Farm to Plate

At Sterling, we take great care and pride in using traditional methods of producing caviar in an artful manner, producing each tin by hand and taking a deft approach to all we do. Our production is in the traditional malossol method, which means “little salt” and that is all we use – no chemicals, no preservatives, just roe and salt, as has been made for centuries. This enhances the true flavors of the caviar and brings the subtle nuances of each taste to the forefront of the palate.

Our work starts long before caviar production though, and our commitment to excellence and sustainability is a principle we are passionate about. Our quality assurance programs are overseen and held in strict compliance with Federal and State food safety laws and we are certified by the U.S. Department of Commerce Seafood Inspection Program. We are thankful for the environment in which our farms exist and have thus developed partnerships to help create wetlands for endangered species and to protect the areas where we work and play every day. Sterling continues to look to the future for ways we can continually improve in all facets of our business to be good stewards of the land, good neighbors, partners and citizens, all in such a way that we continue to provide the world with the taste of luxury – from our farm to your palate!

Sterling Caviar | From Farm to Palate: The Making of Exceptional Caviar

Sturgeon is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. Their fossil records dating back to the Triassic period, sturgeon predates mankind by nearly 250 million years. Sturgeon is the only fish whose roe (eggs) are used to make true caviar. Sturgeon are long-lived and late-maturing–their sex unable to be determined until several years of age. They are cold-blooded and scaleless except for five rows of large, bony, plate-like scutes running along the top and sides of the body. Interestingly, the bodies of Sturgeon exhibit several shark-like qualities including a heterocercal (having unequal upper and lower lobes) caudal or tail fin and a cartilaginous body. Sturgeon are bottom-dwellers who feed by rummaging along the floor of bodies of water. They search for food using barbells (feelers) which are located on the underside of the snout along with external taste buds. In nature, their favorite foods include leeches, snails, clams, other invertebrates, small fish, and algae. Once it locates its food, the sturgeon uses a toothless mouth to suck it up. Sterling Caviar comes from white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus). White sturgeon is the third-largest species of sturgeon after Beluga and Kaluga and is native to the west coast of North America.