caviar

Tsar Nicoulai Caviar: Sustainable for the Future

Filed under: Dining

Tsar Nicoulai Caviar is a nominee for a Luxist Award in the Best Caviar Retailer category.

Beluga may be the well-known star of caviar, but the White Sturgeon roe peddled by Tsar Nicoulai Caviar is the choice of the green generation. Founded in 1978 by husband-and-wife entrepreneurs Mats and Dafne Engstrom, Tsar Nicoulai Caviar raises its fish sustainably in Northern California instead of depleting the endangered ranks of wild sturgeon, as many purveyors in other countries do.

With the help of researchers at the University of California Davis, Tsar Nicoulai has developed a proprietary tank-farming system to raise its fish. Water is pumped from local aquifers into a four-acre hydroponics pond topped with a bloom of natural plankton algae and flanked by a year-round crop of vegetables, creating a mineral-rich environment free of mercury, pesticides, and other harmful chemicals often found in international waters.

March of 2004 marked the opening of the Tsar Nicoulai Caviar Café in San Francisco as a complement to the company's delivery business. Customers across the country can have fresh caviar shipped to their doorstep via Tsar Nicoulai's website; celebrity chefs from Wolfgang Puck in Los Angeles to Charlie Palmer in New York are frequent customers. Tsar Nicoulai Caviar's online operation offers caviar, roe, smoked delicacies and an array of caviar accessories.

In light of recent U.N. and U.S. bans on wild caviar from the Caspian and Black Seas, Tsar Nicoulai seems poised to profit from the switch to sustainably harvested roe. Though the West Coast may never produce roe with the glamour and glitz of Beluga, many restaurateurs are turning to Tsar Nicoulai's California State Ossetra as a cheaper, cleaner, greener alternative to its Caspian counterpart.

Vote now for what you believe is the best of breed in Gourmet Foods. Readers' Choice Awards for Food will be announced on November 30th.

Tags: awards-main, caviar, food-awards, luxist-awards, tsar nicoulai caviar, TsarNicoulaiCaviar

Caviarteria: The Finest Caviar from Around the World

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Caviarteria is a nominee for a Luxist Award in the Best Caviar Retailer category.

Humans have enjoyed caviar for thousands of years since the dawn of recorded history. Ancient Egyptians, Phoenicians and Greeks were among the first to harvest sturgeon roe; the English word caviar traces its roots to the Persian term meaning cake of power.

Perhaps these ancient purveyors would be shocked to learn that, after many years selling caviar through bricks-and-mortar U.S. outlets across the United States from Las Vegas to Miami, the vaunted purveyor Caviarteria has streamlined itself into a completely virtual operation. Fortunately for modern consumers, the new method is just as effective.

Still family-owned and operated, Caviarteria offers a wide range of Iranian caviar, including Sevruga, Osetra and Golden Imperial, in addition to roe from Russia, Bulgaria and the United States. Caviar ranges from Russian Sevruga to Bulgarian Osetra. Caviarteria also offers American Sturgeon caviar, salmon roe and trout roe. There's a selection of other delicacies, including foie gras, smoked salmon, salmon tenderloin "czar cut", smoked trout, gravlax, and smoked sturgeon. Furthermore, due to popular demand, Caviarteria is bringing back it's famous 3 layer smoked salmon and caviar cake.

Orders can be placed on their website at http://www.caviarteria.com/ or by calling (800) 4-CAVIAR or (212) 759-7410.

Vote now for what you believe is the best of breed in Gourmet Foods. Readers' Choice Awards for Food will be announced on November 30th.

Tags: awards-main, beluga, caviar, caviarteria, food-awards, luxist-awards

The Truth About Caviar

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Her Deepness, legendary ocean explorer and marine scientist Sylvia Earle about the state of our oceans, and the conversation took an unexpected turn: we talked about caviar.

While we enjoy reveling in all things luxury here at Luxist, occasionally, it's a good idea to step back and take responsibility for our impact on the world around us. Luxury doesn't have to mean unsustainability, and those of us in more privileged positions have the opportunity to effect change and set a good example for future generations. That's why I want to tell you the truth about caviar. As Earle herself said, "Not knowing that you have a problem is the worst problem of all."

Luxist: Is there a certain kind of caviar the eco-conscious should choose?

Sylvia Earle: Well, consider what caviar is; fish eggs. Some people are raising sturgeon to extract the caviar, but it takes about 20 years to get an egg; to grow a mature female sturgeon that can have eggs of her own. And we don't raise 20-year-old chickens to get their eggs. Sturgeons can be 80 or 100 years old when they are taken out of their natural systems and carved up for caviar. The reason that caviar is increasingly rare is because the sturgeon are increasingly rare. There are very few remaining, even in the coastal waters of the United States. Chesapeake Bay used to have sturgeon. There was native sturgeon in Florida. There are precious few remaining.

L: Wait. They "carve them up" to get the eggs? They don't lay the eggs?

SE: Oh no! They take the adults and slice them up and remove the eggs. And sometimes they eat the fish, too, but it's ... it's like cutting old growth [such as centuries-old trees in the rainforests]. It doesn't make any sense. And the big, old fish are the ones that are the best reproducers. Only an old sturgeon will have eggs, and the older they are, the more eggs they produce. It's just kind of insanity, it shows how little we appreciate the investment that it takes.

While having access to something difficult to get can feel like a luxury, as Earle points out, "It doesn't make any sense." We've come to appreciate that ivory, for example, is not necessarily the height of luxury. While it's rare, it's often perceived as being in extremely poor taste, as our elephant populations dwindle. Perhaps it is time to adjust our thinking about caviar, as well, and to consider why things become so expensive and exclusive -- sometimes, it's because the way the product is being created isn't sustainable. Is it really worth carving up a 20 to 100-year-old sturgeon for a ten-minute appetizer? Other caviars are no different.

Our intention in publishing this is not to guilt trip anyone, but to provide the tools for all our readers to make informed choices. Now you know.

Tags: caviar, sylvia earle, SylviaEarle

Karat Caviar, Outstanding Osetra from Israel

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Crystal Clear spring water from Mount Herman and the finest selection of many generations of pure Russian Sturgeon go into making Karat Caviar, a recently introduced aquacultured Osetra caviar from Israel that took 16 years to develop, with incredibly delicious results. Karat uses the same Russian Sturgeon species (Acipenser Gueldenstaedtii) found in the famed Caspian Sea, raised in the most natural settings under pristine conditions to produce an imperial grade product usually associated only with increasingly scarce wild sturgeon.

Karat Caviar is produced by Caviar Galilee, one of the longest running fish farms in Israel, which has been involved in aquaculture since 1939. The Caviar Galilee Farm began growing Russian Sturgeon in 1992, when the first fertilized eggs were imported directly from Russia. The Farm is located in close proximity to the main source of the Jordan River – the Dan Springs, which flow with crystal clear snow waters from the peaks of Mount Hermon. The natural flow of water which gravitates through the Farm enables fish breeding in water that is clear, pure and rich in oxygen.

The Russian Osetra is produced from ten to eleven year-old fish. During the production process, the caviar is produced separately from each single fish and is then packed separately ensuring the product's purity, without mixing caviar from different fish. Freshness, consistent high quality, large pearl size, fine taste and texture and sustainability are the watchwords of Karat, which aims to put the rest of the farmed caviar trade to shame. Karat's exclusive 100% pure Russian Osetra is now available at Dean & DeLuca under the Galilee label, as well as at Zabar's and Whole Foods in the Southeast.

Tags: Caspian Sea, CaspianSea, caviar, Dean DeLuca, DeanDeluca, food-awards, Israel, Karat Caviar, KaratCaviar, luxist-awards, Russia, sturgeon

Eating Caviar At Mount Everest

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Luxury Travel & Hotels, Charity

Usually meals at Mount Everest's base camp aren't known for their luxury but that's not stopping Laura King, owner of Kings Fine Foods, who is doing a fundraising climb on the famously dangerous mountain. According to Wales Online she organized the mountain challenge to raise money for adults with severe learning difficulties and donated luxury foods as an extra incentive for the team. She and her team are expected to reach Mount Everest Base Camp on October 15 when, at an altitude of 17,600 feet they will dine on a luxurious breakfast developed by former Ritz chef John Williams that will include a cup of Amadei hot chocolate, followed by wild Scottish smoked salmon served with scrambled eggs, white truffle butter and a Beluga caviar garnish. The team will toast with flutes of Golden Star sparkling white tea, a non-alcoholic drink. She has said that if this expedition is successful she will try to arrange a trip up Everest with celebrity chefs next year to attempt to break the record for the highest dinner party in the world.

Source

Tags: caviar, charity, mount everest, MountEverest

University of Georgia Caviar

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

University of Georgia Bulldogs fans have a new snack to take to tailgate parties. The school has created a new caviar that he hopes will soon become associated with the state. Doug Peterson, associate professor of fisheries and aquaculture at UGA says that Georgia ought to be called the sturgeon state because it has as many as four species of sturgeon that are native to Georgia. He has developed a cost-effective and ecologically sustainable method to farm Siberian sturgeon that can protect the wild sturgeon population while creating a new agricultural commodity.

Caviar is mostly taken from wild sturgeon but Peterson wants to flip the script so that the bulk of caviar comes from farmed fish. The caviar will be sold by Inland Seafood of Atlanta in containers that bear the UGA Athletics Association logo with a slogan that says "They have Gatorade... we have caviar." referring to rival University of Florida's signature drink. It will sell for $58 for 30 grams.

[via Atlanta Journal-Constitution]

Source

Tags: caviar, sturgeon, university of georgia, UniversityOfGeorgia

Black River Caviar from Uruguay, "Wild-Raised"

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

When it comes to caviar you traditionally have a choice between the incredibly expensive and increasingly scarce wild variety from the Caspian Sea, the farm-raised variety produced with varying degrees of success around the globe, and a host of sub-par imitation or substitute options. Black River Caviar from Uruguay has ushered in a newer contender that aims to fit in somewhere between the first two and be the best of both worlds, dubbed "wild-raised." The process involves replicating the sturgeon's natural habitat as closely as possible.

Black River Ossetra Malossol Caviar is produced from Siberian sturgeon, originally imported as fertilized roe from Russia in 1995. The sturgeon are fed an all-natural, organic feed. Black River's facilities are harmoniously adapted to the environment and best utilize the pristine natural habitat that is Uruguay's Rio Negro. Unlike most farm-raised systems, which involve recirculated water requiring treatment with filters and chemical products, Black River uses millions of gallons of fresh water.

The system involves a fresh water lake whose environment corresponds very closely to that of the lake-like Caspian Sea with its slow and natural water streams, as well as a "raceways" system, which is a perfect simulation of the river delta and its requisite rapids. The volume of water running through the system guarantees a totally unspoiled environment in which the water is naturally oxygenated when flowing through a cascade system, simulating the female fishes' natural journey up the river.

The continuous exercise the sturgeon get in this environment from constantly swimming against the fresh water streams allows them to grow and mature in a fashion which ensures a quality akin to their wild counterparts. After harvesting, Black River's Russian Caviar Master uses the malossol, or "little salt" method, to enhance flavor of the finished product. The delectable large grain caviar (above), has a fresh, clean, nutty taste, and creamy texture. Ice cold vodka is the perfect accompaniment, but champagne works well too.

Tags: Black River Caviar, BlackRiverCaviar, Caspian Sea, CaspianSea, caviar, fish, Russia, sturgeon, Uruguay, vodka

Spanish Hotel Offers Unique Caviar Experience

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Luxury Travel & Hotels

At the Barceló La Bobadilla Hotel in Loja, Andalusia Spain you can have one of the most unique experiences I've ever seen offered by a hotel. The hotel offers guests a chance to learn how caviar is made. The experience begins at the sturgeon farm at nearby Riofrio where guests are given a guided tour of the farm. They can then take part in an optional ultrasound in the water to check the maturity of the roe. Once the fish is chosen it is then taken to the lab for processing. The package sounds like it offers more of a chance to observe the process than participate in the messy, smelly hands-on fish wrangling. Guests will receive the caviar sent to them three or four months later after it matures.

The Barceló La Bobadilla is a luxury hotel on an estate with forests of evergreen oaks, almond trees, and olive trees. The hotel is a replica of an Arab village, with a chapel, courtyards and a marble colonnade. There are 62 rooms , most with a separate living room and Jacuzzi. The hotel's five-star La Finca Restaurant serves gourmet national and international cuisine. The hotel has indoor and outdoor pools, tennis courts, saunas, a fitness center, beauty salon and the chapel includes a mechanical organ containing 1,595 pipes.

Source

Tags: caviar, riofrio, spain, sturgeon

Raffles Dubai Amrita Spa Launches New Spa Treatments

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Spas

Raffles Amrita Spa in Dubai has launched a new line of treatments using Kerstin Florian International products -- the first spa in the Middle East to do so exclusively.

Amrita Spas are known for fusing luxury, cutting-edge spa treatment trends with local traditions, so in the case of Dubai, it's no surprise that one new treatment is called "Her Royal Highness" and includes caviar -- the 90 minute facial that uses Kerstin Florian's Caviar Signature LIne, products that contain caviar protein, which is said to have anti-aging properties. (The treatment costs 829 dirham, or approximately $225 US dollars.) Bring Dubai decadence back with you by incorporating Kerstin Florian's products into your daily routine -- when you run out, you can purchase the Signature Caviar Kit online for $345.

Tags: caviar, dubai, facial, skin, spa, spa treatments, SpaTreatments

La Prairie Adds Diamonds To Skincare

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Cosmetics and Fragrance

La Prairie's Skin Caviar Crystalline Concentrate isn't the most expensive product the company has ever launched (after all, last fall saw the launch of a $1,000 moisturizer) but it does give your skin an added shimmer through the addition of diamond, mica and quartz crystals. The nutrient rich serum promises to firm and plump with amino acids, plant extracts, peptides and caviar extracts as well as La Prairie's exclusive Cellular Complex. The serum sells for $375. They say that skincare is recession-proof but this is stretching it.

[via Vogue UK]

Source

Tags: caviar, diamonds, la prairie, LaPrairie, skin serum, skincare, SkinSerum

Harrods' $7,500 Holiday Hamper

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Spirits, Wine

Famed deluxe London department store Harrods came out with the ultimate holiday hamper this season, described as the "very best money can buy." Only eight of the extravagant Chairman's Choice hampers were made available by special order at about $7,500 apiece. Presented in an exclusively designed, limited edition handmade basket with leather trim, the hamper's contents include fruit, flowers, farmed smoked salmon, a truffle ham, half a Stilton cheese, double cream brie, and of course heaps of Beluga caviar. Drinks-wise, there's 30-year-old Macallan single malt Scotch, Krug champagne, Hennessy cognac, and several bottles of wine including the famous Chateau d'Yquem.

[via JustLuxe]

Tags: Caviar, Champagne, Harrods, Hennessy, Holidays, Krug, London, Macallan

Balducci's Debuts Own Label Caviar

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Balducci's, the famed Greenwich Village gourmet shop that's become a retail juggernaut, has just introduced a new line of private label caviar in time for holiday celebrations. Balducci's Own Caviar comes in three basic varieties: Wild Caspian, which includes the famed Sevruga and Royal Osetra varieties, Farmed International, and Domestic. Part of the offering includes the first true Russian Sturgeon to be successfully cultivated in Germany for the production of genuine Osetra caviar (above). Prices range from $9.99 for domestic Salmon and Paddlefish all the way up to $1,500 for the precious Wild Caspian Royal Osetra. Balducci's states that all the caviars have been carefully selected for their "complex flavors and crisp, clean textures." Not having tried it we can't confirm that, but Balducci's typically adheres to pretty high standards.

Tags: Balduccis, Caviar

Milan's Poor Get Caviar For Christmas

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Milan's poor citizens are getting a special treat this year, caviar for Christmas. Officials in Milan seized 88 pounds of contraband beluga caviar from smugglers recently Instead of destroying the haul worth over $550,000, they are donating it to the Red Cross, Franciscan monks, care homes and organizations which prepare Christmas food for the homeless and poor around Milan. The Daily Mail reports that the banned beluga caviar is being served in portions more generous than those in fancy restaurants. The caviar was found in the refrigerator of a private house and several people have been arrested in the case.

Tags: beluga, caviar, milan

Illegal Caviar Exporter Could Face $500,000 Fine

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Anything pricey always attracts its share of fakers and hucksters looking to make a quick buck. Last week, federal prosecutors convicted Max Moghaddam of Bemka House of Caviar and FIne Foods in a scheme that involved mislabeling paddlefish roe and shipping it to Belgium, where it was repackaged as American caviar for shipment to other countries. The protected fish eggs are not supposed to be exported but according to CBS4 News, Moghaddam and his team shipped significant quantities of American paddlefish eggs over two years. A ton of paddlefish caviar sent to Belgium in four shipments was worth $193,025 and approximately half was repackaged and sold for $230,113. The caviar culprit could face prison and fines up to $500,000. The Bemka website is still in operation and sells American Paddlefish caviar for $21 for an ounce.

Source

Tags: caviar, paddlefish, roe

Cavianne

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

I've been following the story of the declining sturgeon population in the Caspian Sea for years. With increasing focus on bans to prevent overfishing, the quest to discover the perfect alternative has been going on for several years (I created a list of beluga alternatives in 2006). Now from Japan there is another solution, Cavianne. This imitation caviar is made from a rather non-appetizing sounding mix of squid ink, apple pectin, sea urchin extract, oyster, scallop and a gum derived from kelp by a company called Hokuyu Foods. The faux caviar has a skin that is thicker and gummier than the real thing. The company produces four tons of this caviar substitute a year which is, according to the AFP, equal to one-fifth of the estimated consumption of real black caviar in Japan, Cavianne is mostly used by restaurants and hotels and sells for the equivalent of less than tend dollars for a 1.75 ounce jar and contains one seventh the calories of real caviar. The company also sells "Fruppy" balls that contain fruit-flavored liquid.

Source

Tags: cavianne, caviar, fake caviar

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