Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1895-12-01
CAvARE
How It is Made, Where It Comes From

O.. AAAN USE VA NaAh4llAE IA lAAN A'AAAeNAA
States has reached an almost phenom-
email measure. You find it in almost
every restaurant hotel and Gree
lunch" counter. As It Is a very whole
some as well as tOOthsOme delicacy all
of this Is very cheerful. But 1 venture
TO say that not one in every fifty boni-
faces has q clear idea Of what caviare
really is.
Caviare is simply the matured roe Of
the sturgeon. free from any kind OF
preparation. save that Of the skilful
manipulation required 20 handle the
delicate eggs The sailed product Is
not called caviare in Russia. Il con
sists, fer the most part, Of imperfect or
broken roe and Is sailed for the use OF
Che poor Cossacks and for export TO
western Europe and America
Wherever sturgeon IS 70 be found
caviare IS Obtainabla Immediately be
fore the spawning time. Here in the
United States there are many rivers
and esruaries where sturgeon is abund-
ant The roo OF q Missouri sturgeon
is lust as good cavinre as IS that OF the
fish on the Don or VOlga, but for some
reason we DO not seem TO have acquired
The knowledge OF preparing il, Or-and
this Is moro impOrtant-we may know
how TO prepare It, but prefer to destroy
1t by our mercantile greed to produce
quantity OF a given merchantable art
lcle rather than quality. This IS and
has been really the reason why good
caviare is understandable IN the United
States.
The sturgeon fishing Of the Don, in
Russia. from where the best caVlare
comes, Is perhaps the most conserya-
tive fishing preserve In the world, LOT
the fishery extends over only chree
weeks I'm each year. The sturgeon Isn-
ing belongs exclusively to the Don COS
sacks. They live In their villages In a
communal fashion, so much so mat Ohe
mayor or military commander Is en-
trJed 20 only an equal share OF the
proceeds of the harvest and sturgeon
fisheries which are their CHIEF re-
sources. with the LATEST COssack nsner-
man. There are hundreds Of these VII
/ 1agrs along the banks of the Don. Each
ono has its mayor and each one It's COM
wu14l bell. by which the inhaDllan'S
are called together for discussion.
As +beir chief source Of revenue is
.bo sturgeon fishery. il Is only reason
9b'7 10 eyDact that The eXigencieS Oh lnaI
rsrerv should most interest the deie-
.,-,- m these communal conventions
| And co Fl happens that at such NEE
mos f. IS decided that the annual Ilsn-
/ ing shall begin on a certain dal5. ~. ~
de-e IS always fixed az time W" - -
/ sturgeon viii be fun OF roe anu Ll, ,-
| inc ND the river TO their spa" ms ,a.o
rr9rnd. and 70 happens usually IN O. a.
/ So7+omber. but not infrequen1ly I'D "
Orco tho date is fixed a great activity
,s,7es -be Co-sacks. and then they eAeIg
=, authority which would seem VERY
/ ---,0g,o IN n citizen OF the OniOeu
s-,4ss They prevent boats, yacn.S,
..,,-,are craft of every kind, PLYING
49, HI, ~'ver where their fisheries ut
I ~ $40 Mace lest the disturbances OF
/ -, -.-,+s-s should cause them TO deslss
s,o-, +5sir tourney 10 the spawning
ground above. s.,- ar
p,,+ .,t last the agreed upon day ar
~t,-e. or rather the midnight preceuluS
-,s Tqv on which the fishing IS 70 DeS lL
b. NJ hand. All along the banks, lot
-,1q- IN either side. thousands OF haTuy
90
r.-oclzs are writing at the gunW3lFS Vi
their boats ready for the annual sDaII-
r. 3- o. weird scene. and the hundreds OF
t--rh-s lfyht up the waters most IaIi1as-
-f-7llv Suddenly cannon shot breaks
+5a silence. Ii Is answered by cannon
FRI every village along the river, ana pc
Gore the echoes die away thousand
boats are pushed into the water, ana
thousands Of men ply their oars III u
mad rush toward the nshlng 6IVuliu'
fin the centre OF the river.
The method Of fishing IS also pecu-
lar. Instead of using nets OF DarDe4
hooks. the CoSacks tretch rope lines
from bank to- bank, suspended to wh-ch
are several hundred large OarDle5s
hooks. i'm swimming up the stream the
sturgeon strikes one of these hooks, ana
IN en5eqvcrtng to free Itself Is finally
i-uD7lel on several of them. The boat
mon i0 mids.ream, then disengage tho
bure beluga or other species or stur-
v770 and either tow it 90 the river b2nk,
or take it on board.
AT d9vbreak on the morning after
the fishing has begun there IS scene
o. extraordinary activity on the shore.
Here is where the c9viare Is prepared,
and here H. Is that the COssacks show
such marvellous deXtertty IN the art Oh
separating the rOe-unbrcken-lrOn the
dead sturgeon IL should be remen-
ber77 that the season lasts only three
weeks and In that time over 100000
mounds of C3viare roe IS taken.
When the roe Is finally taken from
The fish. it IS Immediately packed in
boyos ccrtqiniugf from one 10 two pounds
and is forwarded by a series Of relays
Co ST.. Petersburg and the great cities
Of the Interior. This Is the famous
Russian caviare. and the reason for
sending it by relays Of horses is that
the slightest airing would break them.
This fresh cayiare is sold at from to Joy
rubles per pound. whereas the dark,
ssIted caviare. which Is the only kind
-hst finds it's way to western Europe
or 90 this country, IS sold for a Few
kcDecks.
Thus e VIII be seen that when one
buys caviare ct q fashionable restaurant
me can rest assured, first. that It Is not
rfesh. and. secondly, that Il IS either the
common sailed Russian article or some
Inferior imitation of .t. But there is no
reason why delicious American cavtare
could not Dee procured. We have the
fishes. and. although they are not to be
found I'm our rivers in such abundance
,or of such size as on the Don and VOlgaI
they ere amply plentiful and large
enough TO create prosperous industry
end to- insure that lovers Of caviare shall
set the true. fresh article and not the
salted concocti0n that Is now sold I'm our