Most people think that the most expensive caviar black. Wrong! The most expensive caviar in the world is considered to be Almas caviar (translated from Persian — diamond). This caviar is light gray or silver in color, produced by its albino beluga, which lives in the waters of the Caspian Sea.
What is Almas caviar? “Almas” in translation means “diamond.” This name is the best fit for the most expensive caviar in the world. Almas caviar is made of the sturgeon beluga (Beluga Sturgeon), which lives in the Caspian Sea. The older the fish, the lighter the color of the caviar, and the better the taste and aroma.
What Is Almas Caviar?
Where does Almas caviar come from? Almas caviar comes from 70-100-year-old Albino Beluga that live in the Caspian Sea. Almas caviar is produced in Iran and has a unique amber color reminiscent of gold. Almas caviar is extremely rare and can be found only in the southern Caspian Sea, the least polluted area.
Sometimes the price of Almas caviar reaches $5,000 per 100 grams of caviar (for example, in the London restaurant Caviar House & Prunier). But the price has its own peculiarity: it largely depends on the packaging. The Iranians believe that the packaging must correspond to a high-grade and rare product, and therefore they put caviar in special containers made of pure gold of 995 assay value.
It is believed that the older the fish, the lighter the caviar, respectively, the softer its taste. The Albino Beluga can weigh up to a ton, and live up to 100 years. The caviar has a unique golden amber color. One gets the impression that each egg is illuminated from the inside with a glow. This delicacy is produced in limited quantities and, naturally, is very expensive.
Why Is Almas Caviar So Expensive?
Why is Almas caviar so expensive? Almas caviar is so expensive because it comes from rare Albino Beluga the population of which is decreasing dramatically and which spawns once every 100 years. Only 10 kg of Almas caviar is produced annually and the demand far exceeds the supply. The waiting list for Almas caviar is 4-5 years.
Belugas love the southern part of the Caspian Sea, which belongs to the Iranian state. Although Albino Belugas are protected by people, their number, unfortunately, continues to decline. Market deliveries of white caviar are about 10 kg annually.
The Albino Beluga is a large sturgeon fish that spawns once every 100 years, so the cost of the product can reach $30,000 per kilogram. In Europe, no more than 10 kg of golden caviar is sold per year, and the queue for the purchase is formed for many years to come.
The high cost of Almas caviar is explained by the fact that belugas spawn their eggs about once every 100 years, and according to statistics, no more than 10 kilograms of such caviar is sold per year.
In the wild, Albino Belugas are extremely rare. Often the priceless fish are bred artificially in stakes with the help of genetic engineering. The older the fish, the lighter and more valuable the caviar. Beluga can reach 4-5 meters in length and weigh about 1 ton. 250-300 kg fish are more common. The weight of caviar is one-tenth of the volume of fish.
Almas Caviar Taste
What does Almas caviar taste like? Almas caviar has a light fresh aroma and a creamy, buttery, mildly salty taste with a long almond aftertaste. Almas caviar does not taste or smell fishy. Thanks to the delicate, exquisite and delicate taste of Almas caviar, true connoisseurs will pay thousands of dollars for the unique delicacy.
What is special about Almas caviar? This pearl-golden caviar is extracted from the Iranian beluga, which lives in the freshest and most ecologically clean waters of the Caspian Sea. Moreover, only Almas has a priority right to catch such fish. Almas caviar is large, up to 2.5 mm in diameter, and has a delicate nutty flavor.
Almas caviar has a unique golden-amber color. In terms of the amount of vitamins and minerals, golden caviar is similar to sturgeon and beluga, only the taste of each type of caviar is different, golden caviar has a delicate taste of almonds, and each egg seems to glow from the inside.
Almas caviar is packed in jars made of 24-carat gold. A light fresh aroma, incomparable taste, the absence of a characteristic fishy smell and a long almond aftertaste have elevated golden caviar to the rank of the most expensive delicacies in the world.
Albino Beluga eggs are divided into several varieties depending on the color:
- 0 – the darkest,
- 00 – medium,
- 000 – the lightest.
In terms of calorie content, Almas caviar is better than meat and contains proteins, fats and mineral salts. Almas caviar has the same richness of vitamins and minerals as black sturgeon and beluga, but it has a special unmatched taste. Golden caviar has a subtle almond flavor. No more than 10 kg of golden caviar is produced in one year. And although adults of the beluga breed by the age of 22, Almas caviar can be produced by fish that reach 80 years of age.
Golden caviar is not subject to long-term storage, therefore it is recommended to enjoy such a valuable delicacy immediately after purchase.
Almas Caviar Benefits
What are the benefits of Almas caviar? Almas caviar is rich in valuable proteins (up to 30%). Fats contained in caviar are easily and quickly absorbed. Almas caviar contains vitamins A, B, C, D, and lecithin, and is saturated with mineral compounds: calcium and potassium, phosphorus and iron, sodium and manganese, magnesium, iodine, zinc.
A weighty set of vitamins, minerals and saturated acids in Almas caviar has a beneficial effect on the human body: it improves brain function, increases the protective properties of the immune system, reduces the risk of heart and vascular diseases, and improves the circulatory system.
Almas caviar is a high-quality supplier of easily digestible protein, minerals and a whole group of vitamins to the body. Iron increases the level of hemoglobin in the blood, magnesium will not allow cramping muscles, and folic acid is a source of nutrition for all cells and the process of hematopoiesis.
Almas Caviar History
The Persians were the first group of people to regularly consume sturgeon caviar. They believed that this Caspian delicacy enhances the physical strength and endurance of those who ate it. It is also known that the ancient Greeks imported caviar from Crimea. Even then, it was a luxury item reserved for the elite. The Romans also attribute healing and healing properties to black caviar.
It is known from historical manuscripts that from the 12th-century Russian fishermen and peasants began to use beluga caviar as a cheap source of protein for the population, which helped to survive famine for many decades.
By the seventeenth century, the consumption of sturgeon caviar was already associated with luxury and wealth. During this time, Peter the Great, the most prominent king of the Romanov dynasty, developed a passion for this delicacy, which he himself consumed in huge quantities.
Currently, the albino sturgeon is endangered and golden caviar has become a rare delicacy. This variety comes from the albino sturgeon that lives in the Caspian Sea, mostly in unpolluted areas. Although this fish typically lives for over 100 years, very few albinos remain in the wild, as the lack of melanin is a genetic disorder that affects only a few members of the species. This explains why their caviar has become the most expensive product in the world.
Albino caviar is very complex and rich in flavor nuances, intended for gourmets looking for the authentic aroma of Caspian caviar. This caviar has an intense nutty, creamy flavor. The rich aroma is the result of a complex curing process.
The best way to eat Almas caviar is to place it on a cold glass dish, with ice at the base to maintain the right temperature. It is not recommended to serve it on a silver or metal platter to avoid a metallic taste in the mouth that can distort the precious aroma. A wonderful addition to this caviar is toast, a slice of bread, pancakes or crackers. Do not add champignon oil or lemon juice, this will completely ruin the unique rare taste.
A glass of ice-cold vodka is also considered to be one of the best additions to good caviar, although it is generally accepted that dry French champagne and caviar are the most ideal flavor combination.