July 18th is National Caviar Day

July 18 is National Caviar Day, time to honor this seafood delicacy

Caviar is the processed and salted roe of fish. Roe is the mass of eggs contained in the ovaries of a female fish or shellfish. While people use the word caviar to describe any fish egg, true caviar comes from the sturgeon, which lives in the Caspian or Black Sea and includes such species as beluga, sevruga and ossetra. The sturgeon and its different species are known to produce the finest varieties of caviar.

A female sturgeon’s roe supply isn't as puny as you might think and can comprise up to 25 per cent of her body weight. Given that some mature sturgeons can weigh up to 300 pounds, each female can supply a substantial amount of caviar during her lifetime.

According  to the Caviar Guide, the term caviar comes from the Turkish word havyar, derived from the Iranian word khayah.

The smooth tiny eggs are usually black, though caviar comes in many shades, including red, gold and grey.

Caviar berries are rated on a variety of characteristics, including egg color, lucidity, maturity, size and uniformity. The caviar's fragrance and egg-shell hardness also contribute to it rating.

It may be hard to believe, but at one time, caviar was served in bars, sometimes for free like peanuts are today to encourage customers to drink more. That was during the caviar boom experienced in North America during the 19th century after sturgeon fish were discovered in U.S. rivers.

The supply was so rich that Canada and the U.S. became the major suppliers of caviar to Europe. By 1900, the U.S. was the largest producer in the world, generating over 600 tons a year.

Because so many fish were harvested for their caviar, a ban was imposed on commercial sturgeon fishing in 1906. By then, though, Americans had grown to love caviar. Cesar Ritz put it on his menu and caviar secured its place in high-end dining establishments that began popping up at this time.

The ban never countered the dwindling sturgeon population, though, and by the 1960s the price of caviar skyrocketed due to scarce supply. Today, there are limits and bans on fishing as well as exporting bans on caviar in an effort to conserve endangered fish supplies. Naturally, these restrictions raise the price of caviar even more.