for Tale
It is not in one of his renowned fables that Jean de la Fontaine’s writes of sturgeon, but rather a tale entitled The Glutton (1665). The sturgeon, here, is the favourite dish of a man who would rather eat himself to death than not eat at all. A fitting way to go for a man who lived life to the fullest...
A sturgeon, once, a glutton famed was led
To have for supper — all, except the head.
With wond’rous glee he feasted on the fish;
And quickly swallowed down the royal dish.
O’ercharged, howe’er, his stomach soon gave way;
And doctors were required without delay.
The danger imminent, his friends desired
He’d settle ev’ry thing affairs required.
Said he, in that respect I’m quite prepared;
And, since my time so little is declared,
With diligence, I earnestly request,
The sturgeon’s head you’ll get me nicely dressed.
It’s only natural to be so tasty! Caviar doesn’t just have one flavour; it has a whole range of them. The point is not to try and determine which the best is. That would be tantamount to asking someone if salmon were tastier than trout or tuna. Everyone has their own preferences; some may prefer the stronger woody or briny flavoured varieties, while other may prefer the more delicate nutty butter undertones. Just like with wine, caviar is, above all else, a very personal journey.
During the Middle-Ages, in China, people living along the banks of the Yangtze washed sturgeon eggs in tea before soaking them in brine. While the recipe has long disappeared from practice, the association between the two still exists. According to tradition, Iranians drink tea with caviar. Aside from the ban on drinking alcohol, they prefer the subtlety of pairing caviar with tea. The toasty, herbal notes of the tea leaves marry exquisitely with the caviar’s briny, nutty flavours. Even today, this custom has its followers, connoisseurs who choose the finest green or black teas to go with the delicate caviar.
The world of caviar is closely watched. In 2008, CITES not only banned wild sturgeon fishing, it also established a system to ensure traceability of caviar tins sold in Europe to provide importers and consumers with the necessary assurances to know exactly where their caviar comes from. Each tin has its own unique tracking code; a label with information about the caviar’s provenance ensure that every tin can be traced right back to the original producer without fault.