Caviar is processed, salted, non-fertilized roe marketed as a kind of luxury food. According to the Food and Agri-culture Organization, caviar is a product made from salt-cured fish-eggs of the Acipenseridae family. The roe can be “fresh” （non-pasteurized）or economic value.
Traditionally the term caviar only refers to roe from wild sturgeon in the Caspian and Black Seas (Beluga, Ossetra and Sevruga caviar). Depending on the country, caviar may also be used to describe the roe of other fish such as salmon, trout, lumpfish, whitefish, and other species of sturgeon.
Based on flavor, size, consistency and color, prices for caviar range as high as $8,000-$16,000 per kg. Caviar is marketed worldwide as a delicacy and is eaten as a garnish or a spread.
Given its high price in the West, caviar is associated with luxury and wealth. In Russia and other Eastern European cultures, though it is expensive, caviar is commonly served at holiday feasts, weddings, and other festive occasions. In Russia, the concept generally includes both sturgeon roe (black caviar )and salmon roe (red caviar ).
Sturgeon-derived caviar is not eaten by some Kosher-observant Jews, because sturgeon possess ganoid scales to replace with the usual cttenoid and cycloid scales (see Kosher animals). There is a discussion about its status in Halacha, since the scales will come off if soaked in lye; however, this does not apply to every roe-yielding fish species.
The Ja`fari school of jurisprudence that predominates in Twelver Shia Islam also stipulates that seafood must have fins and scales. Thus most observant Twelvers do not eat caviar despite of the majority of Twelver Iran is a primary center of the sturgeon-fishing industry and the world`s largest exporter of caviar.
The four main types of caviar are Beluga, Sterlet, Ossetra, and Sevruga. The rarest and costliest caviar is from beluga sturgeon that survived in the Caspian Sea, which is bordered by Iran, Kazakjstan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan. Wild caviar production has now survived only in Azerbajan and Iran as Russia maintains a self-imposed ban on caviar trade from wild sturgeon. Beluga caviar is prized for its soft, extremely large (pea-size ) eggs. Its color can range from pale silver-gray to black. It is followed by the small golden starlet caviar which is rare and was once reserved for Russian czars, Iranian shahs and Austrian emperors. Next in quality is the medium-sized, gray to brownish osetra (ossetra), and the last in the quality ranking is smaller, gray sevruga caviar.
Due to the extremely high cost of sturgeon caviar, cheaper alternatives have been developed from the roe of whitefish to the North Atlantic salmon. In the wake of overfishing, the harvest and sale of black caviar was banned in Russia in 2007 but resumed in 2010, limited to 150 kg (330 Ibs).
在24种鲟鱼中，只有1/8的鱼种所产的鱼卵可以用来制作鱼子酱，这使得鱼子酱相当稀有。因此颗粒饱满圆滑，色泽透明清亮的、黑黑的鱼子酱在过去仅仅是黄市里的佳肴。黄金奥斯特拉（Ossertra）鱼子酱更是这类鱼子酱中非常稀有的一种，其鱼子呈金黄色且味道浓烈。加之含有皮肤所需要的微量元素、矿物质、蛋白质等，可以让你的肤质“返老还童”。
鱼子酱的历史
The world “caviar “ comes into English from the Italian in the 16th century, but it ultimately stems from the Persain word for egg. Although the Persian term technically refers to both the sturgeon and the roe, it has come down into English meaning only for the egg. Caviar from fish other than the sturgeon usually has an adjective naming such origins, such as “salmon caviar”.
This exclusive trend continued for centuries. In the Middle Ages, many European countries required those who obtained caviar to offer ot to the sovereign. King Edward II of England (1284-1330) is one who gave such a decree. Even when and where the rules were historically the primary consumers. Czar Nicholas II (1868-1918 ) collected an annual tax from fishermen in the form of caviar.
It was not until the early 19th century that there was a change in the exclusiveness of caviar patrons. Sturgeons were found in both the Delaware and Hudson Rivers. A short time later, the Columbia River in Oregon became a source. There was such an abundant supply that Canada and the U.S. were the major suppliers of caviar to Europe during this period.
A lot of the fish were harvested for the caviar that by 1906, a ban was placed on commercial sturgeon fishing. The 1906 ban was not enough to counter the depopulation of sturgeon that had already taken place. However, the number continued to dwindle. In the 1960s, the price rose sharply due to low supply. Soon more drastic steps had to be taken, as even the Caspian, home to at least 90% of the world`s population of sturgeon, began to see a serious drop in numbers of fish.
由于现代捕捞技术的进步与鱼子酱的美味诱惑，人们对这种色泽闪亮的精美佳肴的需求不断增加，加上环境污染，偷猎者和过度捕捞，鲟鱼（特别是大白鲟在）的数量迅速递减。而且母鲟鱼需要长达十二年的时间来孕育和生产卵，因此鱼子酱也越来越珍惜。
Something about Caviar 关于鱼子酱
Caviar is a luxury delicacy, consisting of processed, salted, non-fertilized sturgeon roe.
鱼子酱是一种珍馐美味，是用盐腌过的未受精的鲟鱼卵加工制成的。
Salmon roe is marketed as analogous to caviar.
鮭鱼卵被作为鱼子酱的类似产品推向市场。
Most true caviar is produced in Russia and Iran, from sturgeon taken from the Caspian and Black seas.
所有货真价实的鱼子酱都是在俄罗斯及伊朗由里海、黑海捕获的鲟鱼中出产的。
A large white sturgeon (Huso huso ) of the Black and Caspian seas, whose roe is processed into caviar.
黑海和里海产的一种大型白鲟（欧鳇鳇属），其卵可加工成鱼子酱。
Unlike many fad treatments, caviar is caviar is actually proven to work as a conditioning therapy.
与很多流行的护发用品不同的是，鱼子酱被证明具有狐狸治疗的功效。
Caviar, diamonds and gold have long been associated with the luxuries in life.
鱼子酱、钻石和黄金一直是生活中的奢侈品。
Russia temporarily stopped exporting black caviar and halted commercial fishing of sturgeon in the Caspian Sea in an effort to save the fish from extinction.
为了保护鲟鱼，使之免于灭绝，俄罗斯暂时停止了黑鱼子酱的出口，并停止在里海的商业性的捕鱼行动。
