          
          
          
                 CAVIAR AND PUMPERNICKEL: A SNACK FIT FOR CZARS
          
               To celebrate the birth of her son to the Grand Duke 
          Paul, Catherine the Great of Russia gave a banquet of such 
          magnificent proportions that the English Ambassador to the 
          Russian Court made up a detailed report of the affair, 
          saying that there were "...  jewels and caviar..." on the 
          banquet table to the amount of more than two million 
          sterling.
          
               In the days of Peter the Great, the serving of caviar 
          by a Russian family to its guests was a sign of affluence 
          on the part of the family, and of importance on the part of 
          the guest.  The more caviar that was set forth -- and the 
          greater its variety -- the more wealthy the host -- and 
          important the guest. This opulent Russian table was called 
          the zakuska table.  In Russian, zakuska means "bite-down," 
          and comes from the custom of drinking (or rather gulping, 
          as no sipping was allowed) a shot of vodka and "biting it 
          down" with a chaser of caviar -- or some other appetizer 
          that the hospitable Russian family might have on the table.
          
               If the Russian family happened to be the nobility, 
          with plenty of rubles to spend on vodka and caviar, the 
          spread could take on the dimensions and liveliness that was 
          unique to the Russians of that era.  Legend tells us that 
          one noble family of that era kept a 45-pound, cut-glass 
          barrel of caviar on hand at all times, for use at the 
          zakuska table.
          
               For the more affluent Russians, the zakuska table was 
          to become as firmly entrenched in the Russian culture as 
          the "cocktail hour" for affluent Americans.  The Russian 
          winters were long and cold, the Russian estates isolated; 
          the "little bites" were the perfect refreshment for guests 
          who had journeyed long distances through the bitter cold of 
          the Russian winter to visit.  If the host were affluent 
          enough, many kinds of caviar, as well as smoked salmon, 
          cold meats, fish in aspic, and salads (and always vodka -- 
          of course) were served to the Russian gentlemen.  While the 
          men dallied at the zakuska table, the women would be 
          ushered into a different room where they sipped tea from 
          the samovar (a metal urn -- usually copper), and nibbled 
          delicately at small cakes.
          
               To the average American of the variety that eats 
          pretzels or potato chips with beer, the mention of caviar 
          conjures up visions of opulence and wealth; of elegance and 
          flowing champagne (and vodka), with long lines of servants 
          to bring an endless supply of delicacies.
          
               The not-so-sophisticated American of yesteryear could, 
          in fact, often be heard to ask, "What is caviar?"  To which 
          his more knowledgeable friend might reply, with just the 
          slightest revulsion, "Fish eggs."
          
               And, fish eggs it is; before the turn of the 19th 
          century, even in Russia, where we think of all caviar as 
          being the eggs of the spawning sturgeon, caviar consisted 
          of salted fish roe from a variety of quite common fish.  
          For example, shad, mullet, whiting, codfish and catfish 
          have all had their roe removed to become the delicacy of 
          the Russian zakuska table.
          
               Today, most Americans know considerably more about 
          caviar than they used to:  They know, for example, what is 
          considered the best of caviar today, and why it is best; 
          what other types of caviar are acceptable, and where they 
          can be found.  Many know the proper way to serve the best 
          caviar.
          
          
              FOUR SPECIES OF STURGEON PROVIDE THE BEST IN CAVIAR
          
               The very best in caviar is considered by authorities 
          to be in the form of the large black eggs of the Beluga -- 
          or white -- sturgeon.  At the time of gestation, the Beluga 
          eggs are light gray in color, but during the period just 
          prior to spawning, they turn black.  Connoisseurs of caviar 
          are prone to argue about whether the black eggs are more 
          tantalizing to the taste buds than the gray eggs; however, 
          most agree that while there may a difference in color 
          (which could possibly influence one's taste buds), there is 
          but little difference. in actual taste.  The Osetra 
          sturgeon produces pea-sized eggs, the caviar of which is 
          called Osetrova or Osetrina.
          
               The Sevruga sturgeon's egg is smaller than that of 
          either the Beluga or Osetra, and connoisseurs consider the 
          Sevruga caviar to be as tasty as that of either of the 
          other two.
          
               The Volga sterlet, which is the smallest of all the 
          sturgeon, produces a golden roe that makes the rarest of 
          all caviars.  This is the caviar that was traditionally 
          reserved for only the table of the czars.
          
               A relatively inexpensive caviar is pressed caviar, 
          which is made from the damaged eggs of various sturgeon.  
          Pressed caviar is widely used and enjoyed in the Russia of 
          today, and it is to be found at the usual buffets in 
          theaters and hotels.  The Russian name for pressed caviar 
          is Pausnaia, or Paiusnaya.
          
               Americans, whose taste in caviar seems not so exotic 
          as that of the Russians, have established a taste for 
          caviar made from red salmon roe and golden salmon roe.  The 
          red salmon roe comes from salmon that are going into their 
          spawning phase, but who have not yet left the salt water of 
          the ocean to return to the river of their birth.  The 
          golden salmon roe is taken from the salmon that have gone 
          into fresh water.  The American taste, with which most 
          Russians disagree, is for a not-too-salty caviar made from 
          the salmon roe.
          
               Another common kind of caviar, to be found in many 
          American restaurants, is made from the roe of whitefish and 
          lumpfish.  The roe of these fish, which is white when taken 
          from the fish, is dyed with black vegetable dye to make it 
          resemble the more expensive -- or "regular" -- caviar made 
          from the roe of the sturgeon.  The dyed caviar is salty and 
          relatively inexpensive.
          
          
                         ROE PROCESSED WITH SALT
          
               Salt, correctly applied in the correct amounts, is the 
          key ingredient in the processing of fish roe to caviar.  A 
          mildly salted caviar, which is a favorite of the Russians, 
          is referred to as malossol, meaning "little salt." 
          Generally speaking, the amount of salt that is used in 
          processing caviar depends upon the grade (or size) of the 
          roe, its condition, the weather, and the market for which 
          the caviar is intended.  Caviar destined for the United 
          States can have only salt in it as a preservative; however, 
          most European countries allow the use of borax along with 
          the salt.  These European caviars, which can only be served 
          in the U. S. in foreign embassies and outside the 
          three-mile limit, have a sweeter taste than the American 
          caviars.
          
          
                    SIZE OF THE ROE AFFECTS THE SALTINESS
          
               Certain experts with a caviar-oriented taste like to 
          point out that despite the fact that the Beluga and Sevruga 
          processes are the same, the Sevruga caviar has the saltier 
          taste of the two.  This, the experts say, is because the 
          smaller Sevruga grain, or individual egg, which is 
          preserved in the same amount of salt as the Beluga -- and 
          which absorbs the same amount of salt as the Beluga -- will 
          taste saltier for a given amount of caviar, because there 
          are more of the smaller Sevruga grains in a given amount.
          
          
                       IRANIAN OR RUSSIAN CAVIAR?
          
               The connoisseurs of caviar also insist that the 
          quality of caviar made of sturgeon roe is determined by 
          whether the roe was caught, processed and packed by the 
          Iranians or by the Russians.  Fisherman from both Iran and 
          Russia fish the Caspian Sea, which has long been considered 
          the source of the choice roe of the world; therefore, it is 
          assumed that the difference in the quality of the two 
          end-products is due to the processing of the roe.
          
               The Iranians are relative newcomers to the fish roe 
          industry, and are therefore second in production to the 
          Russians; nevertheless, this is a flourishing industry for 
          the Iranians.  A major factor in the difference between the 
          Iranian and Russian caviar (if such a difference indeed 
          exists) might be that the Russians by tradition and taste 
          are much large consumers of caviar than are the Iranians.  
          Russian tastes in fish roe account for approximately 600 
          tons annually, with 500 tons being consumed at home, and 
          only about 100 tons finding its way into world markets.  
          The Iranians, on the other hand, consume little caviar, 
          with a result that their approximately 140-ton production 
          is exported to the world market.
          
          
                         DIFFERENCE IN PROCESSING?
          
               The Russian method of processing the sturgeon roe into 
          caviar has been handed down through generations of 
          forbearers who not only caught and processed the roe, but 
          also developed a national taste for it.  In the Russian 
          process, the huge female sturgeon, which can sometimes be 
          as long as 14 feet and weigh as much as a ton, is slit open 
          to have her eggs removed while the fishermen are still at 
          sea.  On the premise that an undesirable chemical reaction 
          may set in if the eggs were to remain in the fish, the fish 
          is cut open immediately, and the eggs removed; in a large 
          sturgeon, as many as 3,000,000 pearly-black eggs are 
          removed, encased in a skein.  Later, when the fishing boat 
          returns to dock, the eggs are rubbed out through a screen 
          into water, where they will be washed and screened through 
          a finer screen to obtain the individual eggs.  They are 
          then salted and packed.
          
               In the Iranian method, sailboats cruise the shallows 
          close to shore, and motorized boats cruise the deeper 
          waters farther from shore.  Both leave the eggs in the fish 
          until they are brought to shore, where trained Iranians 
          will remove and process the eggs.  After the eggs are 
          removed, washed and sieved, salt is circulated through them 
          until just the right amount of salt is absorbed; this 
          salting process transforms the eggs into caviar.  The 
          process itself is quite short, requiring only about 15 
          minutes; but it is a process requiring skill and 
          delicateness of handling.
          
          
                          NO FROZEN CAVIAR
          
               The roe's cellular composition is permanently 
          destroyed by freezing; therefore, caviar is best kept fresh 
          by maintaining it at a temperature of between 28 and 32 
          degrees Fahrenheit; at temperatures above 45 degrees it 
          will spoil.  With modern temperature control methods, 
          maintaining caviar at the optimum temperature presents no 
          problems, but in the days of the Russian czars, special 
          containers which could be warmed in the winter and iced in 
          summer were used to transport the delicacy from Moscow to 
          St. Petersburg.
          
               Caviar can, however, be pasteurized and vacuum-packed, 
          and can be kept for an indefinite time in the refrigerator, 
          or for a limited time in cool room.
          
          
                 RUSSIAN CAVIAR RELATIVELY NEW TO THE U.S.
          
               Because of political relations with the Soviet Union, 
          Russian caviar only become available to the more affluent 
          American tables about 15 years ago.  This availability 
          follows a long period that the American gourmet could 
          consider a "drought." The Iranian caviar, on the other 
          hand, then fairly well established in the U. S. is now 
          limited because of the deteriorated U. S. political 
          relations with Iran. The marketing success that the 
          Iranians have had with caviar has prompted them to protect 
          themselves against future shortages by a long-range 
          hatchery building plan that will restock the Caspian Sea.
          
          
                       LIMITED SUPPLY OF STURGEON
          
               A limited supply of sturgeon is the prime reason for 
          the high price of caviar.  During, and toward the end of, 
          the 19th century, the coastal rivers of the Atlantic and 
          Pacific Oceans, the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, Black Sea, 
          Sea of Asar and the Caspian Sea yielded a fair catch of 
          sturgeon.  Up until 1900, approximately 100,000 pounds of 
          roe were prepared in America for export to Europe.  Then, 
          pollution and over-fishing began to take their toll, with 
          the result that by now most of the commercial fishing for 
          sturgeon is done by those who fish the Caspian Sea 
          (however, the Black Sea and the Girond River in France are 
          still stocked with sturgeon).  The Russians lead the world 
          in the consumption of caviar, with France, Germany and the 
          rest of Western Europe close behind.  The American 
          consumption of caviar is increasing, and should soon be 
          comparable with that of Western Europe.  This increasing 
          demand, together with the limited supply of the magnificent 
          sturgeon, will undoubtedly keep the price of caviar high.
          
          
           ONLY A FEW BASIC AND TRADITIONAL WAYS TO PREPARE CAVIAR
          
               Despite its gourmet tradition, there are surprisingly 
          few basic, traditional ways to prepare caviar for the 
          table.  The canape recipes are, of course, limited only to 
          what the imaginative person can think of; but, the gourmet 
          cooks of the world -- as well as those of Russia -- have 
          handed us only a scant few traditional recipes.  In the 
          United States, a favored way to prepare caviar is with 
          finely chopped egg white, sieved egg yolk and a choice of 
          finely-chopped onion or chives.  This method has become 
          popular with the more common, more heavily salted grades of 
          caviar.
          
               Many experts say that the most delectable way to eat 
          caviar is plain, from a bed of crushed ice -- perhaps with 
          toast and lemon juice.  Special dishes are made for eating 
          caviar in this manner.
          
               Another recommended way to enjoy caviar is with the 
          Russian blini -- or pancake -- with sweet butter.  The 
          tradition of eating cold caviar with hot blini began as a 
          religious tradition (as did many of Russia's famous 
          dishes).  Orthodox Russians begin Easter preparations weeks 
          ahead of time.  In prerevolutionary Russia, Maslenitsa -- 
          or "butter-week"--was a seven-day carnival, ending just 
          before lent.  Blini were traditionally eaten on the last 
          day of Maslenitsa.
          
               Other traditional ways of preparing caviar for the 
          table are with baked potatoes, or mashed potatoes, blended 
          with sour cream and chives.  Add the caviar last, and if it 
          is the excellent, pearly-black grade, don't worry about 
          adding too much.  But if you use the black Danish or red 
          caviar, use smaller amounts.  You might also like the red 
          caviar dip from Norway, or French caviar eggs in aspic.
          
               And you would surely like the black caviar prepared as 
          it was in the time of Peter the Great -- on small pieces of 
          white bread, sometimes toasted quite dry in a warm oven.
          
               More than likely, though, us common folk will settle 
          for the red salmon caviar, spread in large amounts on a big 
          slice of pumpernickel, sprinkled with minced scallion tips 
          and finely chopped egg yolks.  For a between-meal snack, it 
          tastes as good as it sounds!
          
          
