Editing Caviar (section)

==Varieties==
The main types of caviar from sturgeon species native to the Caspian Sea are [[Beluga caviar|Beluga]], [[Sterlet]], [[Kaluga (fish)|Kaluga hybrid]], [[Ossetra]], [[Siberian sturgeon]] and [[Sevruga]]. [[White sturgeon|American White Sturgeon]] caviar is abundant and native to California and the [[U.S. Pacific Northwest]]. The rarest and costliest is from beluga sturgeon that swim in the Caspian Sea, which is bordered by [[Iran]], [[Kazakhstan]], [[Russia]], [[Turkmenistan]], and [[Azerbaijan]]. Wild caviar production was suspended in Russia between 2008 and 2011 to allow wild stocks to replenish. Azerbaijan and Iran also allow the fishing of sturgeon off their coasts. Beluga caviar is prized for its soft, extremely large (pea-size) eggs. It can range in colour from pale silver-grey to black. It is followed by the small golden [[sterlet]] caviar which is rare and was once reserved for Russian, Iranian and Austrian royalty. Next in quality is the medium-sized, light brown to rich brown [[Ossetra]], also known as Russian caviar. Others in the quality ranking are the grey sevruga caviar, the Chinese Kaluga caviar, and the American white sturgeon caviar. The Siberian variety with black beads is similar to sevruga and is popular because of its reduced (five years) harvest period, but it has a higher [[brine]] content than other kinds. The Chinese Kaluga hybrid varies in colour from dark grey to light golden green and is a close cousin of beluga caviar.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

===Quality factors and cost===
An expensive caviar example at {{convert|1|kg|lb}} sold for £20,000 (then US$34,500) is the Iranian 'Almas' product (from {{langx|fa|الماس}}, "diamond") produced from the eggs of a rare [[albino]] [[sturgeon]] between 60 and 100 years old from the southern [[Caspian Sea]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/most-expensive-caviar|title=Most expensive caviar|access-date=6 April 2019|year=2019|website=guinnessworldrecords.com}}</ref> Wild beluga sturgeon caviar from the Caspian Sea was priced in 2012 at $16,000 per {{convert|1|kg|oz}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://russian.lingualift.com/blog/russian-caviar-roe/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121002151223/http://russian.lingualift.com/blog/russian-caviar-roe/|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 October 2012|title=Black Gold: Russian caviar|publisher=Russian Cuisine|author=Angelica Dubinsky|date=18 September 2012}}</ref> Cheaper alternatives have been developed from the roe of [[Coregonus|whitefish]] and the [[North Atlantic]] [[salmon]].{{citation needed|date=April 2019}}

Conventional sturgeon caviar was priced in 2014 at about $105 per {{convert|1|oz|g}} and from albino sturgeon up to $800 per ounce.<ref name="NPR2014">{{cite web | title=No-Kill Caviar Aims To Keep The Treat And Save The Sturgeon | publisher=US National Public Radio | date=30 March 2014 | url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/03/07/287309630/no-kill-caviar-aims-to-keep-the-treat-and-save-the-sturgeon|author=Alastair Bland | access-date=6 April 2019}}</ref> Other quality factors are texture – with firmness having higher quality value – flavour qualities, such as [[cream]]iness, [[butter]] taste, and brine or mild fish [[aftertaste|finish]], and whether the caviar was taken from the fish by massage (higher value) rather than by killing it.<ref name=NPR2014/> Caviar is generally sold in ounces. An ounce of sturgeon caviar costs between $45 and $1,000, depending on the variety of sturgeon and other factors.