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American Caviar?
A Golden Egg information sheet
The romance of caviar is perhaps older than civilization. The use of fish roe as food prevails in the most primitive of societies and the cured form as we know it is thought to have originated thousands of years ago in China. The early Persians enjoyed caviar and thought it had "medicinal qualities". Ancient Greek and Roman literature contains many references to the special presentations of the beautiful black caviar berries served at banquets. Caviar even survived in the darkness of collapsed civilization: Feudal Lords and Popes were treated to the pleasures of "Royal Fish" and its roe - and in England, sturgeons and their caviar were reserved exclusively for the King.
Some 25 species of sturgeon exist globally, but only in the Northern Hemisphere. White settlers of the "New World" discovered sturgeon to be the most prolific fish of the North American continent and by the 19th century created the world's greatest commercial caviar industry. Until the beginning of the twentieth century, the United States produced 90% of the world's caviar, with 60,000 pounds annually coming just from Lake Michigan. Nicknamed "Albany Beer", Caviar was given away free with beer in saloons. But by 1910, the little-understood lake sturgeons were nearly extinct and American production was stopped. In 1925, the Caspien Sea fisheries began commercial production we know it today.
The Caspian Sea is home to the most popular members of the European and Asiatic sturgeons. Family Acipenseridae: Beluga (huso huso), the largest and rarest, yields large translucent golden-grey berries; Osetra, which has medium sized golden brown eggs and Sevruga, having predominantly steel-grey eggs. Two nations, Russia and Iran, bordered the Caspian Sea and managed the fisheries until the recent breakup of the Soviet Union. At this time seven independent nations border the Caspian Sea and are engaging in a great deal of unregulated production.
Recently, the United States has made a strong comeback in caviar production. The legendary lake sturgeon caviar is available only from Canada, but in the US our unique paddlefish produces an amazingly similar egg. Another excellent caviar comes from the hackleback sturgeon and the roe of many other indigenous species have become refined and popular. (Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest preserved salmon roe smoked, in bags made of deer stomachs. Today the same area supplies a huge world market for salmon roe caviar.)
The following is a descriptive list of caviars made from American fresh water fish:
Sturgeon
Sturgeon
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. The roe is dark, of medium size and has a superb sweet, buttery, nut-like flavor.
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 caviar is smooth and silky with a rich, complex flavor.
Description
Bowfin (Amia Calva), better known by its Cajun name "Choupique" is not related to, but is even more ancient than the sturgeons. 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.)
Chinook and Coho salmon were transplanted from the Pacific Northwest to the Great Lakes some 30 years ago. These hatchery-raised anadromous fish produce large orange (not red) eggs due to their freshwater diet while retaining the intense salmon flavor.
Whitefish is another salmonid specie native to the Great Lakes. Very small, crisp sparkling yellow berries burst with light, fresh flavor. The naturally mild palate lends itself well to the flavor-infusions and smoking processes.
Roe
Lobster roe from Maine deserves mention here even though lobsters are clearly not fresh water fish. It is not called caviar as it is not simply cleaned and salted (cured) fresh roe. The fluffy little berries come from cooked lobsters and therefore can be used in recipes that call for extensive heating-with no loss of bright red color or dense lobster flavor.
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