COOKING TO BEAT THE CLOCK...AND MORE ON FOOD AND WINE

THE CASPIAN ALTERNATIVE:
AMERICAN CAVIAR

This column first appeared in my
Tastes column in the Wine Spectator.

Don't laugh if there comes a time when someone says, "as American as caviar." No, the Russkies haven't invaded Peoria. But caviar, those pricey sturgeon eggs harvested from the Caspian Sea by the states of the former Soviet Union, is being produced right here in the good old USA. Today, restaurants, retailers, and a burgeoning number of caviar bars offer caviar from California farmed white sturgeon and wild Midwestern hackleback sturgeon, as well as roes from paddlefish, salmon, and other fish.

"The nutty, creamy flavor of white sturgeon caviar resembles (Caspian) osetra caviar," says Rod Mitchell, president of Browne Trading Company in Portland, Maine, which supplies restaurants like Daniel and Charlie Trotter's with American caviar. "Some paddlefish caviar is coming out better than some of the sevruga from the Caspian. "

Caspian Sea caviar is becoming more scarce and more expensive, even though the embargo on Iranian caviar, from the southern part of the Caspian, has been lifted. In the states formed after the fall of the Soviet Union, overfishing and poaching have been rampant. True caviar is sturgeon roe, and for purists, only from Caspian Sea beluga, osetra, and sevruga sturgeon. However, that's like saying true Champagne only comes from a place in northern France. While technically correct, it hasn't stopped consumers from enjoying bubbly from the United States.

Tsar Nicoulai Caviar, Inc. of San Francisco and Stolt Sea Farm California LLC of Sacramento both farm white sturgeon in the Sacramento Valley. White sturgeon (Acipenser montanus), native to Pacific waters from Alaska to Mexico and fresh waters of the Pacific Northwest, is a close relative to Caspian osetra (Acipenser gueldenstaedti). Stolt sales and marketing manager Chuck Edwards noticed this familial similarity when his sturgeon started producing eggs in a range of colors, mimicking the colors of Caspian osetra.

"It took us by surprise. We couldn't dye the eggs. So we decided to grade by color. Eventually, we'll do size and firmness grading," Edwards says. Jet black Sterling Onyx, light gray to cream colored Czar's Choice, light green to gold Sterling Gold, and pewter Sterling Silver are all $45, about the same as osetra. Sterling Classic, with dark gray and olive colors, costs $26.60 an ounce.

Stolt produced 3 thousand pounds of caviar in 1999 and hopes to increase that number to at least 10 tons in the next 5 years. Tsar Nicoulai's production was about 500 pounds in 1999. The charcoal gray Tsar Nicoulai white sturgeon caviar I sampled (labeled "farmed osetra," $35 for 2 ounces) had mushy, watery appearance and a salty taste. The Sterling Classic had firmly packed, gray eggs and a rich, buttery flavor.

Hackleback sturgeon can be found in the wild within the Mississippi River system. Its pitch black caviar is less appealing to restaurants, which like a grayer color that gives the appearance of Caspian caviar. However, I found the glistening, separate eggs supplied by Paramount Caviar ($19 for 2 ounces) quite attractive. The flavor was clean and mild with a slight nuttiness. The Tsar Nicoulai hackleback ($15.50 for 2 ounces) also had good-looking eggs and a gentle sea breeze flavor.

Because it is often found in swamps and sluggish streams from the St. Lawrence River to Florida, the bowfin is sometimes called the mudfish. The Paramount bowfin roe ($30 for 7 ounces) is from Louisiana, prompting the moniker “Cajun Caviar.” It had a color similar to the hackleback caviar but with less separate eggs. The flavor was musty, almost metallic.

Paddlefish, so called because of their oar-like snouts, aren't sturgeon, but close enough to be considered a cousin. Their roe looks very much like Caspian sevruga caviar. But at $15 an ounce, they’re almost half the price of sevruga. They’re also caught wild in the Mississippi River system, though some farming is being done.

Lewis Shuckman, president of Shuckman's Fish Co. & Smokery in Louisville, KY, has been selling caviar from paddlefish - which folks in Kentucky call spoonfish - since 1994. Shuckman attributes the taste of Kentucky spoonfish roe to the pristine streams which feed Kentucky Lake, where the fish are caught. "Kentucky has more free running springs than any other state. The constant movement of water gives it natural aeration," he says. "Overall, the taste is smoother, though less complex than osetra caviar." Though it was a trifle salty, I liked the clean, rich flavor of Shuckman's caviar. The Tsar Nicoulai paddlefish caviar ($15.50 for 2 ounces) was an attractive gray and had a light, nutty flavor.

Though milder tasting chum salmon aren't as prized for their meat as the more robust pink salmon, their roe is considered superior by the Japanese, who buy large amounts for sushi. The oilier, fishier pink salmon (and the even richer and more limited king salmon) roe is preferred by Russians, who like to eat it on buttered dark bread.

As Americans have embraced sushi, their fondness for salmon roe has increased, says Sam Murao, director of caviar production and sales for Wards Cove Packing Company in Seattle. Salmon roe should be just firm enough to gently pop open when bitten into. Overly mature eggs will be too hard, immature eggs too squishy. Color indicates location, not quality. Salmon from Puget Sound or Canadian waters will be more yellow-orange. Alaskan roe will be a deeper orange. Paramount's plump Alaskan salmon roe ($16 for 7 ounces) were delightful orange gel caps of buttery salmon flavor that gently exploded with each bite.

There are many other roes, from the United States and beyond. At Russ & Daughters, one of New York's premier caviar purveyors, owner Mark Federman laid out an array of roes before me that look like a painter's palate: cranberry red capelin, orange marmalade trout, wasabi green flying fish, and golden yellow whitefish. "The Japanese have been playing with this stuff for a long time. It's not intended to be a substitute for real caviar, but it makes for nice canapés," he says.

Some of these roes taste as interesting as they look. I particularly liked the firm and pleasantly saline trout roe and the smoky charcoal gray herring roe. The crunchy, mild whitefish roe would make a nice garnish but the black dyed whitefish roe ran all over the place. Pearl gray anchovy roe was attractive but had a chicken-like flavor, prompting Federman to say, "It doesn't taste real to me."

Speaking of real, the dusty rose colored lobster roe didn't look or taste like anything found in nature. Nor did the bleeding red and black dyed Icelandic lumpfish and capelin roes, the awful stuff found in jars on supermarkets shelves.

The general rule of serving caviar is: the better the caviar, the less you do to it. Eat good caviar straight -- using non-metallic spoons like mother of pearl, bone, even plastic -- with iced vodka. The less expensive roes can be put on potatoes, pasta, blini or scrambled eggs. Give the lumpfish and capelin to the cat.

HOW TO GET IT

Overnight delivery and gel packs have made mail order caviar extremely convenient. Unopened fresh caviar will last 2 to 3 weeks if kept at or under 38 degrees. Once opened, it should be consumed within two days. Here is a selection of USA purveyors.

Browne Trading Co. Portland, ME, 800-944-7848
Paramount Caviar, Long Island City, NY 800-992-2842
Russ & Daughters, New York City, 800-787-7229
Seattle Caviar Co., Seattle, WA, 888-323-3005
Shuckman's Fish Co. & Smokery, Louisville, KY, 502-775-6478
Stolt Sea Farm California, Sacramento, CA 916-991-4420
Tsar Nicoulai Caviar, San Francisco, 800-952-2842