On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 470

Making Caviar In traditional caviar-making,
sturgeon are captured alive in nets, stunned,
and their roe sacs removed before they are
killedandbutchered.Thecaviarmakerpasses
theroethroughscreenstoloosentheeggsand
separatethemfromtheovarymembrane,sorts
and grades the eggs, and then dry-salts and
mixesthembyhandfortwotofourminutesto
obtainafinalsaltconcentrationbetween3and
10%. (Small amounts of alkaline borax
[sodium borate] have been used since the
1870s to replace part of the salt, making the
caviar taste sweeter and improving its shelf
life, but the United States and some other
countries forbid borax in their imports.) The
eggsareallowedtodrainfor5to15minutes,
filledintolargecans,andchilledto26ºF/–3ºC
(the salt prevents freezing at this
temperature).
Themosthighlyprizedcaviaristhemost
perishable.ItgoesbytheRussianterm
malossol,whichmeans“littlesalt,”and


rangesfrom2.5–3.5%salt.The
classicCaspiancaviarshavedistinctivesizes,
colors,andflavors.Belugaistherarest,
largest,andmostexpensive.Osetra,themost
commonwildcaviar,comesmainlyfromthe
BlackandAzovseas,istingedwithbrown,
andhasaflavorreminiscentofoysters.

Sevrugacaviarisdarkandhasaless
complicatedflavor.“Pressedcaviar”isa
relativelyinexpensive,saltier(to7%),strongtastingpastemadefromovermatureeggs,and
canbefrozen.
SalmonandOtherCaviarsRussiapioneered
the development of salmon caviar in the
1830s, and it’s a delicious and affordable
alternative, with its striking red-pink
translucence and large grains. The separated
eggsofchumandpinksalmonsaresoakedin
saturatedbrinefor2to20minutestoachieve
afinalsaltlevelof3.5–4%,thendrainedand
dried for up to 12 hours. Lumpfish caviar