that begin digesting the flesh of the animal. Cooking the
shellfish alive prevents this process from beginning. The
reason you should only clean and cook live or frozen
shellfish is that those that die before being cooked or
frozen will have a decomposed flavor and odor.
* Seafood it a brainfood. The myth of fish as a brain
food goes back to a 19th Century Harvard University
scientist who discovered that phosphorus is abundant in the
human brain, and from this fact, wrongly concluded that a
diet of fish should increase the human IQ.
* Eating seafood with fresh milk will make you sick.
This is totally untrue, both from observation and the
application of logic; the combination of two wholesome
foods cannot possibly make one sick.
* Mahi-Mahi is actually porpoise meat. This myth
probably originated because the Mahi-Mahi is also called
dolphin fish or dolphin. Mahi-Mahi is really a fish,
caught in tropical waters and marketed throughout the
world. The dolphin, as a mammal, is protected by the 1972
Marine Mammal Protection Act, and is not harvested or used
for food in the United States.
* Frozen seafood is inferior to fresh seafood. This
is more a simple fallacy than a myth and probably
originated around the time when the marketing of seafood
went through the transitional stage from primarily
refrigeration and icing methods, to freezing methods. The
truth is that fresh seafood is processed quickly after
being harvested, with surpluses beyond the immediate
marketing demands being frozen by the "glaze" method, which
literally coats the product with a layer of ice. This is
an improvement over the old dry-freezing method, which
itself was a viable way of handling a highly perishable
product. Fresh-frozen seafood is of exactly the same
quality and flavor as when it was frozen.
Inflating: AUTHOR <to console>
About the Author
Adam Starchild has combined business travel with
discovering the delights of native dishes from Hawaii and
Hong Kong to Russia and the Caribbean. He is the author of
The Seafood Heritage Cookbook (Cornell Maritime Press),
co-author of another seafood cookbook, and the author of a
number of food and cooking articles.
Inflating: BOOK.CFG <to console>
The Seafood Disk
by
Adam Starchild
sound on
center
Seafood Myths
Caviar & Pumpernickel
Food From The Sea
Seafood Types & Sources
The Nutritional Value of Fish
Shellfish
Market Forms of Fish
Buying Fresh Fish
Buying Frozen Fish
Buying Canned Fish
The Amount of Fish to Purchase
Dressing A Whole Fish
Storing Fish
Thawing Fish
Cooking Fish
Market Forms of Shellfish
Amount of Shellfish to Purchase
Cleaning & Shucking Shellfish
Storing Shellfish
Thawing Shellfish
Cooking Shellfish
Some Tips on Seafood Cooking
About The Author
The Seafood Heritage Cookbook
Copyright Notice/Software License
seamyths
caviar
foodsea
types
value
shelfish
forms
buyfresh
buyfroze
buycan
amount
dressing
storing
thawing
cooking
shelform
shellamt
shelclen
shelstor
shelthaw
shelcook
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Inflating: CAVIAR <to console>
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!
Inflating: SEAFOOD.EXE <to console>
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