caviar

[Wilson Gray]

"Very* interesting essay, Victor! I'd grown up under the impression
that _ikra_ means *specifically* "caviar." But then, there wasn't much
time in the *Voennaia* shkola iazykov for an in-depth discussion of
nastoiachaia russkaia pishcha . (We were shown a movie in which a
parody of a Japanese gentleman riding the Orient Express says to a
waiter, in a very thick, pswaydo-Japanese accent, "Ia khochu ---
nastoiachuio --- russkuiu --- pishchu.")

And doesn't _ikra_ also mean, "calf [of the leg]"?

--
-Wilson
-----
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint
to come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-Mark Twain


On Tue, Apr 5, 2011 at 3:23 AM, victor steinbok <aardvark66 at gmail.com> wrote:
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> Sender: Â  Â  Â  American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster: Â  Â  Â  victor steinbok <aardvark66 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject: Â  Â  Â caviar
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> The main entry for "caviar" is 1.a.--that's the one that is based on
> sturgeon eggs.
>
>> 1.a. The roe of the sturgeon and other large fish obtained from lakes and rivers of the east of Europe, pressed and salted, and eaten as a relish.
>
> I have a bit of a problem with this. I have never heard of caviar
> that's been "pressed". A bit of digging identified "pressed
> caviar"--at least when it comes to sturgeon--as "payusnaya". I found
> this somewhat odd, as I have never thought of this kind of caviar as
> "pressed". To me, this was the caviar runt--grains/eggs that have been
> crushed during processing and did not make the cut for the top-quality
> preservation. In my memory, this type of caviar was shipped packed in
> wooden crates and sold in bulk, being scooped directly out of the
> crates. Some samples came with the egg-sack membrane mixed in with the
> intensely flavored dark-gray "paste". I suppose, one could call it
> "pressed" if the actual meaning was "crushed". When I saw "pressed", I
> expected something more akin to bottarga, which is a dried, pressed
> roe of tuna or red mullet, or it's Egyptian sun-dried cousin (whose
> name I do not recall). But if they want to call "payusnaya" caviar
> "pressed", I'll defer to their better judgment.
>
> Still, the terminology appears to be rather restricted. What passes
> for "caviar" today is largely any fish roe preserved pickled/salted as
> individual grains that maintain it's semi-gelatinous texture. Aside
> from sturgeon, the most common type is Russian red caviar, from
> salmon. Less pricey are caviars made from lumpfish, capelin, carp, and
> other roe. Most of these fish are not particularly large and the
> corresponding eggs are substantially smaller than the two traditional
> types. These were first introduced as traditional foods in Scandinavia
> and only acquired the "caviar" moniker more recently, as the
> availability of sturgeon caviar declined and the price became
> prohibitive. But the essential quality that all fish "caviars" share
> is the salt curing that preserves the shape and graininess of
> individual eggs. Pastes and dried blocks are usually labeled as "roe"
> and not "caviar", although in some languages (e.g., Russian) there
> would be no distinction between the two.
>
> So the definition is still wrong--"caviar" is not "pressed and
> salted". It's salted (preserved) and only occasionally (for some
> types) pressed.
>
> I am also wondering if "eaten as a relish" is entirely correct. Caviar
> certainly appears as a condiment in cooking, particularly in the more
> extravagant gourmet dishes. But, at least in more recent history, it
> tends to become the center of attention when it is served (much to the
> chagrin of many who detest it). I suppose, given that it is usually
> sold and consumed in fairly small quantities, at least one of many
> different definitions of "relish" (but not n.2 5.b.) might apply.
>
> This, however, still leaves one more opening. Russians use the word
> "ikra" to describe all fish eggs--in whatever condition they may be
> found. Obviously, that's translated as "roe" in most cases and as
> "caviar" only in exceptional cases (see above). But Russians also
> started using the same word ("ikra") for other preparations that do
> not contain roe or even resemble it in any way. Three of the most
> common types (although not exhaustive) are made from mushrooms,
> eggplant and summer squash, respectively. Other vegetables and, less
> frequently, meat also occasionally serve as a base. These also share
> something in common--they are usually cooked and finely chopped (in
> either order)--or processed--and combined with some sort of a binding
> liquid (e.g., cream or lemon juice) and spices to produce a fairly
> pungent paste. Some of these have resulted in English calques as
> "eggplant caviar", "mushroom caviar", "carrot caviar", etc. Oddly
> enough, I am yet to see a "squash caviar", which is, by far, the most
> common of Russian "ikra" made from vegetables. This has gone well
> beyond translation of Russian food names. These names now routinely
> appear in cookbooks and on packages of prepared food. As such, it
> would be appropriate to devote a new subentry (1.c.) to this type of
> product.
>
> Finally, a faux "caviar" is becoming much more common as a product of
> molecular gastronomy. There are two types, one made with gelatin and
> formed in oil and another made with a particular combination of
> chemicals, resulting in more realistic caviar texture (i.e.,
> gelatinous spherical enclosure with a soft or liquid middle). The
> process has become so common that restaurant supply stores now sell
> "caviar makers"--a rectangular container with 40-100 squeeze tips
> lined up as a matrix and a syringe-like plunger attached on one side
> to force the forming liquid through. The products thus obtained
> resemble salmon (red) caviar in shape and texture more than any other.
> But the flavor profile depends entirely on the liquid used to produce
> it--from apple juice and balsamic vinegar to tomato juice and yak milk
> (anything other than oil). In restaurants and cookbooks these items
> appear as "caviar", e.g., "tuna tartare with balsamic caviar". This
> certainly deserves attention, although I am not sure it's worthy of a
> full subentry or simply a modification of the existing one to include
> transfered meaning.
>
> Note that the molecular gastronomy caviar and the vegetable caviar
> pick up on completely different properties of the original caviar, so
> they don't belong together--there is simply no logically consistent
> description that could combine them into a single entry (other than a
> generic "transf." that completely ignores the differences in origin,
> preparation and texture).
>
> VS-)
>
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