Caviar

Caviar
	Salmon roe (left) and sturgeon caviar (right) served with mother of pearl caviar spoons to avoid tainting the taste of the caviar.
Place of origin	Iran (Persia) and/or Russia
Region or state	Black Sea region, Sea of Azov region, Caspian Sea region
	Cookbook: Caviar; Media: Caviar;

The rarest and most expensive form of caviar comes from the critically endangered beluga sturgeon that swims in the Caspian Sea.

Caviar or caviare is a food consisting of salt-cured roe of the family Acipenseridae. Caviar is considered a delicacy and is eaten as a garnish or spread.^[1] Traditionally, the term caviar refers only to roe from wild sturgeon in the Caspian Sea and Black Sea^[2] (beluga, ossetra and sevruga caviars). The term caviar can also describe the roe of other species of sturgeon or other fish such as paddlefish, salmon, steelhead, trout, lumpfish, whitefish,^[3] or carp.^[4]

The roe can be "fresh" (non-pasteurized) or pasteurized, which reduces its culinary and economic value.^[5]

^ Goldstein, D. (1999). A Taste of Russia: A Cookbook of Russian Hospitality. Russian Life Books. p. 71. ISBN 978-1-880100-42-4. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
^ lan Davidson, Tom Jane, The Oxford companion to food, Oxford University Press, 2006, ISBN 0-19-280681-5, ISBN 978-0-19-280681-9, p. 150.
^ "Smith Bros. Whitefish Caviar". web44.net. Archived from the original on 4 January 2014.
^ Fodor, Alexandrina, et al. "ASSESSMENT OF DEGREE OF FRESHNESS AND QUALITY OF PRODUCTS TYPE "FISH ROE" SOLD IN SUPERMARKET CHAIN STORES." Analele Universităţii din Oradea, Fascicula: Ecotoxicologie, Zootehnie şi Tehnologii de Industrie Alimentară 10.A (2011): 177–181.
^ According to Jean-Pierre Esmilaire, Directeur Général of Caviar House & Prunier: "two-thirds of caviar's taste is lost through pasteurisation." (in "Three-star caviar", Caterersearch – The complete information source for hospitality, 1 February 2001).