01/17/2007

Hooked on U.S. Caviar

By Susan Chaityn Lebovits
Globe Correspondent
PARAPHRASED EXCERPT
Call 617-591-2157 for original (see image at left)

A year and a half ago Richard Brauman entered the caviar business . . . is holding his own - with a little help from his Mom.

. . . Brauman's enterprise offers caviar from fish caught in the United States. Patricia (Mom Brauman) drives up from New Jersey. Today she is making Swedish Pancakes. By the end of the day she will have produced 1,000 pancakes.

Brauman's American Caviar is winning over chefs. Recently, Michael LaScola from Nantucket's American Seasons featured The Little Pearl's trout caviar on a menu he prepared at the James Beard Hosue in Manhattan.

American caviar has a cleaner taste because borax is not allowed in the U.S. The clean water and fresh distribution produces a milder, crisp caviar with firmer texture. Aged caviar gains a buttery taste and requires more salt or borax as a preservative. We sell ours from 0-30 days, sometimes up to 60, whereas imports age their product a minimum of 30 days, often 60-90 for sale and frequently over a year old. Any Beluga on the market today is from 2005. We have sampled some high quality 2005 Osetra from a village with a reputation for superb shelf life but generally the quality deteriorates after 90 days.