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Why caviar is synonymous with the bourgeoisie

Caviar is one of the most expensive products on the market, and its consumption is associated with people with high purchasing power. It's a delicate product, and you have to learn how to eat and taste it correctly. But is its price justified? Why is caviar a product reserved only for wealthy palates? In this article, we explain the reasons why caviar is so expensive. And we'll tell you right now, it has nothing to do with its flavor.

To understand how the price of caviar is determined, several factors must be considered: the animal from which the roe comes, the maturation time (the time it takes to produce roe), the processing method, the quality of the processed roe, and market demand.

The starting point, in any case, is the law of supply and demand, which makes scarce products more expensive: thus, caviar is expensive because there is little of it. Why is there so little caviar? Because of the animal from which it comes, the sturgeon, which is endangered.

What is sturgeon caviar and why is it so expensive? True caviar comes from sturgeon, a group of species that has been endangered due to uncontrolled fishing throughout the 20th century, as well as water pollution and habitat destruction. Even though it is now prohibited, poaching of wild-caught sturgeon continues, and these species have yet to recover. As a result, this scarcity makes the product increasingly desirable, causing the price to skyrocket.

Where does caviar come from? Is the caviar sold in the market legal? The price of caviar depends on the species. To prevent extinction, aquaculture has become widespread. Sturgeon are being farmed sustainably. Among them are the following species: beluga, Kaluga, Siberian, and sevruga. In Spain, Riofrío produces the world's first organic caviar, which sells for €8,000 per kilo.

The three types of sturgeon: the Baeri or Siberian sturgeon, the Oscentra or Russian sturgeon, and the Beluga or beluga sturgeon.

The three types of sturgeon: the Baeri or Siberian sturgeon, the Oscentra or Russian sturgeon, and the Beluga or beluga sturgeon.

Another reason why caviar is so expensive is that a female sturgeon takes between eight and twenty years to reach maturity and produce roe. Therefore, raising them is not very profitable: you have to wait a long time before obtaining the desired roe. Furthermore, harvesting the eggs is an extremely delicate process that must be carried out by specialists: they are extracted by hand, any possible contamination must be avoided, and extreme care must be taken not to damage such a fragile and sensitive product.

Which fish produces caviar? Quality determines the price.

Not all caviar is the same. You've surely heard of Beluga caviar, or of classifications where 000 is the symbol of ultimate exclusivity. What makes one caviar more expensive than another? Basically, the grade it receives based on its characteristics: color, size, uniformity, firmness, and so on. Although the roe may look the same to us, there are barely perceptible differences that determine the price. Thus, in principle, Grade 1, or Grade A, is more expensive than Grade 2, or Grade B.

To give you a clue about this quality, which determines the price of caviar, consider these classifications:

Supreme or Imperial: the highest quality

Classic and Royal: very high quality

Select: good quality

In light of all this, we understand that the key to caviar becoming such an expensive product lies, on the one hand, in the rarity of the species, and, on the other, in the production costs.

Traditionally, the labels 0, 00, or 000 were used to classify caviar quality based on size and color. The 000 grade was the most coveted due to its larger size and lighter color. However, today, with the severe restrictions on wild sturgeon fishing, this classification is no longer valid. Even so, some sellers continue to use it to give their product an air of higher quality.

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