what does caviar come from

Caviar is a luxury food that consists of salt-cured fish eggs or roe. To be considered true caviar, the unfertilized fish eggs must come from wild sturgeon, which is a large freshwater or saltwater fish that can grow over 1,000 pounds. There are 27 species of sturgeon belonging to the Acipenseridae family, typically found in the Iranian Caspian Sea and the Siberian Black Sea. However, the term caviar can also describe the roe of other species of sturgeon or other fish such as paddlefish, salmon, steelhead, trout, lumpfish, whitefish, or carp. China is the leading producer of caviar, accounting for 60% of the worlds caviar production, and the largest caviar company in the world is the Chinese brand Kaluga Queen. Other countries that produce caviar include Israel, Italy, Madagascar, and Malaysia. The farming, harvesting, and handling methods can make a huge difference in the quality of the final product.