Beyond a shadow of a doubt, the caviar remains one of the most sophisticated culinary taste of all time. The star dish of all the extravagant events, it gained supremacy among the world’s delicacies starting with the 10th century, when it began to decorate the plates of the Byzantine nobles. Caviar is a product that by nature cannot be modified and is most often consumed raw, to preserve its properties. But Walter Grüll and his son Patrick succeeded in the unimaginable: to turn a lavish product into one that only a niche clientele can afford. Hers is the story in a nutshell of the Strottarga Bianco “White Gold Caviar,” the world’s most expensive food.
Walter Grüll is a 51-year-old fish farmer from Salzburg- Austria. His family business “Grüll fish trade” is the first caviar producer in Austria and one of the 30 breeders of sturgeon worldwide. But the sturgeon that produces this caviar is not an ordinary fish. It is a rare albino sturgeon that used to leave in the Caspian Sea, and it is almost extinct in its natural habitat, thus turning it into a unique delicacy.
But what makes this caviar so extremely special and expensive? Well, the process is quite laborious. The albino sturgeon needs about 8 to 10 years to be ready for harvest. To obtain 1kg of the finite product, 5kg of sturgeon roe must be dehydrated and then finely grated into a vibrantly flavored powder sprinkled with gold leaf. The eggs used for the White Gold Caviar come from older sturgeons because they seem to have a different texture and aroma. But the quality of the White Gold Caviar comes from the unpolluted water that springs out of the Austrian mountains, the natural environment of the albino sturgeon.
It is said to be very good for the immune system, but only an exclusive list of clients can afford this luxurious product. The cost of 1kg Caviar is estimated around $ 200.000, and it is only made by customer special order. The caviar is served in the most decadent restaurants in the world, and it is exported to clients from Milan, Dubai or Switzerland. As Walter Grull himself says: this “….is not a product for everyone…” And it sure isn’t. The White Gold Caviar is a delicacy for the people who go by the motto “You only live once!” and have the possibility to afford every eccentric desire that will give them the thrill they are searching for.
Walter Grüll’s extremely rare White Gold Caviar is the fruit of meticulous work, patience, and wish to create something that has never been done before.
Enjoy even more @ Caviar by Walter Grüll
by Claudia Ciclovan