This is not the best moment to discuss caviar, what with the pandemic and the subsequent fiscal stress. But there is some news worth noting: For the first time, beluga caviar, the roe of the largest variety of sturgeon, native to the Caspian Sea, has been successfully farm-raised in the United States. After 17 years of trying, Marky’s, a caviar producer, importer and dealer in Florida, has a crop of beluga from its Sturgeon Aquafarms in northern Florida. The importation, distribution and sale of purebred huso huso, or beluga, in the United States have been banned by the Fish & Wildlife Service since 2005, but this Marky’s caviar has been granted an exception to the ruling. So now, if you have $420 to splurge on a half-ounce, you can indulge in the delicate, buttery, nicely textured, though modest-grained, charcoal gray roe. And if a holiday in summer might not whet the appetite for jewel-box caviar, Marky’s also offers a celebratory package of American roes containing two ounces each of hackleback, paddlefish and salmon roes with blini and crème fraîche for $115 to enjoy on the Fourth.
Farm-raised beluga caviar, markys.com.
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