Acipensers, what a fish! The sturgeon is a bony fish of the Acipenseriformes family. It’s an obsolete fish, a real living fossil! The sturgeon is in fact one of the last representatives of the teleosts, or complete-boned fish, to remind us of the original form of the very first fish to populate the seas.
It bears lateral cartilaginous plates whose number and configuration determine its shape and species. Its varieties are distinguished by four tactile extensions of the dermis just below the mouth, which it uses to suck up its prey.
The sturgeon has been thriving in low-salt waters for over 300 million years! It is a large migratory fish which, like salmon, lives at sea and swims up rivers to lay its eggs. It can reach 100 years of age, so it’s hardly surprising that puberty lasts from 8 to 20 years, depending on the variety.
There are at least 26 varieties of sturgeon in the world’s seas and oceans. Five species populate the Caspian Sea, but only 3 were worthy of producing the famous wild caviar (Sevruga, Ossetra, Beluga). These supplied 90% of the world’s wild caviar production. Today, only 9 species have been selected for their ability to adapt to freshwater. These sturgeons are bred in tanks or lakes. Each species has its own specific egg type. The caviars they produce are themselves different.
What are the main varieties of sturgeons?
The Beluga (Huso Huso)is the largest of the sturgeons, and the only exclusive carnivore. It’s so rare that we rarely catch more than 100 a year (the period of wild caviar). Extremely powerful, this wide-mouthed traveler is always on the move, searching for its prey. The Beluga can reach over 6 meters in length and weigh more than a ton. It is the most endangered species in the wild. The eggs can make up 25% of its weight! In fish farming, this is a very difficult fish to breed, requiring the know-how of professionals to work on its adaptation and maturity. Today, very few farms breed Beluga, as it takes at least 15 years for the fish to produce its first roe.
The Beluga caviar,light to dark grey, it is particularly appreciated for the coarseness of its grain and the fineness of its skin. The most popular type being the clearest. Delicate, smooth, suave. Because of its impressive size, its roe is large, creamy and vary in color from light to dark gray. Its roe has a very thin membrane and bursts easily on the palate, giving it an unrivalled long finish. It is distinguished by delicate buttery notes. With its unique structure, Beluga caviar remains the most prestigious caviar.
The Asetra or Ossetra (Acipenser Gueldanstaedtii or Acipenser Persicus) is the medium-sized sturgeon. Omnivorous like most others, it carries a retractable proboscis under its moderately pointed nose, with which it sucks up plants, small fish and crustaceans. This fish has hard scales all over its body, and its color ranges from dark gray to brown. The Ossetra grows to 2 meters and weighs up to 200kg, but the average is 1.2 meters and 20 to 80kg. This is perhaps the most mysterious and interesting sturgeon, as its grains can vary greatly in size, taste and color. It can live up to 80 years and reaches sexual maturity between 12 and 15 years of age in the wild, whereas on farms in warmer waters, the female can give her first roe from 8/10 years of age.
The Ossetra or Asetra caviar, dark grey-brown to golden, should not be missing from any assortment: Its distinctive nutty aroma makes it an exclusive variety. Subtle, sensual, well-balanced caviar.
The Sevruga (Acipenser Stellatus )is a small, trumpet-nosed sturgeon with the most prominent bony lozenges on its flanks. It has distinctive hard scales along its body, reminiscent of small stars. That’s why it’s also known as the “star sturgeon”. Never longer than 1.5 meters, it rarely exceeds 25kg. Like the Ossetra, the Sevruga is omnivorous, feeding on algae and small crustaceans found on the seabed. Female Sevruga begins producing eggs between 7 and 10 years of age, earlier than other sturgeons. At this age, eggs make up 10 to 12% of its weight. Eggs reach their peak quality when the fish reaches 20 years of age.
Sevruga caviar is dark gray and fine-grained, and is best appreciated for its extremely fine, distinctive flavor. True connoisseurs often prefer Sevruga for its “full-bodied” flavor and unique taste. Today, very few Sevrugas are farmed.
Schrencki or Kristal® (Acipenser Schrencki) is a sturgeon that lives in the wild on the Amur River, and is farmed in China. This fish can measure up to 2 meters and weigh up to 100kg, but the average is 1.2 meters and 20 to 80kg. The story goes that in 1993, a 5.20-meter Amur sturgeon was fished out of the Amur River in China. Its size has been compared to that of a small bus!
The Baeri (Acipenser Baeri) is a sturgeon native to Siberia (Siberian sturgeon) that can grow up to 3 meters in size in the wild. Otherwise, its size varies between 0.5 and 1 meter and its average weight rarely exceeds 10kg. This is the species that is mainly bred in France in the Aquitaine basin. Its strain was imported into fish farming in 1989 and is now one of the most widely used species for breeding. Today we find Baeri Imperial Caviar from all over the world (France, Italy, Germany, Finland, Uruguay, China…). It takes at least 7 years for the female to reach maturity and give her first roe.
The White Sturgeon (Acipenser Transmontanus) is a sturgeon that migrates between the great rivers of the American West Coast and the Pacific Ocean (San Francisco Bay or Vancouver Bay). In the wild, it can weigh up to 200kg and only exceptionally exceeds 4m in length. In aquaculture, its average size is 1.5 meters and its weight varies between 20 and 80kg. This is the sturgeon most commonly farmed in California. But we also find it in Europe, mainly in Italy. Its name “white sturgeon” is due to the white scales along its body, but beware: the color of its grains is not white!
The White Sturgeon Caviar is a firm caviar with slightly iodized marine flavors and notes of fresh walnut. A promising long finish.
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