Russian cuisine: Caviar

The many varieties of sturgeon are among the oldest species on Earth, so it's not surprising that the history of caviar consumption stretches back for about 2,000 years.

Peter I (Pyotr Alekseyevich Romanov, or Peter the Great)

Back in ancient times, fish roe was exported to Greece from the territory of today's Crimea. This is logical, as people have been fishing for some 40,000 years, and caviar is usually encountered whenever any fish is cut open and made ready for eating.

During the turmoil of the Middle Ages, caviar somehow disappeared from dinner tables. But Russian fishermen re-discovered it in the 12th century, and it has been with us ever since.

Caviar didn't acquire its dainty status until early in the 16th century, when Pope Julius II introduced it at royal ceremonies in Europe.

Though it wasn't always appreciated (Louis 'The Beloved' XV famously spat out Peter the Great's gift of black caviar), by the 17th century sturgeon fish roe was associated with luxury.

Today, with the sturgeon facing extinction, caviar's status as a rare and expensive delicacy appears set to stay.

The most prized caviar is 'black caviar' (tchernaya ikra in Russian), which comes from three kinds of sturgeon: the Osseter, the Beluga, and the Sevryuga or Starred Sturgeon.

Nowadays 'red caviar' is also popular. It comes from fish like the Salmon, Red Salmon, Trout, Humpbacked Salmon, Dog Salmon, Lumpfish, and Tuna.

Even the non-premium caviars like the 'pink caviar' from Herring, Whitefish, Alaska pollack, Bream, and even Jack-fish are nowadays widely consumed along with the first non-fish caviar collected from the French Snail (Helix pomatia).

Fish roe is mostly produced in spring when fish from the Caspian and Azov seas go to nearby rivers for spawning. The fish are caught and stunned with a sedative injection (previously they were killed) and the roe is taken; afterwards, the fish's belly is sewn up and it is returned to the water. But caviar is not the roe as it is extracted from the fish.

After its removal, the roe is divided into three categories: the mature, well-developed, loose roe will go on to become granular caviar (zernistaya ikra) – analogous to single-malt Scotch among whisky drinkers. The moderately mature roe that is easily separated from the ovary, but it still quite gluey, is processed like a roe-mash to become fresh-pressed caviar (paiousnaya ikra); the very young roe, extracted with the ovary itself and processed with it, becomes cheap ovary caviar (yastychnaya ikra).

After the division, the caviar still has to be processed and salted for at least ten days. The salting technology is primarily Russian. Even the Japanese learnt it from Russians; that's why caviar in Japan is called 'ikura', a clear derivative of Russian's 'ikra'. However, with their age-long fishing culture, fish roe is not new to the Japanese.

Caviar is excellent as an hors d'œuvres; its perfect geometrical form allows it to be arranged decoratively. But no matter how pretty it might look, resist the temptation to eat or serve caviar with metal kitchenware, as metal gives caviar a bad flavour.

Instead, get a traditional Russian caviar dish, or put it on a saucer over a bed of ice. This preserves the best qualities of the caviar till all of it is consumed – caviar is too expensive to be wasted. Caviar is also good in sandwiches and is perfect with butter on white bread or toast. But some people prefer to eat it with soft cake cheese, known to enhance the flavour of caviar.

Red caviar often goes with traditional Russian pancakes. As far as drinks go, everything is logical with caviar: being a luxury, it's great with champagne. And being Russian, it's also good with cool vodka.

Most of the world’s cocktails include vodka. They aren’t really popular among Russian drinkers, who en masse prefer to drink vodka neat, but some of the cocktails are actually quite interesting as they reduce the negative side-effects of vodka.

As the harvest and sale of 'black caviar' is banned in Russia until August 1, 2017, only imported sturgeon caviar is now available in Russian shops.

Still there is plenty of illegal sturgeon caviar available in markets and low-end shops. The risks here are similar to those with illegal drugs: the caviar might be cheap, but you can be sure what exactly is inside that sealed can.

With legal caviar, you get what you pay for. In general, the more upmarket the shop, the better the quality control. When the difference in prices is not too dramatic, bigger shops should be preferred. Remember to always ask for the best before date, and don't accept any explanations: quality caviar always has one.