Editing Caviar (section)

{{Short description|Food consisting of salt-cured roe}}
{{About|sturgeon roe}}
{{Redirect|Black caviar|other uses|Black caviar (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox food
| name = Caviar
| image = File:Caviar spoons.jpg
| caption = [[Salmon roe]] (left) and [[sturgeon]] caviar (right) served with [[Nacre|mother of pearl]] [[caviar spoon]]s to avoid tainting the taste of the caviar.
| country = [[Iran (Persia)]] and/or [[Russia]]
| region = [[Black Sea]] region, [[Sea of Azov]] region, [[Caspian Sea]] region
}}
[[File:Beluga sturgeon.png|thumb|The rarest and most expensive form of caviar comes from the critically endangered [[beluga sturgeon]] that swims in the [[Caspian Sea]].]]

'''Caviar''' or '''caviare''' is a food consisting of salt-cured [[roe]] of the family [[Acipenseridae]]. Caviar is considered a [[delicacy]] and is eaten as a [[Garnish (food)|garnish]] or [[Spread (food)|spread]].<ref>{{cite book | last=Goldstein | first=D. | title=A Taste of Russia: A Cookbook of Russian Hospitality | publisher=Russian Life Books | year=1999 | isbn=978-1-880100-42-4 | url=https://archive.org/details/tasteofrussia00darr | url-access=registration | access-date=28 May 2017 | page=[https://archive.org/details/tasteofrussia00darr/page/71 71]}}</ref> Traditionally, the term caviar refers only to roe from wild [[sturgeon]] in the [[Caspian Sea]] and [[Black Sea]]<ref>lan Davidson, Tom Jane, ''The Oxford companion to food'', Oxford University Press, 2006, {{ISBN|0-19-280681-5}}, {{ISBN|978-0-19-280681-9}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=JTr-ouCbL2AC&pg=PA150 p. 150].</ref> ([[Beluga (sturgeon)|beluga]], [[ossetra]] and [[sevruga]] caviars). The term caviar can also describe the roe of other species of sturgeon or other [[Fish (food)|fish]] such as [[paddlefish]], [[salmon]], [[steelhead]], [[trout]], [[Cyclopterus lumpus|lumpfish]], [[Freshwater whitefish|whitefish]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.christmaswhistler.web44.net/smithHistory/SmithBrosWhitefishCaviar.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104103551/http://www.christmaswhistler.web44.net/smithHistory/SmithBrosWhitefishCaviar.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2014-01-04|title=Smith Bros. Whitefish Caviar|work=web44.net}}</ref> or [[carp]].<ref>Fodor, Alexandrina, et al. "ASSESSMENT OF DEGREE OF FRESHNESS AND QUALITY OF PRODUCTS TYPE "FISH ROE" SOLD IN SUPERMARKET CHAIN STORES." Analele Universităţii din Oradea, Fascicula: Ecotoxicologie, Zootehnie şi Tehnologii de Industrie Alimentară 10.A (2011): 177–181.</ref>

The roe can be "fresh" (non-pasteurized) or [[pasteurized]], which reduces its culinary and [[economic value]].<ref>According to Jean-Pierre Esmilaire, ''Directeur Général'' of [https://web.archive.org/web/20191216005012/https://www.caviarhouse-prunier.com/index/index/loc/25/lan/1/International/en/ Caviar House & Prunier]: "two-thirds of caviar's taste is lost through pasteurisation." (in [https://archive.today/20120724064352/http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2001/02/01/34258/three-star-caviar.html "Three-star caviar", Caterersearch – The complete information source for hospitality, 1 February 2001]).</ref>