Beluga caviar stands out both for its size and color, as well as its smooth and delicate flavor. Gourmands from around the world value it as the most exquisite of caviars.
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Michael Jungblut / Laif
Beluga caviar is the world's most expensive. The lightest kinds go for prices exceeding the price of gold on the international market.
Michael Jungblut / Laif
However, the largest players on the black caviar market are Saudi Arabia and China, although the caviar there is produced by farming methods. Iran holds first place for supplying wild caviar as there is no moratorium on fishing sturgeon. What’s more, Iranians don’t eat this delicacy themselves. According to the Koran, Muslims, just like Jews, are not allowed to consume fish without scales.
Michael Jungblut / Laif
Schmelz doesn’t regulate the water temperature, but rather subjects his fish to the whims of nature. If the pools freeze over in winter, the sturgeon have to cope with that.
Michael Jungblut / Laif
Producing black caviar is not an easy feat. Nobody knows this better than Dirk Schmelz who breeds sturgeon in the Upper Palatinate region of Germany for the International Caviar Corporation (ICC) and sales their caviar primarily to Russia.
Michael Jungblut / Laif
New German players are venturing out onto the Russian black caviar market. The world’s largest closed-circuit aquaculture plant for sturgeon breeding is in Demmin, Germany. After the plant’s previous owner went bankrupt, Caviar Creator stepped in, placing its bets on support from Russia. Moscow investor Russian Sturgeon acquired the fish plant. The company’s primary goal is to supply black caviar to Russia.
Michael Jungblut / Laif
The German company Desietra, based in the city of Fulda in the region of Hesse, shows how globalization can be turned around successfully. Desietra locally breeds original Beluga caviar that is largely exported to Russia.
Michael Jungblut / Laif
The market started to change again as aquaculture, or aquafarming, developed. New technology made it possible not only to decrease the enormous burden on ecosystems, but also to restore endangered sturgeon populations. Unfortunately, it is not as easy to breed sturgeon in artificial conditions as it is for salmon and carp.
Michael Jungblut / Laif
The situation began to change when the Soviet Union collapsed. To begin with, the sturgeon population began to decrease as early as the 1950s. Poaching was the second reason for the sturgeon’s disappearance.
Michael Jungblut / Laif
Until the mid-1980s, the Soviet Union always ranked number one in the world in terms of industrial sturgeon fishing. Up to 28 thousand tons of sturgeon were caught and 2,500 tons of black caviar were produced on the Caspian Sea. This accounted for 90% of the entire world caviar market. In practical terms, the Soviet Union almost had a monopoly on sturgeon caviar exports.
Michael Jungblut / Laif
Beluga caviar also differs from other types of caviar in its color. Caviar ranges in color from dark gray to almost white. The lighter caviar is, the rarer and more expensive it is.
Michael Jungblut / Laif
Beluga caviar stands out both for its size and color, as well as its smooth and delicate flavor. Gourmands from around the world value it as the most exquisite of caviars, with a sometimes unique and surprisingly nutty flavor. It has the largest roe (eggs), which at times reaches a diameter of 5-6 mm.
Michael Jungblut / Laif
The largest beluga on record was caught in the Volga River in 1827 and weighed in at 1.5 tons.
Michael Jungblut / Laif
In captivity, beluga can reach sexual majority in 6 or 7 years at the right temperatures and when given feed containing high protein content.
Michael Jungblut / Laif
Caviar makes up more than 25% of Beluga’s weight. Female belugas reach sexual maturity at around 25 years of age, although they do not necessarily spawn every year. Beluga can live more than 100 years.
Michael Jungblut / Laif
Beluga sturgeon hold a special place among sturgeon breeds throughout the whole world. This is the largest and one of the rarest fish of this family. Beluga from the basin of the Caspian Sea is especially unique in terms of its taste.
