Fish

Sevruga

S tier

Sevruga is the traditional caviar name tied mainly to starry sturgeon Acipenser stellatus—smaller beads, grey to black, with a more intense, marine, and sometimes sharper flavour than osetra. The fish itself is slender and smaller than beluga; meat is available from farms in smaller volumes and eats lean-firm when smoked or pan-cooked. In classic Russian grading, sevruga was the lively, assertive option on the caviar cart. Serve the roe very cold; its intensity needs little garnish beyond blini or toast. Meat benefits from brine and moderate heat. Legal farmed sevruga and related products replaced most wild Caspian supply. Spellings vary (sevruga/sevriuga); species documentation should not. Pair the bold roe with neutral fats—crème fraîche, unsalted butter—not sweet onion overload.