Caviar concerns.

For those looking to include caviar on their menus for this year's holiday party season, it may come as a shock to find that their beloved Beluga caviar--prized among chefs and connoisseurs alike--is no longer available for purchase, legally, in the United States. On September 29th of this year, the U.S. government took the final, drastic action of banning Beluga caviar imports from Caspian Sea nations after these countries repeatedly failed--or in most cases, did not even bother to attempt--to implement conservation plans for the overharvested Beluga sturgeon, the source of the precious Beluga caviar eggs. Osetra and Sevruga caviar also hail from the wild sturgeon caught in the Caspian. After years of warnings to the affected regions, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was forced to declare that Beluga sturgeon is now a threatened species.

So now that the most prized of all caviar varieties has now, or soon will, vanish from the U.S. market entirely, caviar enthusiasts of all stripes are now looking elsewhere to fill the void--and to save their New Year's Eve parties. To that end, consider the trend toward homegrown caviar of the American variety.

"Because a small amount of (Beluga) caviar may remain on the market, we continue to urge consumers to instead choose exquisite farmed American caviars, which are a better choice for the environment," explained Dawn Martin, executive director of SeaWeb, one of several organizations that has taken the lead in bringing awareness and action to the plight of the Beluga sturgeon.

The state of California is quickly emerging as a place of interest for locally obtained caviar that is environmentally-friendly yet maintains a necessary level of flavor and overall quality. One company, Tsar Nicoulai (www.tsarnicoulai.com), is making a name for itself in its supply of California white sturgeon, a domestic alternative to Caspian Beluga. For caviar aficionados, the white sturgeon's up-and-coming popularity is attributable to the fact that it is the closest available relative to the Beluga sturgeon. The white sturgeon is harvested from the rivers around Sacramento.

Past criticisms of American farm-raised caviar usually included the charge that the local varieties yielded an overly salty taste as compared to the wild sturgeon. "Wild sturgeons have the best quality meat and caviar because of the 'naturalness' of the ecosystem in which they live," said Dr. David Stephen, scientist and manager for Tsar Nicoulai, on the company's website. "Therefore, sturgeon farms must be designed as an ecological system to produce the best caviar and meat. This is the guiding principle of Tsar Nicoulai's farm design and operations. In this respect, Tsar Nicoulai's farm is unique among the six sturgeon farms in the U.S. and the three found in the rest of the world."

Stolt Sea Farm (www.sterlingcaviar.com) is another California company that procures its own farm-raised white sturgeon caviar, under its Sterling brand name. And according to Jim Gracie, president of Stolt Sea Farm, there is no reason that buyers should turn up their noses at the idea of a non-imported caviar. "Just like wine lovers know that the United States can produce great world class wines, caviar lovers will wake up and find an incredible, world class, vintage caviar that is farm-raised right here," he said.

Peter Struffenegger, general manager for the Sterling brand, explained the differences between wild and farm-raised caviar as follows: "The most important (difference) being that the entire production process is controlled and regulated according to stringent Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements," he said. "Abiding by these regulations guarantees the sturgeon are produced in an environmentally-sustainable manner, and ensures a fresh, consistently high-quality caviar for the consumer."

He continued, "When the roe is harvested from the mature females, the entire operation from extraction to washing, salting, grading, packaging, and placing into cold storage takes less than 30 minutes in our controlled processing plants."

Since pricey Beluga caviar may not be available for the foreseeable future, it pays to take another look at all-American caviar. You will not only be helping the environment, but saving some money as well. "We have a great product--nutty, smooth, and robust--that will speak for itself as caviar lovers put it to the test," Gracie said.

Scallops with Two Caviars

Ingredients:

8 sea scallops
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup brandy
2 cups heavy cream
Salt, freshly ground pepper
4 teaspoons black caviar
4 teaspoons golden salmon caviar
Nastrium blossoms for decoration

Procedure:

Slice each scallop into 2 equal discs. Heat 2 tablespoons
butter in a pan and sautee the scallops in the
pan briefly until barely opaque. Add the brandy, ignite
and flame for several seconds. Cover to smother the
flames and remove the scallops from the pan.

Add the cream to the pan and boil until it reduces
by half. Remove from the heat and whisk in the remaining
butter in small dabs. Season the sauce to
taste with salt and pepper and divide it among 4
warm plates. Arrange 4 scallop halves on top of the
sauce on each plate.

Top each scallop with 1/2 teaspoon of caviar, alternating
between black and golden caviar. Garnish each
plate with a nastrium blossom and serve.

Golden Caviar Dip

Ingredients:

1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup creme fraiche
1/4 cup fresh chives, finely minced
4 oz. Golden Caviar
Juice of 1 lemon
3 hard boiled eggs, sieved
1 Tablespoon crushed green peppercorns
Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

Place all ingredients in a bowl and stir until well
mixed. Refrigerate 2-3 hours, taste and adjust seasoning
to taste. Serve with raw vegetables or unsalted
chips. Makes 2 cups.

Recipes courtesy of Tsar Nicoulai, www.tsarnicoulai. COM.