Caviar, a democratized luxury item for any menu

Is caviar an ingredient or a garnish? This debate has arisen with the democratization of caviar, which is now served in most high-end restaurants, whereas not so long ago it was considered a luxury item. But only one point of agreement was reached by Rafa Zafra, Chef at Estimar; Arnau Subías, Scientific Director of GastroBio; Juanjo López, Chef at La Tasquita; Ignacio Medina, Food Journalist; and David Montalbán, Brand Ambassador for Caviar de Riofrío, during the roundtable discussion at Madrid Fusión Alimentos de España, moderated by José Carlos Capel.

This soaring consumption of caviar has not reached the domestic sphere, despite the fact that in the last decade it is a product that has seen its price reduced considerably, greatly democratizing access to an element that some use to accompany other products and others, on the contrary, consider it a sin to combine it with any other flavor.

“There’s a lack of respect for caviar when it’s mixed with other products. I eat caviar on its own,” asserted food journalist Ignacio Medina during a conversation with chef Juanjo, whose menu featured a kidney dish with caviar. Juanjo explained that he is gradually removing caviar from his menu because it adds a “salty element,” similar to an anchovy, relegating the product to a secondary role and making it seem like a “luxury salt.” Zafra, chef at Estimar, disagreed. He uses caviar as just another ingredient in the dish, adding playful nuances. “I’m one of the few chefs who cooks the way he likes to eat, so I add caviar to something to enhance the dish,” he argued, referring to a product whose price has fluctuated considerably throughout history, partly due to the decline of sturgeon populations.

It was precisely this fact that led to sturgeon farming, resulting in more sturgeon and caviar being raised and produced in 15 years than in the entire 20th century. This industry emerged when sturgeon fishing was banned in 2004, leading to unpredictable breeding practices by industry and humans. Even so, what makes caviar a product with such high price fluctuations, according to Arnau Subías, Scientific Director of GastroBio, is the sturgeon's maturation. "The price depends on the number of years it takes for the sturgeon to reach sexual maturity, that is, to produce caviar." The longer it takes, the higher the price of that caviar.

In any case, a common point was also reached regarding the use and increasing accessibility of caviar on restaurant menus. The fact is, very few people know exactly what characteristics the caviar they are eating actually has. Unlike wines, for example, the origin, aging process, and source of caviar are often unknown. "You have to learn about caviar," the speakers asserted, referring to a product that became popular in Parisian hotels but was scarce for years due to the lack of sturgeon as a consequence of overfishing and the construction of dams on rivers. For this reason, they argued for knowing the origin of the caviar consumed, since most wild sturgeon are "on the verge of extinction," thus highlighting the importance of having a closed production cycle.

A modern tradition

Taking the debate on the state of Spanish gastronomy a step further, it's clear that the traditional flavors of each region cannot be lost. This is something they understand perfectly in Almansa, Albacete. There, the chef of the Maralba two-star restaurant, Fran Martínez, and his head waitress, Cristina Díaz, work closely with typical Manchego products, combining them with new ingredients to offer a tasting menu showcasing the region's cuisine.

A cuisine rooted in La Mancha, yet with an eye to the Mediterranean and the fish of the Valencian coast. They work with popular and traditional products like hare to create haute cuisine dishes such as gazpacho manchego, one of the most important stews not only in La Mancha's gastronomy but in Spanish cuisine as a whole.

But they don't just work with meat. They also prepare a dish based on spinach and almonds, thanks to the diverse vegetable gardens they have nearby. A vegetable dish that, according to Martínez, is on par with hare or pigeon, which he initially removed from the tasting menu as a main course, but, to avoid eliminating it altogether, decided to move it to the starter.