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TEXT BY VINCENZO MUZZIO

THE

BLACK GOLD

OF ITALY

Few foods have traversed the centuries and have remained so almost exclusively from the rare albino sturgeon of the Caspian
iconic. Caviar is one of them. That explosion of sapidity in one’s Sea: it is no coincidence that it is sold in 24-karat gold boxes and
mouth has gratified princes and kings, and continues to dazzle the can cost up to €24,000 a kilo.
palates of Third Millennium gourmets and tickle the interest of Today, most of the caviar on the market comes from farmed
chefs all over the planet. But the iconic and contemporary nature sturgeon. Some is more valuable than others. The top of the line
of caviar lies entirely in its essentiality. What makes it a symbol includes Beluga, Osetra (which comes from Acipenser gueldenstaed-
and an object of desire – besides the fact that a female sturgeon tii), Sevruga (from Acipenser stellatus), and, last but not least, the
takes at least seven years to reach maturity and produce that pre- very Italian Calvisius. This latter caviar is produced in Italy from
cious roe – is the simplicity of its consumption. Caviar is eaten au white sturgeon (or Acipenser transmontanus) farmed in Calvisano.
naturel, because any manipulation beyond a touch of salt (not by For those who didn’t know, Italy is one of the world’s major
chance, the best caviar is Malossol, which, in fact, means slightly caviar producers. When caviar production was interrupted in Rus-
salted) would ruin it. sia in 2013 to give sturgeon a biological rest period to avoid its ex-
As Aristotle recounts, in the fourth century BC, caviar was tinction, the Italian company Agroittica (which produces Calvisi-
consumed au naturel as the blare of trumpets announced its arriv- us) supplied caviar to the Russian market.
al upon the dining table. It is said that Leonardo da Vinci gave Be- In recent years, Agroittica has introduced other caviar besides
atrice d’Este and Ludovico il Moro a bejeweled casket containing Calvisius, such as the one farmed in the Park of the Ticino, and It-
sturgeon eggs from the Adriatic sea. Everybody knows it was eat- aly has surpassed France, where the products of Caviar House &
en at the imperial tables of the czars and those of kings and noble- Prunier reign. This is partly thanks to other brands of Italian cavi-
men; but much less is known about the “popular appeal” of caviar ar, such as Adamas Caviar (from sturgeons farmed in the heart of
among Soviet pediatricians, who prescribed it to anemic children the Natural Park of the Tormo River), Cru Caviar, and Iran Darya
growing up during the 1970s and ‘80s. caviar (which imports wild Iranian caviar and also produces Ital-
Today, medicine like that would be quite expensive. One ian 1° Caviar).
kilo of Beluga caviar, which comes from the Huso huso sturgeon, To savor any of these brands of caviar, the ironclad rule is
whose females begin to lay their first eggs at twenty years of age, to never contaminate the taste with a metal spoon. The small
costs almost €10,000. And this isn’t caviar from wild sturgeons, spoons used to scoop caviar must be made of bone, horn, gold,
which, to be honest, by now are very rare. Only a very few select or mother-of-pearl, and caviar must be served in a crystal bowl
people in the world can say they have tasted the roe that comes surrounded by ice.

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