Fisherman's Snack To Elite Delicacy: The Unusual History Of Caviar

Caviar is a form of fish roe, the unfertilized eggs of female fish. These are cured with salt, a practice that brings out the flavor but also serves to prolong the eggs' shelf life — they typically last for a couple of weeks. Full of protein and omega-3 fatty acids, fish roe is a tasty and highly nutritious food, harvested from many species. But only one type of fish produces the roe which has become an exclusive and coveted delicacy — the sturgeon. This is a prehistoric fish that can be found in both salt and freshwater. Today, caviar has become more of an umbrella term that encompasses fish eggs harvested from all types of sturgeon, but the truest version comes from the beluga, the biggest and oldest variety of the species.

Beluga sturgeon can live for more than 100 years, and it may take up to 20 years for a female to begin producing eggs. The fact that it takes so long to produce a resource so highly lusted after has contributed to sturgeon caviar's appeal as well as the decline of the sturgeon that produce it, which are now considered to be critically endangered. This world-renowned luxury, however, was once considered an undesirable byproduct, hardly worthy of human consumption, and designated only for the lowest economic classes to eat. How caviar became an elite delicacy is a convoluted story of supply and demand, and proof that the two are not mutually exclusive.

The origins of caviar have been traced many centuries back to Persia, now present-day Iran. This country borders the Caspian Sea, which was the original source of caviar and today still produces the most coveted species of sturgeon. Caspian caviar is considered to be the "truest" kind, as the beluga sturgeon is native to this body of water. Prior to the Middle Ages, Persian caviar differed from how it is served today in that it was typically presented crushed. But regardless of how it was eaten, it was here that curing fish eggs with salt first began, a practice still used today to prepare caviar for consumption.  

Sturgeon sourced from the Caspian Sea produce a caviar with a pleasurable subtlety of flavor that contributes to why it is such a highly sought delicacy — it doesn't taste fishy. Furthermore, this caviar has what many consumers deem to be a superior texture — the fish eggs will pop when bitten. Whether or not caviar should be chewed is another subject entirely, but the popping effect of Caspian caviar is what makes this savory treat easy to distinguish from other varieties. And yet, though this kind of caviar is already a highly coveted and scarce resource, there is another that's even more exclusive. Almas, the rarest caviar in the world, comes from an Iranian albino beluga sturgeon sourced from these same waters, and has a special creamy color which makes it even more unique and, of course, expensive. 

Russia, another country bordering the Caspian Sea, also became an early consumer of caviar. Russian fishers learned to harvest fish roe around the 12th century, and consumed this fishing byproduct without the moderation that has today associated these fish eggs with luxury. At the time, caviar was in ample supply and considered second best to the fish it was extracted from. As a result, fish roe was a much cheaper source of protein and was originally deemed only suitable for the diets of the poorer classes.

Though caviar was plentiful at the time, it was not consumed with wasteful abandon. Even the less appealing eggs in a batch were prepared into something that could be enjoyed. Damaged or ugly eggs were mashed into a caviar paste, which was then condensed and dehydrated, qualities which gave this thick fish egg paté a much longer shelf life than fresh caviar. This pressed caviar is known as payusnaya, and making it is a tradition that started with Russian fishermen. It reappeared as a caviar fad in the 1950s, and though it is a lesser-known indulgence, remains a form of the delicacy still available today. Payusnaya, or pressed caviar, offers even more possibilities for incorporating indulgence into many dishes. For a touch of luxury, it is sometimes grated over an appetizer or main course as a garnish, and many people prefer it to the fresh kind.

While fish eggs were long considered to be mere peasant fare, rising ideologies of the time began to give this humble food a greater sense of significance. After Russia adopted and officially converted to Christianity in the 10th century, the ritual of fasting became an integral part of Russian Orthodox practices. These fasts decreed days throughout the year in which the populace was not permitted to consume meat or dairy products, occasions which totaled to about 200 out of every 365 days of the calendar year. When meat was not on the menu, other foodstuffs took precedence, and sturgeon caviar was eventually deemed a worthy substitute — the Russian Orthodox Church even suggested it. This boosted the appeal of sturgeon fish eggs in the public consciousness, and began caviar's transition from fisherman's snack and peasant's staple to a food consumed by other echelons of society as well.

Eventually, caviar reached even the palaces of the Russian tsars. The very first, Ivan the Terrible, who ruled in the 16th century, is said to have enjoyed it. The Romanov Era was the height of caviar's enjoyment amongst the Russian aristocracy, a dynasty that endured from the 17th century until 1917, when the Bolshevik Revolution ended tsar rule in favor of Communism. Under Romanov rule, this fisherman's food which had once been paired with gruel solidified caviar's transformation into a culinary delicacy which was often paired with vodka.

Russia and Iran controlled much of the caviar industry in the early days, as the dominant countries that sourced beluga sturgeon from the Caspian Sea. Other nations adopted the habit of harvesting fish roe as well, but took a while to catch on to consuming this food as a delicacy. In Europe, fishermen had little use for the eggs that were then considered secondary to sturgeon meat. Until the mid-19th century, this caviar would be fed to pigs as unwanted scraps. In France specifically, caviar was also plentiful in the rivers of the Aquitaine region. But here, too, fishermen didn't consider sturgeon roe fit for human consumption. To get rid of this undesirable byproduct, the fish eggs were fed to geese on the riverbanks.

Meanwhile, the United States in the 1800s became one of the world's leading producers of caviar, but this was procured from fish in American waters, including freshwater sturgeon and species off the Atlantic coast. While this may not have been the "true" Caspian caviar that was being served in Russian palaces at the time, it was at least considered good enough to eat, though by no means a luxury. In fact, American caviar was so prevalent at the time that it was often found in bars, dished out to customers as a free snack intended to keep patrons thirsty, in the same way that bar nuts are typically within reach at many watering holes today.

Prior to the revolution in Russia, France had already adopted an affinity for Russian culture, born out of the Franco-Russian Alliance of 1892. This agreement joined the two countries politically, and later suggested the French capital as a safe haven for artists and intellectuals who fled the First Russian Revolution in 1905. A second revolt in Russia led to another wave of citizens who fled their home country for Paris. These were primarily aristocrats, as the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 succeeded in overthrowing tsarist rule in Russia, serving as the end of the aristocracy and the foundations of what would become the communist-run Soviet Union in 1922. 

Enter the Petrossian brothers, Armenian-born businessmen who grew up in Moscow and fled the revolution to Paris with the surge of Russian émigrés. Seeking a way to make a living, they found their niche in selling caviar through family connections back in Russia. Founded in 1920, Petrossian Caviar quickly took off as an enterprise, finding a ready-made market for the Russians in Paris who had lost access to the luxury but hadn't lost their taste for it. In order to market their goods to more than the relocated Russian elite, however, the Petrossians worked out an agreement with Chef Auguste Escoffier at the Ritz hotel. Once caviar was available at the Ritz, it was served to the international beau monde who passed through the opulent Parisian hotel, earning it the worldwide associations with luxury we still know it for today.

Once more people than ever had developed a taste for caviar, this began to pose a new problem — more demand than the natural supply of wild sturgeon could accommodate. Overfishing was the inevitable result of consumers seeking sturgeon caviar specifically sourced from the Caspian Sea. Since it is female sturgeon that are hunted and killed for their eggs, an unregulated caviar industry was simultaneously eliminating the source of fish eggs and the possibility for future generations of sturgeon, providing no means of maintaining the species' population.

As sturgeon turned into an endangered species, caviar, which was already considered an elite delicacy, became even more exclusive — prices rose to accommodate a dwindling supply for a growing demand. The continued scarcity of coveted Caspian sturgeon caviar has kept prices high and simultaneously opened up markets for variations, substitutions, and even imitation caviar. Other varieties of sturgeon caviar are readily available, however, and the largest exporters today are China and the European Union. While these species may not be the highly coveted beluga, the manual process of sourcing, cleaning, and curing sturgeon caviar of any kind is enough to qualify it as a luxury. For those who can't afford the higher-end sturgeon though, there are many varieties of fish roe that are similar enough to feel just like caviar. Trout and salmon roe are American substitutes that just as easily please a gourmet without the risk of limited production.

There's a complicated history behind why the U.S. banned beluga sturgeon caviar, but this occurred in 2005 to address a continually dwindling population of beluga sturgeon. This was the same year that the World Wildlife Foundation succeeded in campaigning for a ban on commercial fishing of all species of sturgeon in the Caspian Sea. These bans, however, did not achieve their desired effect of protecting sturgeon populations, as they simply created ideal circumstances for poaching to replace any unregulated sturgeon fishing which had been the source of many livelihoods before restrictions were set in place.

Since 2005, there have been a few scandals that reveal the extent and regularity of sturgeon poaching in both Russia and the United States, crimes that reflect how the public's taste for caviar isn't going anywhere. In 2015, illegal caviar was seized in Russia in a highly unusual bust, with police finding half a ton secreted in the back of a funeral hearse, tucked around the casket that was also being transported. An earlier instance of Russian caviar kept with the dead occurred in 2011 when hundreds of pounds were found among the cadavers in a St. Petersburg morgue — perhaps because the cooler temperatures for the bodies were ideal for caviar too. More recently, on American soil, wildlife officials in Wisconsin faced criminal charges in 2021 for accepting $20,000 of illegal caviar, which had been produced from sturgeon eggs designated for research purposes.

Illegal fishing has continued worldwide despite critically endangered sturgeon populations. Consumers can't get enough of caviar, and its increasing scarcity has only augmented its appeal. As a solution to overfishing, caviar farms have, in recent years, become the dominant source of this luxury. WWF-Russia took action to promote more sustainable fishing practices starting in 2013, which included starting up an industry of aquaculture — water-based agriculture that aims to cultivate legal and sustainable caviar. This has created enough product to compete with poacher prices, and today both Russia and Iran, once the world's leading suppliers, now farm most of their caviar too. In the U.S., there are reputable caviar farms in both California and North Carolina, but Florida is home to the only farm that's authorized to produce true beluga caviar. Run by Mark Zaslavsky, a Russian immigrant who imported beluga caviar before the 2005 ban, this caviar farm is permitted to keep producing beluga caviar because the sturgeon were also imported before the ban took place.

Even though these sturgeon farms have posed a solution to overfishing, they are still not a 100% sustainable source of caviar. American farms still kill female sturgeons when harvesting eggs. Caviar farms outside the U.S. however, have developed some no-kill harvesting methods. In Russia, farmers perform what is effectively a C-section for extracting caviar, and in France, a massage technique has become a means of harmlessly harvesting sturgeon eggs.

Caviar must be preserved and served chilled, as it is a delicate commodity with a relatively short shelf life. When ready to consume, purists suggest putting a dollop of caviar on the back of your hand and waiting a few seconds. Body heat naturally warms caviar to an optimal temperature, and human skin offers no taste to clash with this complex flavor. For those who are wary of any possible fishiness, a dollop of cream with caviar is considered a perfectly acceptable combination as well. 

As for which utensils should be used to serve caviar, metal has been known to detrimentally react with the salt, resulting in a more acidic flavor. Silver, copper, aluminum, and nickel utensils are thus best avoided. Stainless steel is one metal that isn't known to react so strongly with caviar, so it makes for a more acceptable serving utensil. In general, though, other natural materials come more highly recommended. For the most ideal experience, specialists suggest a spoon made of mother of pearl. This contributes to the notion of luxury in addition to providing a neutral, natural compound that does not react with caviar to provide unwanted alterations in flavor. Plastic, wood, bone, or even glass serving spoons will also do in a pinch. As for drink pairings, caviar may be commonly coupled with champagne — luxuries that flock together — but many suggest pairing caviar with vodka instead, as this is said to bring out the natural flavor.