Caviar substitute(s)

While legal wild black caviar is increasingly difficult to find, the market came up with several alternatives. Some of which might be pretty well known today. Others are still existing in the shadow.

Travelers to Italy might have got in touch with Bottarga, which is made from tuna/mullet roe. The French are betting on their snail caviar (De Jaeger). The Southeners in the US have their “Cajun caviar” made from bowfin roe. The Japanese sell their sushi often with Masago (made from the smeltfish/capelin roe), Tobiko (made from fly fish roe) or Keta (made from salmon roe or). And very well known, especially in times when home economics are under pressure, is the ”poor man’s caviar”, which is made from eggplants.

Other, but not so popular substitutes to ‘the real thing’ are for example Avruga caviar, which is made from herring roe, Onuga (made from herring and seaweed), sea urchin roe, Lobsviar (made from lobster roe), Tarama (carp or codfish roe) and Cavianne (or Cavi*art).

The latter is a decade old invention by Japanese food scientist Susumu Mikami. His company Hokuyu Foods Co Ltd. (in the city of Aomori, some 600km north of Tokyo) produces about 4tons annually of this imitation caviar, made from an unlikely mix of ingredients – squid ink, pectin from apples, extract of sea urchin, oyster and scallop as well as a type of gum derived from kelp. This production volume is about 20% of the estimated annual consumption of real black caviar in Japan, according to Mikami.

Few Japanese know the name Cavianne, because the fake caviar has been sold mostly for wholesale for use at restaurants and hotels.

Its price is a blessing for all caviarists with a tightening belt: A 50-gram jar of Cavianne goes over the counter for about 11USD. But don’t expect our palate cheering up…