Caviar

Caviar is a food consisting of salt-cured roe of fish in the family Acipenseridae, the sturgeons, prepared by removing eggs from the sturgeon's ovaries, passing them through a sieve, rinsing them and adding a precise amount of salt for preservation and taste. Traditionally it came exclusively from wild sturgeon of the Caspian and Black Sea regions, especially the beluga, ossetra and sevruga varieties, though modern production also uses roe from paddlefish, salmon, steelhead, trout and other species, even as the FAO reserves the term caviar strictly for sturgeon roe. Served as a garnish or spread in fine dining, caviar can be fresh or pasteurized, though pasteurization reduces both its culinary quality and its economic value; it reached European aristocratic tables in the 10th century through Byzantine-Kievan Rus trade, and by the 16th century the writer Francois Rabelais praised it as the finest appetizer, cementing its lasting association with luxury and refined taste.