Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-06-07
CANADIAN CANEARE.
Nest of the DeIicscy Sold Here Comes
From the Lake OF the Woods.
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from TIE IOrunto Giote~
An important industry and one little
known of in the east is the fishing indus
try Of the Lake of the Woods; yet the fish
production Of the lake has reached immense
proportions and is proving an important
factor in the prosperity of the district. One
fact that is not commonly known is that
from the Lake Of the Woods comes nearly
all the caviare consumed IN the American
markets, II Is Russian caViare TO the gen
eral public, but it is only Lake of the
Woods CaViare bearing a continental label,
and exporters Of the article state that only
the inferior grades find their way back to
this country for the best Of ii goes TO the
tables of European epicures.
The Lake Of the Woods has a total area
of over six thousand square miles. and it's
waters abound with fish of all kinds The
most important fish in the lake the
sturgeon, and 1t is these to which the fish
ermen devote the most attention. They
range in weight up to 1T5 and occasionally
300 pounds apiece, and sell in lots at
about 4 cents pound The sturgeon are
to be met with in all parts of the lake but
the most prolific stretches of water are in
the southern portions Of the lake where the
water is shallow and the bottom sandy.
There are the surgeons feeding grounds.
Several seasons ago the water in the lake
was higher than usual, and much of the
low-lying ground surrounding the shore
lines was flooded. The sturgeon followed
the overflow, finding new feeding places in
the shoal water, and they thus evaded the
nets, and the fisher men had poorer returns
for their labor. The attention paid to the
sturgeon, however, is resulting badly to
the fish, and experts say that unless meas
ures are taken shortly to reduce the take
of sturgeon the fish will be eXterminated,
so far as commercial purposes are con-
cerned.
The caviare is the chief product of the
sturgeon, and TO it the most attention is
paid. After the fish is killed and the head
cut off it Is carefully cleaned, the caviare
being set aside in tanks. When the catch
has been disposed of the caViare is then
taken and washed repeatedly until 1t is
thoroughly clean, after which II is rubbed
by hand through a series of screens until
all the eggs are separated. That is all the
process necessary. 1t is packed In 16O-
pound kegs with q salt specially imported
from Germany, and kept in cold storage
until the time for shipment arrives when
1T is sent to London, England. and to Ger
many. A number of experiments have been
made with Canadian and American salts.
but so far they have not proved so good as
the salt brought from over the ocean. On
arriving in Europe the kegs are opened and
the caviare is sorted out according to quail
ity. 1t is then put up in small lead pack
ages and tins and sold as Russian caviare
The best grades find ready sale in the
old country, where they command the
highest prices. The Canadian caviare is as
good as, AMI in many cases better than, the
Russian cavtare. and no difficulty is found
In disposing of ii. The inferior grades are
TcSiilfHSI 10 America, WllcrS the demand
and appetite for caviare is not so exacting
as in Europe. Here too, it is known as
Russian caviare. In this respect il much
resembles the California champagne which
is sent to France in bulk where it is bot
tied and shipped across the Atlantic again
to tickle the palates of thirsty Americans
who have weakness for French wines
The proper way to eat caviare is given as
follows Toasted brown bread thinly but
tered over which is spread a layer of the
caviare; on that is just a little grated
onion, with lemon Juice over the whole