The article was taken from "China News Network"
U.S. media said that in Qiandao Lake in eastern China, twisting fish stirred the lake in 300 iron cages. These fish are sturgeon, from Russia and Central Asia, and are quite famous because their eggs can be made into caviar.
According to a report on the U.S. “Times weekly” website on December 20th, 35% of the world's caviar production now comes from China, the world’s second-largest economy. And the caviar is not some cheap alternative. The Kaluga Queen Caviar produced at the Thousand Island Lake appear on the tables of 21 out of totally 26 Michelin three star restaurants in Paris. It is also the choice of French star chef Alan Dukas’ flagship store in Monaco. Qiandao Lake is a 573km2 artificial reservoir located 200 miles (about 322 kilometers) southwest of Shanghai. Kaluga Queen caviar also made it to the state banquets of the 2016 Hangzhou G20 Summit and was enjoyed by the leaders of participating countries.
Xia Yongtao, deputy general manager of Kaluga Queen, said: “Consumers are beginning to realize that although our caviar is produced in China, it is the best farmed caviar and its quality can be compared to wild caviar. This is why our caviar is selling well."
Kaluga Queen claims that it sells 60 tons of caviar annually, making it the world's largest producer of caviar. There are 30,000 sturgeons in Qiandao Lake. It takes 10 years for sturgeon to reach maturation, and the fish can grow to 200 kilograms during this period of time. At the company headquarters two-hours’ drive from Qiandao Lake, there are also about 40,000 immature fish fry stored in special water tanks. A small can of caviar is priced at US$150 (about 980 yuan). A mature sturgeon produces eggs of about 15% of its body weight. It means a mature sturgeon is worth a Ferrari car. These mature fish are guarded 24 hours a day and live in a strictly controlled environment.
According to the report, an Iranian caviar expert Abbas Azari visited Kaluga to inspect the production process for a client. He said: "Of course, the best caviar comes from the wild sturgeon in the Caspian Sea. However, Chinese sturgeon is very good and has its own unique qualities."
The process of collecting and salting fish eggs originated from Iran. The English name of caviar is said to come from Persian cahv-jar, or "a block of power". But caviar evolved into a world-renowned commodity from the coast on the other side of the Caspian Sea. In the 18th-century Russian Empire, Catherine the Great prepared caviar for guests at a grand banquet. After the October Revolution, Russian aristocrats fled to various parts of Europe and took caviar to the places they visited, especially the cities where exiles gather such as Paris and London.
After the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, the strict control over fishing in the Caspian Sea was eliminated. Less than 10 years later, the number of wild sturgeon fell drastically. In 2000, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora listed wild sturgeon as an endangered species. Soon after, authorities officially banned the fishing of wild sturgeon, commercial farms thus prospered.
According to the report, Kaluga Queen produces several different types of caviar: the light-bodied Siberian sturgeon caviar; the creamy Hybrid caviar, the brand's most popular caviar; and the fresh-flavored Russian sturgeon caviar, French market’s most favorite variety. But the top variety is caviar made from eggs of the great white sturgeon, their roes are larger and have unique taste. A small tin of big white caviar produced by Kaluga Queen is priced at US$2,100 (approximately RMB14,000), which is equivalent to 60 cents (approximately RMB4) per egg.
Before entering the processing plant, you must first put on white coats and boots, as well as a hair cover and rubber gloves, soak your boots and hands in disinfectant water for about one minute, and then go through a one-minute “air shower” to make sure all dust and hair on you is removed. After entering the plant, the workers are seen throwing the live fish into the ice water and stunning them into a coma, and then cutting the fish belly with a knife. Two bags of eggs are removed and placed on stainless steel trays. The remaining carcass is transported elsewhere by conveyor belt and later sold as fish meat, mainly to Russia. For each fish, a sample of its eggs is taken and kept as record. Each tin of Kaluga Queen caviar has a two-dimensional code, including information of the specific production history of caviar and the history of the spawning fish.
Xia Yongtao said: "One of the reasons of Kaluga Queen’s success is our relentless pursuit of perfect quality. The cost of our caviar is 10% more compared with Western companies, but the demand is still far greater than supply."
According to reports, 80% of Kaluga Queen’s products are exported to the European Union, the United States, and Central Asia, and the demand for caviar by wealthy Chinese people is also growing. In the famous Yongxing Roast Duck Restaurant in Beijing, owner Wang He started using caviar in his signature dish. He said: "The salty taste of caviar just brings out the salty taste of roast duck skin, Ducks come from land and caviar comes from the sea. The two are perfect for each other."
Of course, there is another reason: many Chinese people like rare and expensive ingredients, and even believe these ingredients are good for health. Xia Yongtao said, "Caviar is very good for the brain. I let my son eat a tin each month and an extra tin before each test."
For Wanghe, caviar is very suitable for Chinese food culture. He said: "The Chinese always want the best things. If caviar is the best thing in Western food, they will accept it."
The report said for western consumers to spend a lot of money to buy high-end foods printed with "Made in China" is another completely different challenge, but now it seems that Chinese caviar producers can overcome this challenge.
