DINE&WINE
ter aftertaste, while the eggs were not crunchy, but rather fall apart under the pressure of the palate, creating the gastronomic pleasure for gour- mets of this delicacy. Today, however, the beluga stur- geon, which is more than 200 mil- lion years old, is an endangered spe- cies, along with other sturgeons, due to excessive fishing and the blocking of migratory routes through the con- struction of hydroelectric dams. That’s why fishing them is prohibited, so the caviar produced from these fish to- day comes exclusively from sturgeon raised in fish farm pools. Processing the roe is seeming- ly straightforward and performed in three steps. “The roe is extracted, filtered through a sieve, then the mem- brane from the ovaries is removed and salt or preservatives are added... Still, the whole process is extremely demanding and must be performed very quickly. Only 10-15 minutes is allowed to elapse from extracting the roe to adding the salt before the cav- iar is packed and closed, because the roe is extremely perishable,” explains Dubravka. She adds that the technique for pressing the eggs through a sieve by hand is also demanding. If too much pressure is applied, the eggs will be crushed and the quality of the caviar will be at its lowest. Thus, the pres- sure applied must be just enough for the procedure to be executed prop- erly without the eggs being crushed. Caviar containing crushed eggs is sold in the form of a pâté and is the most easily available, and is also extreme- ly tasty. Caviar is usually served on ice, because it tastes better when chilled. It is not eaten using a metal spoon, which oxidizes upon contact with the eggs and changes the taste. Experts claim that it is best eaten using wood- en spoons. It has a high nutritional value, beneficial effects on the entire body, prevents high blood pressure and osteoporosis, and is ideal food when recovering from illness. Often used in cosmetic products, aphrodis- iac properties have also been attrib- uted to this delicacy.
Russian and Iranian,” says the exhi- bition’s author. Black Sea beluga and other stur- geons traversed more than 850 kilo- metres to their spawning grounds in the Đerdap, Iron Gates, area, and their eggs would have entered the fourth or fifth stage of maturity by the time they reached Kladovo. The turning point in the worldwide promotion of this caviar came with the influence of Russian emigrants, leading to our Serbian caviar reaching America and even the galley of the Titanic. Klado- vo caviar even got a mention in an ep- isode of the TV series Dynasty. The scene sees Alexis, the regular villain- ess, send her lover to the store for caviar, reminding him as he departs that it must be “Caviar of Kladovo”. Caviar has actually been con- sumed in Serbia for very a long time, at least 2000 years, since the time of the Roman Empire, which is how long people have fished for species of stur- geon along the Danube. “Green beluga caviar, or unpro- cessed roe, was consumed by fisher- men on the Danube for centuries. In- itially the roe, like everywhere else in the world, was food for the majority of the population, because it was easily accessible and has a high nutritional value. However, once they began pro- cessing it, they gained a top-quality product that quickly found its place on the dining tables of the aristocra- cy, and then also as a luxurious del- icacy at royal courts across Europe,” says Dubravka. Serbian caviar was one of the most highly rated because it was made from beluga roe that had a fla- vour – according to top connoisseurs – that was creamy, with a slightly bit-
THE GLORIOUS HISTORY OF CAVIAR From food for paupers, to a luxurious delicacy
Although caviar is today some- thing we associate with elegance and luxury, you can discover the unusu- al story of how a food item for the poorest people gained the epithet of a top delicacy at the unique exhibi- tion being held in its honour at the Belgrade Museum of Natural Histo- ry, authored by Dubravka Vučić, sen- ior curator ichthyologist. “The idea for the exhibition emerged from a desire to preserve from oblivion the fact that, during the second half of the 20 th century, Ser- bia was extremely well known around the world for the production of Cav- iar of Kladovo. However, that caviar was by no means ordinary, but rath- er of top quality, ranking alongside the world’s most esteemed caviars, Serbian caviar, which was eaten by the fishermen of the Danube for centuries, gained wide repute with the arrival of Russian emigrants, and even reached as far as the Titanic and Dynasty
Tekst /Words: Bojana Đurić Fotografije/Photography: Prirodnjački muzej
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