The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1895-12-09
CAVIARE.
How 1t Is Made, Where 1t Comes From
and Its Pecu1iarities.

NEW York. Dec. Tot late years
the use of caviare in the United States
has reached an almost phenomenal
measure. You find it in almost every
restaurant, hotel and ''free lunch
counter AS it is very wholesome as
well as toothsome delicacy all Of this is
very cheerful But venture to say that
not one in every so bonifaces 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 skillful
manipulation required to handle the
delicate eggs. The sailed product is
not called caviare in Russia It consists,
for the most part, of imperfect or broken
roe and is sailed for the use of the poor
Cossacks and for export to western Eu-
rope and America.
Wherever sturgeon is to be found ca
Ware is obtainable Immediately before
the spawning time Here in the United
States there are many rivers and es-
tuaries where sturgeon is abundant.
The roe of Missouri sturgeon is Just as
good caviare as is that of the fish On the
Don or Volga, but for some reason we
do not seem to have acquired the knowl
edge of preparing it, Grand this is
more important-we may know how to
prepare it, bat prefer to destroy it by
our mercantile greed to produce guam
tity of a given merchantable article
rather than quality. This is and has
been really the reason why good caviare
is unobtainable in the United States.
The sturgeon fishing of the Don, in
Russia, from where the best caviare
comes, is perhaps the most conservative
fishing preserve in the world, for the
fishery extends over only three weeks in
each year. The sturgeon fishing belongs
exclusively to the Don Cossacks They
live in their villages in communal
fashion, so much so that the mayor or
military commander is entitled to only
an equal share of the proceeds Of the
harvest and sturgeon fisheries, which are
their chief resources, with the LATEST
CossacK fisherman. There are hundreds
of these villages along the banks of the
Don. Each one has it's mayor and each
one it's communal bell, by which the in
habitants are called together for discus
sion.
AS their chief source of revenue is the
sturgeon fishery, it is only reasonable to
expect that the exigencies Of that fishery
should most interest the delegates to
these communal conventions. And so it
happens that at such meetings it is de-
cided that the annual fishing shall begin
on certain date. This date is always
fixed at time when the sturgeon Will
be full Of roe and making up the riv-
err to their spawning ground, and it
happens usually in late September, but
not infrequently in October.
Once the date is fixed great activity
seizes the Cossacks, and then they exert
al authority which would seem very
strange to citizen of the United States
They prevent boats, yachts. steamers,
craft of every kind, plying upon the riv
er, where their fisheries are to take
place, lest the disturbance of the waters
should cause the fish to cast the roe too
soon or cause them to desist from their
journey to the spawning ground above.
But at last the agreed upon day ar
rives, Or rather the midnight preceding
the day on which the fishing is to begin
is at hand. All along the banks, for
miles on either side, thousands of hardy
COssacks are waiting at the gunwales of
their boats ready for the annual ''start. -
It is a weird scene, and the hundreds of
torches light up the waters most fantas-
tically Suddenly cannon shot breaks
the silence. It is answered by cannon in
every village along the river, and before
the echoes die away a thousand boats
are pushed into the water, and thou
sands Of men ply their oars in a mad
rush toward the fishing grounds in the
center Of the river
The method of fishing is also peculiar.
Instead of using nets or barbed hooks
the Cossacks stretch rope lines from
bank to bank, suspended to which are
several hundred large barbless hooks. In
swimming up the stream the sturgeon
strikes enc OF these hooks, and in en-
dea7oring to free itself is finally I'M
paled on several Of them. The boatmen,
in midstream, then disengage the huge
beluga or other species of sturgeon, and
either tow it to the river bank or take it
on board.
At daybreak on the morning after the
fishing has begun there is a scene of ex-
traordinary activity on the shore. Here
is where the caviare is prepared, and
here it is that the Cossacks show such
marvellous dexterity in the art of sepa-
rating the confederation the dead
sturgeon. 1t should be remembered that
the season lasts only three weeks and
in that time over 8, 900, 600 pounds of
caviare roe is taken
When the roe is finally taken from the
fish, it is Immediately packed in boxes
containing from one to two pounds and
is forwarded by series of relays to St
Petersburg and the great cities of the
interior. This is the famous Russian ca
Ware, and the reason for sending it
relays of horses is that the fresh eg
are so delicate that the slightest jarriI
would break them. This fresh caviare is
sold at from 4 to 10 rubles per pound,
whereas the dark, sailed caviare, which