CAVIAR AN EXAMPLE OF CLASSICAL HORS D' OEUVRE - WITH IT'S UNIQUE HISTORY, ACCOMPANIMENTS & SERVICE STYLE LIKE NEVER FOUND IN BOOKS

Caviare (Caviar)  (कैवियार / क्यावियर )

Caviar is the world’s most exotic & expensive dish in the world which is nothing else but the salted roe (egg) of female sturgeon fish. Sturgeon belongs to Acipenseridae family ranging from 7–12 feet (2-3½ m) in length are common, and some species grow up to 18 feet (5.5 m).

History of Caviar 

Although caviar might seem to be something prototypically Russian, the word caviar is not the native,  Russian term being ikra.  The word caviar comes into English from the Italian import in the 16th century, which borrowed it from Turkish word havyar. The source of the Turkish word is superficially an Iranian dialectal form related to the Persian word for "egg," khayah” . Although the Persian term precisely refers to both the sturgeon and the roe, it has come down into English gist only the egg. Caviar from fish other than the sturgeon usually has an adjective naming such as “salmon caviar.”

The Persians were early cultivators of caviar from the Caspian Sea and later the Black Sea, believing in the roe’s ambiguous medicinal qualities. Ancient Greek authors mention caviar, including Aristotle, who said the arrival of the caviar designated the end of the banquet.

This exclusive trend persistent for centuries. In the Middle Ages, many European countries required those who acquired caviar to offer it to the sovereign. King Edward II of England (1284–1330) is one who gave such a decree. The Russian czars had the tranquil access and so were historically the primary consumers. Czar Nicholas II (1868-1918) use to collect an annual tax from fishermen in the form of caviar.

It was not until the early 19th century that there was a transformation in the exclusiveness of caviar patrons. Sturgeon were found in both the Delaware and Hudson Rivers. Later, the Columbia River in Oregon became a source. There was such a copious supply that Canada and the U.S. were the major suppliers of caviar to Europe during this period. The roe was in plentiful supply that it was often served in American saloons for free. (The comparable to modern use of peanuts, the salty taste would encourage more drinking.) By 1900, the USA was the largest producer in the world, generating over 600 tons annually.

So many of the fish were harvested for the caviar that by the time of 1906, a ban was placed on commercial sturgeon fishing. The 1906 ban was not sufficient enough to counter the depopulation of sturgeon. In the 1960s, the price rose sharply due to short supply. Soon more drastic steps had to be taken, as even the Caspian, home to at least 90% of the world’s sturgeon, began to see a serious drop in numbers of fish.

 

Varieties of Caviar :

The four main types of caviar are 

1.     Beluga

2.     Sterlet

3.     Ossetra

4.     Sevruga.

·         Kita being artificial caviar from salmon fish

 

CAVIAR ACCOMPANIMENTS -

Being an extremely expensive dish the accompaniments of caviar consist of as many as 9 accompaniments in the best possible decoration of colour & combinations & they are -

• Sieved hard -boiled egg yolk
• Chopped white of an egg
• Caynne pepper ,
• Peppermill
• Tabasco sauce.
• Chopped shallots
• Skinned lemon wedges wrapped in muslin cloth.
• Chopped parsley
• Blinis (a type of Russian hot pan cake of Buckwheat) or hot breakfast toast &/ or slice of brown bread).
• Savoury jelly.
• Butter in butter dish.

SERVICE

The caviar service requires a lot of skill & show . A small ice socle filled with the crushed ice on which caviar jar is placed with a tea spoon (often gold plated) is used for service. Cayenne pepper, pepper mill & Tabasco are placed in advance on the table along with a caviar knife (gold plated) which is placed on the right hand side of the cover & bilnis on the left hand side, butter in butter dish as centre appointment. Rest of the accompaniments are brought on a tray in small bowls as they are very small in quantity.

 

 

CAVIAR  FACTS :

 

q  The word caviar literally means Salt.

 

q  Caviar bearing the word malossol on its label indicates that the roe is preserved with a minimum amount of salt, malossol being the Russian for "little salt."

 

q  Kita is the artificial caviar comes from Salmon fish.

 

q  The Romanoff Caviar Company (originally established in 1859) turned to Salmon roe (KITA).

 

q   Iran is a primary center of the sturgeon-fishing industry and the world's largest exporter of caviar (annual exports of more than 300 metric tons), followed by Russia.

 

q  In Spain, a fish farm called Caviar de Riofrio produces organic caviar.

 

q  In September 2005, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service banned the import of Caspian Sea Beluga caviar to protect the endangered Beluga sturgeon.

 

q  In the early 20th century, Canada and the United States were the major caviar suppliers to Europe : they harvested roe from the lake sturgeon in the North American Midwest, and from the Shortnose sturgeon and the Atlantic sturgeon spawning in the rivers of the Eastern coast of the United States.

 

q  Portion size of caviar is 30 gm packed in a glass jar.

 

q  Once the physicians of Führer (fuehrer) Hitler recommended him to eat only caviar to recover his falling health.

 

RUSSIAN WAY OF SERVING CAVIAR

The most popular way of serving caviar is on hot blinis but in some places caviar has been served with its own unique service style. Specially in surroundings of Russia caviar has second way of serving i.e. in caviar holder or caviar pot. It’s a silver pot having a lining of ivory. The pot has two parts one is holder & another is the chamber often known as caviar chamber. The empty holder is filled up with the crushed ice and the caviar chamber is placed on the top of the holder with contains exactly six teaspoons of caviar. The Russians used to drink Vodka with the Caviar that’s why during the one service of caviar 6 Vodka shot are served in the Vodka shooter which is half buried in the crush ice placed in the holder. 

*NOTE  -  Ivory Tea is used for service as well as consumption of caviar.