CleverRoot

1 8 | t h e c l e v e r r o o t Petrossian Restaurant and Boutique in West Hollywood, California is a caviar institution. The Petrossian name is synonymous with the luxury product, and the family is credited with being the first to introduce caviar to France. Christopher Klapp, General Manager at Petrossian, generously walked The Clever Root through the caviar basics. Caviar is sturgeon roe—the eggs of a very particular kind of fish. Sturgeon have an ancestry dating back roughly 200 million years and are large ani- mals—Beluga sturgeon, for example, can weigh several thousand pounds— with no natural predators. Sturgeon are endemic to the Northern Hemisphere, and while there are more than 20 spe- cies of sturgeon, not all of them make good caviar. Caviar dates back to 4,000 B.C., when it was discovered by Persian fishermen who found that up to 10 percent of the female sturgeon body could be an egg sac. When preparing the fish, they re- moved the egg sac before using fine net- ting or a sieve to remove any residual membranes. The eggs were then salted and preserved in clay pots. Caviar has always been an exulted food: There are even ancient Roman scrolls documenting emperors' com- plaints about the price. In Russia, the highest-quality caviar was always reserved for the czar's table. Today, sturgeons are a critically-endangered species group and Beluga caviar is now illegal. It can take anywhere from six to 16 years for sturgeons to mature, so there is no quick way to farm raise the eggs—this contributes to the high price and demand. One should approach caviar the way they do a wine. The different species of sturgeon produce very different eggs, and size, color, flavor and texture varies wildly from one type of fish to another. Just as with winemaking, there is an art to growing and maturing caviar. Caviar is often eaten with a mother- of-pearl spoon, and rightfully so, as it does not impart unwanted metallic flavors. Garnishes like red onion, chive, egg and crème fraîche have long been associated with caviar, but this tradi- tion stems from an effort to mask the inferior flavors of lesser caviars. Today, however, even high-end caviar is served with these garnishes. The time-honored pairing of caviar and vodka is largely due to Russian cultural influence—but, at the heart, flavor drives the pairing. Caviar is rich, delicate and subtle with natural oils, fat and salt, and vodka effectively cleanses the palate without imparting competing flavors (those who don't drink spirits can pair caviar with a very dry Champagne). Petrossian features Beluga Vodka specifi- cally because of the quality of the spirit, their strong relationship with the brand and the wink to caviar in its name. Caviar generally "marks special times, and that's a special thing," Klapp says. But he wants newbies to know it is much more accessible than people think. "Fishy is a terrible way to describe it," he says, instead using descriptors like "savory, nutty, buttery [and] fresh sea brine" to summarize its flavors. Caviar is complex, or, as Klapp says, "it's an ongoing dialogue." For those who wish to dive in and explore their palate, Klapp leads "Caviar 301," an in-depth caviar tasting din - ner for any experience level, the third Thursday of every month at Petrossian. Reservations are required. Caviar 101 Christopher Klapp is the General Manager at Petrossian in West Hollywood, CA. Caviar is infi- nitely customiz- able, although Chef Hiller prefers it simple: with crème fraîche on toast points. ■cr

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