144 MEALS MEDICINAL. 
CAVIARE. 
THE salted roe of the Sturgeon, known as far back as in Shakes- 
peare’s day (who spoke of it as ‘ Caviare,’ but not appreciated 
by the multitude), has been humorously styled “ salt blackberry 
jam.” Some persons deem this commodity delicious, whilst 
others maintain it to be intolerably nasty. Its parent Sturgeon 
abounds on the southern coast of Russia, being taken for its 
Caviare, chiefly at Astrachan. There are two kinds of the roe ; one 
of a light-grey colour, and semi-liquid, called “ fresh,” of which 
the Germans are very fond, but which is little known in England; 
the other kind is of a darker hue, containing the eggs of the roe 
crushed, and strongly pressed together, so that much of the 
moisture has been squeezed away. Out of Russia, Caviare is 
a chaudfroid at table, being eaten cold on hot toast. In 
England it is served—quite as a mistake—at the end of dinner, 
when the appetites of the guests are already satisfied ; but in 
Russia and France it is more wisely regarded as a hors d’cuvre, 
always appropriate at luncheon, and usually acceptable as a 
whet before dinner. Caviare is correctly a prelude to a repast, 
and a stimulus to the appetite. At the end of dinner it is 
simply useless, and even mischievous. It should be moderately 
seasoned with cayenne pepper, and lemon juice. The Russians 
are quite content to eat their Caviare on slices of bread and butter. 
It is served on a side-table as a preliminary relish to a meal. 
Taken medicinally, Caviare, by reason of its abundant fish oil, 
has been found to occasionally rescue a patient when in the last 
stages of diabetes ; for which disease fat is indeed a sheet anchor, 
because of its large sustaining powers, and because it never 
dietetically increases the formation of sugar in the liver. 
Dr. Yeo has commended Caviare as a savoury for aged persons, 
who need some sort of condiment with their food, to promote 
digestion, and prevent flatulence. One of the best kinds in 
commerce is the Saxony variety, which is packed in linen, and 
is less salt than the others. There should be no smell to Caviare, 
though frequently an acid odour is discerned ; the best sort is 
neutral, but the poorer kinds usually give an acid reaction to 
litmus (test) paper, containing also traces of free ammonia, 
some hydrogen sulphide, and free fatty acids. Logan relates in 
Joyjul Russia, 1897, “It was the fresh Caviare that I revelled in, 
which was spread on bread or toast, at the Lakuska, or Russian 
