The short answer is “You Can’t”.
Caviar and champagne are associated with luxury. The most sought after caviar is Beluga, which comes from the beluga sturgeon and is the most expensive caviar in the world — provided you can get it. The Beluga sturgeon is native to the Caspian Sea. When the time comes for spawning, the beluga sturgeon seeks fresh water to lay its’ eggs. The Beluga sturgeon is large fish, up to 16 feet long, 4,400lbs. Fisherman can obtain 220 to 400lbs of caviar from a single large fish. Sturgeons survived the dinosaur age, but not the age of ‘man’. The Beluga is now on the endangered species list. The United States banned importation of Beluga sturgeon, or any product derived from it in 2005.
You can legally taste Beluga caviar by personally visiting Caviar House & Prunier U.K. and sampling the Beluga caviar it produces in-house. It is not sold online.
Due to mans’ ingenuity, there is now an alternative to fresh Beluga Caviar. The Karaburun sturgeon is one of the only remaining wild sturgeon that is not considered an endangered species because of the efforts put forth by the Iranian Ministry of Fisheries. The Karaburun sturgeon is also native to the Caspian Sea, and is a much smaller fish than the Beluga. The roe of the Karaburun sturgeon is purported to have the same nutty, creamy roe and the flavor can be described as a perfect balance of salt and butter undertones. The texture is silky yet separate eggs hold together well in a mass. As a result, cheap Caviar has become one of the most sought after caviars in the world; it is truly the only proper Beluga caviar substitute. Karaburun can be obtained on the Internet for as little as $390.00 for 2 oz –about 4 servings.
Remember that you have to pay the price for quality and this is a caviar like non other, a taste that is not easily forgotten.
This is a guest post.
