Caviar options beyond Beluga

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Sep 15th 2009 at 7:38PM

The finest caviar often comes from the sturgeon, a fish which has become endangered in many areas including the Caspian Sea. In 2005, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service banned the importation of Beluga caviar which originated in the Caspian Sea and Black Sea basin.

Luckily there are a variety of other options available to avoid further depleting the ocean's resources. In California, several businesses are farming sturgeon, raising them in controlled environments and waiting the eight to ten years for the fish egg harvest. Organically-fed farm-raised sturgeon are also being raised in Spain.

Other non-sturgeon options include the paddlefish, a freshwater cousin to the sturgeon. The caviar has a mild and rich taste and the grayish look of sevruga. Other options include salmon, trout and whitefish caviar. For those who wish to abstain from fish eggs altogether there are also vegan caviar alternatives made from seaweed.

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