Making and grading osetra caviar
With recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) facilities in both eastern and western North Carolina, Marshallberg Farm is the largest producer of Russian sturgeon and Osetra caviar in North America. Osetra caviar is an incredibly simple product. Just Russian sturgeon roe, salted and put into a tin. That’s it. And here’s how it’s done.
The sturgeon’s ovary comes out fully intact, full of eggs. The ovary is passed through a window into the room where the eggs are separated from the membrane.
Encased in a membrane, the sturgeon's ovary is full of tiny eggs.
The sturgeon ovary membrane is rubbed against a screen to separate the eggs — this seemingly rough technique leaves the delicate eggs intact. The next step is to delicately remove any bits of fat or any other undesirable material. The eggs are then mixed with salt and packed into tins.
The sturgeon eggs are separated from the ovary's membrane by rubbing them against a screen.