On Food and Cooking

the fish enter the rivers that drain into the
Caspian Sea.
Just 150 years ago, sturgeon were common
in many large rivers the northern hemisphere,
and caviar was plentiful enough in Russia that
Elena Molokhovets suggested using it to
clarify bouillons and to decorate sauerkraut
“so that it appears as if it were strewn with
poppy seeds”! But overfishing, dams and
hydroelectric plants, and industrial pollution
have since put many sturgeon species in
danger of extinction. Around 1900, sturgeon
roe became rare, expensive, and therefore a
sought-after luxury — and so even more
expensive. The trend has continued, with
Caspian sturgeon populations plummeting and
U.N. organizations considering an export ban
on caviar from the region. In recent decades,
caviar production has been growing further
east, along the Amur River in both Russia and
China, and on sturgeon farms in the United
States and elsewhere.