Caviar has been a long-standing taboo, falling in the same category as foie gras, lobster and veal; they all are stamped with a history of cruelty. Now, ethical dining is becoming a growing concern and Mottra, the first Latvian caviar, is leading the way as the first sustainable caviar house.

Normally Sturgeons, whose eggs can be sold for up to £22,000 per kilo, are culled to collect their eggs, yet the goldmine price tag means fisherman are unrelenting, and the number of Sturgeons are dwindling. However, Mottra caviar farm, owned by Russian Sergei Trachuk, has introduced a new progression to the market which replaces the antediluvian method with modern technology and farming techniques which no longer harm the fish.  Once the sturgeon is five years old, the caviar is gently massaged and ‘stripped’ from the fish.  Afterwards they are placed back into the waters of the Mottra farm where the sturgeon will continue to grow and start the following year’s caviar production.

Mottra rears two types of Sturgeon, Sterlet and Osetra, as well as a few rare albino versions which produce the sought after ‘gold’ caviar.  The Sterlet and Oestra are less salty than other caviars and have a delicious richness and delicacy.   Mottra has a long list of regular devoted buyers from Mark Hix, of the ever growing Hix restaurants, to Rick Stein, and connoisseurs will go to great lengths to obtain this caviar.  It’s easy to see why.

Mottra Osetra £49.95 for 28g or £97 for 56g

Mottra Sterlet £69 for 28g or £134 for 56g

www.mottra.co.uk

This entry was posted on Monday, March 1st, 2010 at 1:56 pm and is filed under Lifestyle, Restaurants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.