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It seemed a little bit unexpected. The idea of going to Browne Trading seemed to be quite an uncanny choice for someone with my wealth of lamb experiences. Even so, choosing this adventure seemed to end up being quite fitting for a farm girl.
The first day at Browne was a wash, so to speak. The thirty knot winds and fifteen foot waves anywhere in Portland kept me in the enclosed area, referred to as the "Caviar Room." Who would have thought that there would be an entire room designed for the soul purpose of receiving, re-packaging, and distributing caviar?
Luckily for me, upon arrival at Browne, I met Richard, who is in charge of the caviar room and a wealth of knowledge in reference to all the different types and packages of caviar. The first task was pre-packaging paddlefish roe (American Caviar) into one-ounce glass jars. Seems easy enough, right? The daunting task was to waste nothing when transferring from the large vat (five-pound container) to the little jars, while using a misshapen rubber spatula. Who knew there would that much frozen roe anywhere? The paddlefish season had not yet begun this year, so the packages were the last of the previous year's harvest.
Who knows or has ever heard of Azerbaijan? I, myself, had no idea a country with that name even existed. It is a small country on the Caspian Sea sandwiched between Russia and Iran. Since Russian caviar cannot be imported at this point, Browne uses caviar from Azerbaijan, which is delicious anyway.
The selection of caviars that Brown Trading carries is quite diverse. Of course, there is the private stock, which was designated and reserved for Daniel Boulud. Next, is the line of Browne Trading caviars, which are the product of Azerbaijan. And then there are the coveted Iranian caviars. The Caviar Astara is distributed exclusively by Brown Trading.
I had to taste each of these different varieties while I was helping package the caviars to learn the grading criteria.
A Little Caviar History:
Caviar comes from one of the world's most primitive creatures, sturgeon, which evolved more than two hundred fifty million years ago. Yet, the modern-day sturgeon still possesses the characteristics of its prehistoric ancestors. Of the more than fifty species of sturgeon throughout the world, the most sought after for caviar production, are beluga, osetra and sevruga, which inhabit the Caspian and Black seas. However, as of lately, the sustainable farming of sturgeon has become surprising successful. In Germany, Osetra Sturgeon is being farm-raised; meanwhile, in Italy, Siberian sturgeon is being raised in pure mountain spring water.
Each species of sturgeon have its own unique characteristics, which therefore, make each caviar different and unique in its own way. Beluga, the largest, has been the most affected by the caviar market. However, last fall, the import of Beluga into the United States from the Caspian Sea ceased. The Osetra sturgeon is medium-sized, while its caviar is distinctively nutty, with a color that ranges anywhere from dark brown to gold. The Sevruga sturgeon is the smallest in size, while the caviar is grayish in color with a creamy flavor. Lastly, is the Blacknose Asetra sturgeon, which exclusively inhabits the south Caspian Sea. Similar to the Russian osetra, it has a distinctive black nose. The caviar can range from amber to brown or grey, yet is slightly nutty. American Paddlefish from the waters of Mississippi and Tennessee thrive in shallow waters as surface feeders and produce a small, silvery grained roe, which is creamy and rich in flavor.
There is, however, much more to Browne Trading than just lab coats, hair nets, and spooning eggs in the caviar room. From searching for scallops to harvesting seaweed and butchering all kinds of fish, something new everyday but the caviar room was a real initiation into the world of fish and where it all comes from for a farm girl from Western Pennsylvania.
~ Eliza Jamison
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