Beluga, Iranian (Caspian)
Huso huso
Southern Caspian Sea, Iran·Iran·Ultra-rare
The archetype of luxury caviar. Enormous grey pearls with a barely-there pop give way to an oceanic, creamy finish that lingers for minutes. Salinity is restrained — the fat does all the talking. The benchmark against which everything else is measured.
Salinity1Butteriness5Nuttiness2Umami4Complexity5
Pop
delicate
Finish
Delicate
Texture
silky
Grain
large
Colour
dark grey
Blini service
Not recommended
Too delicate and prized to mask. A mother-of-pearl spoon, nothing else. Any starch or dairy muffles the creaminess that defines the grade.
Pairings
- Champagne
- Prestige cuvée Champagne, Krug Grande Cuvée
- Wine
- White Burgundy Premier Cru, Vintage Champagne only
- Spirits
- Frozen Beluga vodka, Dry sake (Junmai Daiginjo)
Production
- Source
- wild-managed / Caspian
- Producer
- Iranian Caspian fisheries
- Processing
- malossol
- Grade
- 000 (largest bead)
Legal & sourcing
Not available in the United States. NOT legally importable or sold in the US — 2005 USFWS Caspian Beluga import ban. Reference entry only; see beluga-us-farmed for the legal US option.
CITES Appendix II — international trade requires documentation. Wild harvest is banned; all commercial product is farmed.
At a menu
The 'king of caviar' — but not legally available in the US. See US-farmed Beluga instead.
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