boiled eggs with sour cream and chives!).
Whitefish are found in many northern countries, and are quite abundant in our
own Great Lakes region (and Canada's). Whitefish caviar is sometimes known as
Golden Whitefish caviar.
The best version I tasted was the Browne Trading Company Golden Whitefish (**/$4
an ounce)--tiny, tiny tan-orange eggs, almost like light dried apricot in color.
The texture was off-beat: soupy and velvety at the same time, with each miniscule
egg registering a major pop in your mouth. I particularly loved the earthy flavor--not
worlds apart from good sturgeon caviar flavor, but with a taste quality that
seems more cured, or preserved, than fresh. Very little bitterness for this
much flavor impact. These eggs are eat-able with a spoon, but probably not that
satisfying to Caspian veterans.
BROWNE TRADING COMPANY, INC.
Merrill's Wharf
260 Commercial St.
Portland, ME 04101
800.944.7848 (tel)
207.766.2404 (fax)
www.browne-trading.com
Löjrom
Not unlike Whitefish caviar in character--but from a totally different source--is
the wonderful roe called "löjrom" in Swedish, often translated
as "bleakfish roe," or "freshwater herring roe," or "tullibee
roe," or "cisco roe." Every menu of practically every restaurant
in Sweden has some appetizer or other on it using löjrom: crepes with löjrom
and creme fraiche, open-faced löjrom sandwiches, warm potatoes with löjrom,
etc. Like whitefish caviar, it is mild and delicious--and it's even cheaper.
The U.S. source I'm aware of is Morey's Fish House, based in Golden Valley,
Minnesota. They catch the fish, process it, and ship it off to various destinations--including
Sweden! One of their buyers is Scandia, the great Connecticut purveyor of Scandinavian
goods that I wrote about in Rosengarten Report #6. I recently re-tasted the
Scandia Löjrom (*/less than $2 an ounce when purchased in bulk)--and was
delighted all over again. The product had been frozen, which probably contributed
to its slightly soupy texture--but the flavor of these tiny, brown-orange eggs
was delicious: slightly briny, slightly fishy (in a good way.) If you spooned
'em up next to Caspian Sea caviar they'd seem a little flat and watery. But
put 'em, as I recently did, on warm slices of new potatoes, with sour cream,
chopped purple onion and fresh dill--and you've got a killer appetizer for a
remarkably low price!
SCANDIA FOOD & GIFTS
1685 1st Avenue
Between 87th & 88th Street
New York, NY 10128
212.369.7323 (tel)
www.scandiafood.com
A Caspian Sea Exception
If you're desperate for Caspian Sea caviar (and congratulations! your business
must be doing very well!).....but don't want to contribute to the depletion
of sturgeon stocks in the sea.....you may be interested in a very expensive
Iranian caviar imported by Browne Trading. It is called Karaburun, and Browne
refers to it as "guilt-free caviar"--because the Iranian processor
is working hard to produce caviar in a sustainable way. That is: they raise
young sturgeon, then release millions of fingerlings a year into the Caspian
Sea. Later, at their "sea ranch" (no confined pens, as in a "sea
farm"), they catch mature sturgeon and harvest the eggs. The type of sturgeon
they're working with is acipenser persicus--a fish found only in the southern
Caspian Sea (near Persia, or Iran, hence the name.) It is also known as "Karaburun,"
or "black nose" sturgeon, and is related to the famous osetra sturgeon
of the Caspian Sea--but is said to have nuttier, creamier roe. The sample I
tasted had medium-size eggs that were brownish-green-yellow (very osetra-like.)
The texture was superb: silky but delicate, creamy but light, separate eggs
held together in a mass. The flavor was beyond superb: a perfect balance of
flavors, a deep buttery-eggy undertone, a wild nuance on top of it all (nutty?
herbal? minty?) This is really top-of-the-line caviar--that, if the reports
are true, may just help to preserve the ecological line. The only bad news is
the depletion of your stocks: $68 an ounce, which is high even for the Caspian
Sea.
BROWNE TRADING COMPANY, INC.
Merrill's Wharf
260 Commercial St.
Portland, ME 04101
800.944.7848 (tel)
207.766.2404 (fax)
www.browne-trading.com
David Rosengarten is a "full-time eater". On TV, in books and magazines,
and now in a periodical called The Rosengarten Report, David demystifies complicated
culinary subjects and explores the complexity underlying simple ones. From caviar
to hot dogs, David covers the full spectrum of gastronomic topics.
For more information visit: www.davidrosengarten.com or call 866-321-7654