The quality of a caviar begins well before its production. The environment in which sturgeon develops, water quality, food and maturation have a direct bearing on the characteristics of the caves.
Modern caviar production is mainly developed through specialized aquaculture systems. Nevertheless, not all methods of rearing are equal.
Intensive installations and extensive models exist that allow sturgeon to develop in large water spaces under controlled conditions. These systems can favor some natural conduct of the species while maintaining necessary supervision while growing.
Sturgeon is an animal with slow maturation, especially in species such as the Fusco. Their ageing requires years of monitoring before females achieve the necessary maturity for caviar production.
The final quality also depends on the selection of caves, their treatment, salting and storage conditions.
That's why knowing how a caviar occurs is as important as knowing its species or its provenance. Excellence is the result of a complete process, where each stage influences the final product.
The quality starts years before opening the can
The production isn't summed up as an extraction and salting of caves. It requires monitoring of water, density, food and health of fish for a long cycle. When maturity arrives, selection, handling and salting should protect the structure of the pearl. Then the cold chain keeps what's been achieved. If a single phase fails, a prestigious name cannot compensate.
Do all aquaculture systems have the same result?
No. Space, water quality, food, well-being and management range from place to place. The species is important but the complete process also leaves a mark on the product.
Why cannot production of Beluga be speeded up without delay?
Because the Fusco has a slow biological maturation. Retiring requires time and monitoring and forcing a simple explanation would cover up precisely one of the reasons for its shortages and its value.
From water to final conservation
The result that gets to the spoon is the sum of decisions separated by year. The water quality and food condition the development of the fish and monitoring allows an appropriate moment to be recognised and production aims to preserve the integrity of the caves. The salt stabilizes and defines the profile and the packaging and cold protect all these. That's why a serious comparison cannot be based only on species or price. To ask about traceability, process and conservation helps to distinguish a dedicated selection from a proposal that only uses the general prestige of caviar as an argument.
