Settlers of America discovered sturgeon to be the most prolific fish of the North American continent. In the beginning of 19th century, the United States was the major producer of caviar in the world and produced 90% of the world’s caviar. The American caviar industry got started when Henry Schacht, a German immigrant, opened a business catching sturgeon on the Delaware River. He treated his caviar with German salt and exported a great deal of it to Europe. At around the same time, sturgeon was fished from the Columbia River on the west coast.
At one time, caviar was so common in America. It was served in saloons to encourage thirsty drinkers. Hudson River sturgeons were so plentiful that the flesh was referred to as “Albany beef. ” A nickel could get you a serving of the best caviar available in New York, and many of the most lavish establishments, including the Waldorf Astoria, offered free-flowing caviar as an amuse-bouche opening to an elegant meal. Caviar was also a common food in California during the gold rush days.
Recently, the United States has made a strong comeback in caviar production. The U. S. Goverment 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. The following is a descriptive list of caviars made from American fresh water fish: American Sturgeon – Sturgeon resemble a prehistoric creature, but they are actually the modern relics of an ancient group of fish with fossil records dating back 100 million years.
These fish can run up to 10 feet in length and weight more than 300 pounds. Many fish of 800 to 1,000 pounds or more were caught around the turn of the 20th century, but by the 1920s, the biggest sturgeon were gone. The sturgeon has no skeletal structure. When removed from the water, all the fish’s weight lies on its internal organs. Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser Fulvescens) – Mature sexually in 15 to 20 years, run upwards of l00 pounds, spawn once every 5 to 7 years and yield about 25% of their body weight in roe.
The caviar is comparable in size, color and flavor, to Russian beluga. Hackleback Sturgeon (Scaphiryhnchus Platoryhnchus) – Is native to the Mississippi/Missouri River System and is faster growing and smaller than most sturgeon running about 38 inches at maturity. Sometimes called the “shovelnose sturgeon,” or the “sand sturgeon,” it is the most abundant sturgeon in the American wild. The size of its eggs are small. They are almost always black, or near-black, and can have a sweet butteriness reminiscent of beluga caviar.
Paddlefish (Polyodon Spathula) – Commonly called “Spoonbills,” are a cartilaginous cousin to sturgeons and yield roe ranging in color from pale through dark steel-grey and golden “osetra brown. ” The Paddlefish found in the rivers of Tennessee, Alabama and Missouri and is processed in exactly the same manner as caviar from the Caspian Sea. The caviar is smooth and silky with a rich, complex flavor. White Sturgeon – (Acipenser Transmontanus) – 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. Salmon Roe – It is sometimes referred to as red caviar. Most of the salmon eggs we see in the market come from Chinook or Coho salmon that has been caught or raised in the West (including Alaska and Canada). It is prized for it’s large roe which can be the size of a pearl, which comes in a glistening, orange-red color. Whitefish – Know as American Golden caviar.
It is a small freshwater fish found in all Northern countries, including the United States, the Great Lakes, and Canada. Its roe is of a fine, firm, pale-orange, golden color and almost irredescent apprearance. Like Sevruga caviar, the tiny eggs pop in your mouth. It has an uncommon subtle flavor and fine crispy texture. Bowfin (Amia Calva) – Better known by its Cajun name “Choupique” is not related to, but is even more ancient than the sturgeons. The bowfin is the only remaining living specimen of an ancient group of fish, which lived over 180 million years ago.
In the South, it is classified by most people as a trash fish eaten only by ethnic groups that usually use the flesh to make fish cakes. The choupique’s name comes from “shupik,” a Choctaw Indian word that translates as mudfish. ‘ It also has been known as bowfin, swampfish, and cypress trout. The bowfin is an aggressive, predator fish found throughout the eastern USA into southern Canada. The roe is called “Cajun Caviar” in Louisiana. This bony fish yields a black roe with a distinctive lively flavor and makes a good, less expensive substitute for sturgeon caviar.
(Unlike sturgeon, bowfin roe will turn red if heated. ) Bowfin Caviar is firm and shiny with natural black eggs resembling sturgeon caviar. Clean and nicely separated berries have a distinctive, lively flavor. In recent years, there are far less sturgeon in the Caspian Sea than before, and this has been caused by an increased amount of poaching, overfishing, and pollution. Steady and even increasing global demand for caviar is responsible for considerable commercial crime, which in turn results in increasing policing and enforcement costs to Russia.
In addition, these activities deplete this resource very quickly for the environment to adjust. As of 1996, the species has been labeled by the IUCN system as endangered.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) passed a treaty in 1997 to control and restrict the import of endangered sturgeon species, and more significantly the beluga. Sources: http://whatscookingamerica. net/ http://www. american. edu/TED/STURGEON. HTM.