Product Characteristics:
- Farmed-raised
- Germany & Sturgeon AquaFarms, Florida, USA
- Very small, delicate beads
- Light grey to dark grey color pearls, hints of silver
- Smooth, velvety texture
- Mild sweet and nutty flavor
- Lingering buttery finish
- Excellent served alone, just on a mother of pearl spoon
- Available in 2014 -2015 from SAF
Suggested use: Sterlet is reminiscent of Sevruga caviar in color and taste however the size of the eggs is much smaller which explains its smooth, more velvety texture and lingering buttery finish. Sterlet caviar is rarely available in the United States and therefore will definitely add exclusivity and variability to the menu of any high end restaurant. Sterlet can also be suggested as a substitute for Sevruga caviar.
Note: Sterlet caviar is the most common substitute for prized Caspian Sevruga. So beware when you find advertisements for golden Sevruga or Farmed Sevruga (species indicated as Acipenser Ruthenus). On the contrary, Sevruga will never produce golden colored eggs, so advertised golden sevruga is more likely to be Sterlet. Also always pay attention to the size of the egg – Sterlet will not be bigger than 0.5 to 1 mm in diameter while sevruga is capable of producing eggs that will range between 1.2-2 mm. The texture of Sterlet caviar is reminiscent of butter, therefore it will never pop in your mouth and you will not be able to feel the separation of the egg grains.
The Sturgeon family is comparatively vast and most of its members are the suppliers of the true black caviar to the world market. One of them is Sterlet (Acipenser Ruthenus), whose natural area of living are the rivers running into the Black sea, the Azov sea, the Caspian sea, and the Aegean sea, as also the rivers of Siberia as far to the East as Yenisey. Due to the growing industrial pollution of the waters, dams, and, of course, overfishing and poaching for its caviar, flesh, and isinglass, the natural population of Sterlet has critically declined and this species is considered to be threatened and currently is on a brink of extinction. That's why nearly all the Sterlet caviar in the international gourmet food market is harvested and produced on the aquafarms scattered all over the world. Despite certain difficulties in breeding Sterlet, one of the advantages of the aquafarm production is the possibility to control the diet of the fish, because everyday food ration of the fish in the wild nature significantly influences the taste of the caviar Sterlet and its flesh. In such a manner we have the possibility to receive the product with consistent high quality and predictable flavor. Feeding on the crustaceans, insect larvae, and worms in the wild nature, Sterlet receives similar diet in the artificial ponds to keep its famously rich and original flavor.