Caviar 101: Exploring this luxurious delicacy at Taste of Vail
Sturia Caviar of France offered knowledge and tastings at Taste of Vail
Tricia Swenson/Courtesy photo
Caviar: You’ve heard of it, you may have tasted it, but how much do you know about this opulent treat? The Sturia Caviar Seminar at the Taste of Vail shared history, breeding practices, production and pairing information. The educational and experiential class was led by Lisa Ariasi, a French native who serves as the export manager for Sturia. A French company, Sturia produces ethically raised sturgeon and enthusiastically carries on the centuries-old tradition of this mythical dish.
The first thing Ariasi did was ask us if we knew what caviar was.
“The word Caviar means salted sturgeon egg. If you go to the shop and see salmon caviar it is not caviar, it is salmon roe,” Ariasi said.
Sturgeon are hearty fish that date back to the prehistoric age, and it has not changed much since the Cretaceous period that began 145 million years ago and ended 66 million years ago. Sturgeon are cousins of the shark and can live up to 100 years old.
The number one producer of caviar is China followed by Italy and France. As far as consumption is concerned, the biggest consumers are the Russians, with the United States not far behind. The reason caviar is so popular in Russia is because they have been eating this luxury delicacy for centuries.
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“Caviar was popularized during the 16th Century thanks to the Russian Empire that spread their power across the Caspian Sea and that is where the fishermen were catching sturgeon not only for the fish meat but also for the eggs. That type of caviar was much saltier than what is produced today,” Ariasi said.
France started to produce caviar in the 1920s, and the fisherman would harvest it for the meat but not the eggs.
“After the Bolshevik Revolution, wealthy Russians came to France and legend has it that the princess from Russia saw the fisherman throwing the eggs to the chickens and the pigs and said, ‘you cannot throw gold away like this! We are going to teach you how to make caviar’ and this is how the French started making caviar in 1920,” Ariasi said.
We tried three different types of caviar at the seminar and were given a special mother of pearl spoon to taste each type. When serving caviar, don’t use metal, use a silver spoon or a mother of pearl spoon to preserve the fragile eggs.
“The Sturia Primeur is made with Siberian sturgeon and is matured less than three months, so it is a young caviar. It is more watery, mild, very easy to eat, melts in your mouth,” Ariasi said.
The Sturia Classic Baerii caviar was more for cooking and is more briny, dense, less watery and pungent and has been aged three to ten months. The third caviar was tried was the Sturia Oscietra, which is harvested from a bigger fish so the roe is bigger and is aged more than 10 months.
Ariasi recommended pairing caviar with neutral foods like potatoes, green or white asparagus, eggs (poached or scrambled) and even pairing it with a main dish like pasta, beef tartar or a good steak.
As for what to drink with caviar, Ariasi said go with anything white.
“Champagne, white wine, sake, white mescal, gin and of course, vodka,” Ariasi said. “Just have fun with it and be creative.”
