Caviar Varieties

Fresh caviar is delight for the palate and consists of the roe or the eggs collected from the belly of a few chosen fishes. It is then processed for a few weeks in brine and a salt content of 5 to 8 % till a rich and distinctive flavor is achieved. Caviar is segregated into two classes. The sturgeon class which is the crème of all classes, and the non-sturgeon class which is easily available and most affordable. Let’s take a look at some of the prominent varieties of caviar.Caviar Varieties:

• Beluga Caviar: Considered amongst the finest caviars, the beluga caviar is collected from an endangered blue sturgeon fish. The quality is soft, clear as crystal with shiny gloss and roughly about the shape of a slightly bigger pea. On looking closely, a small dot can be observed which looks like an eye but is actually the egg itself. The surrounding translucent sac can come in various colors. Like all good caviars, it melts right away upon the tongue with a rich and creamy taste.
• Osetra Caviar: It too is harvested from the Sturgeon fish. The eggs are about average in size and ranges from the palette of gray to brown. It possesses a remarkable finesse on the palate with a slight nutty richness, and considered a close second to Beluga.
• Sevruga Caviar: Another sturgeon fish which gives small eggs in the color of gray and possesses a strong rich tang. Expect a salty taste even though it is as good a caviar as any treated with the same processing.
• Sterlet Caviar: The last sturgeon fish which harvested golden eggs was known to grace the tables of the nobility and aristocracy. Today, this form of fish is virtually extinct due to over fishing, so no more of this caviar is found in the market.

Caviar is also harvested from fish apart from the sturgeon. Though it lacks the same qualities and flavor, it does comes close to it and is known to be a lot less in cost as compared to it is easily available..

• Lumpfish Caviar: Harvested from lumpfish and high in demand due to its lesser cost. The eggs are tiny and recognizable as they come in between reddish black..
• American caviar: Harvested from the Mississippi paddlefish which bears a close resemblance to the sturgeon. The egg is noted to be somewhere between small and average with the color scaling on shades of gray. It is said to have an earthy quality in taste.
• Whitefish caviar: It is found amidst the Great Lakes belt and in most northern countries. The roe is reputed to be small, colored yellow and known to slight in taste making it the most flexible caviar of all.
• Salmon or Red caviar: The roe is of built in medium size with the color ranging from a fiery light orange to crimson in color. Salmon caviar is known to be the closest in flavor when compared to the sturgeon counterparts.
• Tarama: Harvested from Carp and the consistency of shade is orange in color. It processing involves the roe to be smoked like most meats.
• Trout caviar: Rainbow trout has their roe shaded in orange and smaller in shape. The taste is mild and curiously salt-free. Since it is mostly farming and easily abailable, it is cheap in price as compared to its flavorful taste.