Best in Roe: BC Caviar Ranked among Best in World

I’m not much of a caviar connoisseur , so I’ll just trust the good people at Travel+Leisure on this one.

According to the magazine’s recent Best in Roe ranking, Northern Divine caviar – raised sustainably not far from Vancouver on BC’s Sunshine Coast – is among the top 5 caviars in the world.  The magazine singled out Northern Divine for it’s “crisp pop and creamy mouthfeel, with even grains.”  Yum.

Interested in sampling some yourself?  Hope you’re a big spender. 

Photo credit: Northern Divine

According to an article in the Vancouver Sun, Northern Divine was the most expensive caviar sampled by Travel+Leisure’s pro tasters, coming in at a hefty $147 per 50 grams.  If you’re doing the math, that comes out to around $3,000 per kilo.

Around Vancouver, several restaurants have already begun serving Northern Divine caviar.  At Hawksworth in the new Rosewood Hotel Georgia, you can order Pacific Halibut crusted with the caviar or tuna tartar topped with the stuff.  And at C Restaurant on False Creek, you can even have a caviar-centric 5-course tasting menu featuring Northern Divine ($235).

Of course, one of the big concerns with caviar is sustainability.   Russian Osetra caviar and Beluga caviar from the Caspian Sea are widely regarded as the best of the best, but the sturgeon from which the roe are derived are both severely endangered (In fact, the importation of Beluga caviar has been banned in some countries).

By contrast, BC’s own Northern Divine caviar is sustainably farmed near Sechelt.  It is an Ocean Wise product, certified by the Vancouver Aquarium.  The farm is located inland, with no risk of contaminating other water sources, and has a high-tech waste recycling system.  And they use local Fraser River sturgeon, which take 11 years to reach maturity (which partially explains the price of the end product).

Article source: http://www.insidevancouver.ca/2011/12/29/best-in-roe-bc-caviar-ranked-among-best-in-world/