鱼子酱：欧美餐桌上的“黑色黄金”

鱼子酱历来为西方皇室青睐的珍品，也是欧美上流宴会桌上的“黑色黄金”。丰富的营养、精细的制作、考究的食用方法为它披上了一层奢华而神秘的面纱。

Caviar, sometimes called black caviar, is a luxury delicacy, consisting of processed and salted sturgeon roe. The roe can be “fresh” (non-pasteurized) orpasteurized, the latter having much less culinary and economic value.

The word caviar originates from the Turkish khavyar, first appearing in English print in 1591. Traditionally the designation caviar is only used for sturgeon roe from the wild sturgeon species living in the Caspian and Black Sea. Caviar is expensive due to its limited supply outstripped by constantly increasing demand, and elaborate time-consuming technique of production. Therefore, caviar was once reserved strictly for royalty.

Experts often prefer Malossol process in making caviar. Malossol means lightly salted. Fresh caviar usually has a maximum of five percent salt. Today, caviar’s salt content is much lesser, approximately less than three percent. This type of caviar is considered a high quality type. It is the finest process and tends to be more expensive. In general, salt content of Caviar depends on the grade or also known as size of the roe, the weather, and condition.

Caviar and health

For those watching their cholesterol and salt intake, caviar should be reserved as a rare treat as it is high on both counts. On the other hand, caviar is a rich source of vitamins A and D, as well as omega-3 fatty acids which some researchers say can aid in deterring depression.

Caviar is touted as a hangover remedy due to its high content of acetylcholine (a neurotransmitter believed to play a key role in memory retention) which lines the stomach and increases the body’s tolerance to alcohol.

Arginine, a vascular dilator in caviar, helps increase blood flow. Surprisingly, airlines purchase about fifty percent of the world’s caviar to serve to their first-class passengers.

Tips to choose and enjoy caviar

Quality caviar must have a bright glossy colour, fresh, mild smell, uniformly sized eggs and lightly salty flavour. The texture must be firm to the bite, not squish soft. In many restaurants, caviar is served with sour cream, chopped red onions, chopped hard-boiled egg whites and yolks, and parsley. All help stretch the quantity, but drown the delicate taste. Most gourmets like to pair it with champagne, but the true connoisseur knows that the best alcoholic beverage to accompany caviar is well-chilled vodka.

Caviar is a food like no other. Sometimes called gray gold, a symbol of luxury and excess, it’s the stuff of fantasy.鱼子酱是一种奢侈的珍馐美味，有时也被称为“黑鱼子酱”，主要是用盐腌过的鲟鱼卵加工制成。鱼卵可以是“新鲜的”(未进行巴氏灭菌消毒的)或者经过巴氏灭菌消毒，然而后者的烹饪价值和经济价值均居次等。

鱼子酱一词源自土耳其语khavyar，并于1591年首次出现于英语出版物中。传统意义上的鱼子酱所使用的鱼子仅仅是指生长在里海和黑海中的野生鲟鱼所产的卵。鱼子酱的产量有限，因而价格昂贵，而其不断增长的市场需求以及精细耗时的生产工艺却总是让它供不应求。因此，鱼子酱曾一度被严格仅限于供应皇室。

专家们常常青睐“马洛索”鱼子酱制作法。马洛索的意思是低盐的。新鲜的鱼子酱通常只含有不超过5%的盐分。如今，鱼子酱的含盐量更低一些，大约不到3%。这种鱼子酱被认为是高品质的。这种加工方法也是最精细的，而且价格也日趋水涨船高。一般而言，鱼子酱的含盐量取决于鱼卵的等级(或我们称之为鱼卵的大小)以及天气和环境等因素的影响。

鱼子酱与健康

对于那些需要注意胆固醇和盐摄入量的人，鱼子酱应该少吃，因为这两种物质的含量都很高。另一方面，鱼子酱还含有丰富的维他命A和D，以及研究人员发现的对抑郁症有抑制作用的欧米伽-3脂肪酸。

鱼子酱也可用来缓解宿醉，这是由于它含有大量的乙酰胆碱(即一种神经传递素，它被认为对保持记忆起着重要作用)，该物质可以填满胃并增强人体对酒精的耐受力。

鱼子酱中还含有精氨酸，它具有血管扩张作用，可以加快血液流通。令人吃惊的是，全世界大约50%的鱼子酱都被航空公司买走，以提供给头等舱乘客享用。

如何挑选和品尝鱼子酱

上佳品质的鱼子酱必须色泽透明清亮，新鲜且气味清淡，鱼子的大小要均匀、味道微咸。口感要柔韧耐嚼，不粘口。很多餐馆的鱼子酱是配上酸奶油、切碎的红洋葱、煮熟并切碎的蛋白、蛋黄和欧芹一起做的。这些东西增加了菜量，但却破坏了鱼子酱精致的美味。大多数美食家喜欢用香槟酒与之搭配，但真正的行家则知道与鱼子酱最佳搭配的酒应是冰透的伏特加。

鱼子酱是一种独一无二的美食，有时也被称为“黑色的黄金”，它是奢华和富足的象征，也是令人遐想的珍品。