Welcome to PersianCaviar.Com

Perhaps one of the most prized and delicious products that come from Iran is the Iranian caviar. Caviar can be very expensive due to its rare and delicate nature. Iranian caviar is the roe or eggs from female sturgeon fish caught in the pristine environment along the Caspian Sea. About 90% of Caviar production of the world comes from the Caspian Sea, and it is thought the southern fish, caught along the Iranian coastline produce the best caviar in the world. Caviar is particularly delicate, and difficult to process and handle. The manual labor that goes into packaging the product naturally adds to the cost of the product.
Caviar production starts with catching the fish and bringing them to the all sterile processing facilities, where the fish are washed several times. The next step is to gut the fish, and wash the roe. The eggs are then weighed and strained through a sieve to remove any additional dirt. Next the caviar is salted and packaged into special containers. These containers are then shipped of the retail locations in big cities and major ports.

Iranian Caviar has many followers and like any other delicate food demands a discriminating palate. Iranian caviar is also graded depending on the fish, and the quality of the eggs. Important factors in grading and rating caviar include uniformity of eggs, size, color, egg separation, fragrance, pellucidness and hardness of the eggshells. Each fish has two grades 1 and 2. The fish are (from highest quality to lowest) Beluga, Osetra, Sevruga. The lowest grade goes to Pressed Caviar.
Iranian Caviar is present at stately events, dinner parties and even at home. It can be eaten all on its own or on a thin toasted piece of bread. It can be consumed with grated onions, boiled egg, butter, cheese, and a few drops of lemon. This of course all depends on your taste and preference.

They can be recognized by the five rows of boney plates on their bodies and shark like tails. The Beluga is considered a "living fossil." It can measure 20 feet or more, reach up to 2,200 pounds in weight, and can live a hundred years. It requires 20 years to reach adulthood and begin producing eggs (roe.) It is from the Huso Huso species of Sturgeons.

The Beluga is anadramous and migrates up fresh water rivers to spawn. During the course of its life a Beluga sturgeon will produce hundreds of pounds of eggs (caviar) and during the spawn, the amount of eggs can equal up to 15% of total body weight producing anywhere from 300,000 thousand to more than 4 million eggs. If a sturgeon is stressed, it can actually reabsorb its eggs and lose a spawning cycle.

The construction of dams, irrigation, and silting of spawning places have almost eliminated spawning runs on many rivers. The Beluga is found in the Caspian, Azov, and Adriatic Seas as well as the Dneper and Danube rivers with 85% being found in the Caspian.

The Beluga is so rare that the average annual catch is only 100 fish worldwide.

Each type of caviar, regardless of where it comes from, also has its own staunch supporters. While Beluga caviar is the most expensive, the expense is related to 'rarity' and not necessarily to 'being the best. Many of the world's chefs, and other consumers, prefer the flavor of Osetra caviar or Sevruga caviar to that of Beluga caviar regardless of price. It is all a matter of personal taste. Paying a higher price just for the 'name' of a particular sturgeon caviar variety may not always mean your taste buds would have done the same. Remember, price does not always reflect quality and better taste, it often only reflects rarity.

Huso Huso species of Sturgeons

Sevruga is the smallest of all the caviar-producing from the Acipenser Stellatus species of sturgeons (150 lbs and 7 feet in length). It is also the most commonly found sturgeon in the Caspian Sea and because of that it is the mainstay of the Caspian caviar industry. Among the sturgeon fishes the Sevruga sturgeon is the most widespread, but the least prolific, of the sturgeon and lives about 30 years. Due to it being the most common sturgeon, it provides the lowest priced Caspian caviar.

Sevruga is also the sturgeon we see most often. When the image of a sturgeon is associated with sturgeon products, it is usually the Sevruga that is displayed regardless of what type of sturgeon caviar or other sturgeon products are in the can or package. The elegant lines of the Sevruga sturgeon make it the most common logo of the caviar industry.

However, we need to remember, that just as with Beluga, rarity - or abundance - are not the true measure of quality. Beluga is more expensive because it is rare and Sevruga is rather inexpensive because there is much more of it. It is our tastebuds we need to consult, rather than our financial status, when determining what we should or should not consume.

In spite of its price, rather than because of it, Sevruga caviar is the favorite of chefs and hosts worldwide simply because of its flavor and texture. And it would likely remain the favorite even if the price of all caviars were the same.

Acipenser Stellatus species of sturgeons

Sturgeon have highly sensitive barbels on their snout, reminding one of the "whiskers" on catfish, that they use to find snails, insects, leeches, crayfish and small clams. Their tubular mouth extends down from their snout like a short piece of vacuum cleaner hose.

There are 24 species of sturgeon found throughout lakes and rivers of the northern hemisphere. None are found in the southern hemisphere. One of these ancient varieties of fish is the Osetra Sturgeon which produces the Osetra Caviar.

Life as an Osetra sturgeon begins as an egg attached to some gravel at the bottom of a fast-moving stream. Eggs hatch quickly, usually within two weeks. Baby larval Osetra stay close to the bottom and feed on algae and small aquatic insects on their way to estuaries, where they'll spend most of their lives. Actually, the life cycle of most all sturgeons is similar, other than their respective size and longevity. Osetra is another of the large sturgeons. It reaches 10 feet in length and weighs about
500 lb.