Live data from Hacker News

Caviar was a free bar snack

delanceyplace.com

61–70 of 113 posts

Re: Caviar was a free bar snack

#61
post #28

And lobster wasn't a fancy meal until early 20th century https://www.history.com/news/a-taste-of-lobster-history "lobsters were routinely fed to prisoners, apprentices, slaves and children during the colonial era and beyond"

And the well-to-do in colonial America were eating luxurious German Bologna

I call baloney ... isn't it originally from Italy?

Re: Caviar was a free bar snack

#62

I grew up on Caspian shore. Article says shortage began in the 70s but I would say, from my observation of my father who was a fisherman, even in the 90s there was a lot of sturgeon in Caspian. We would have buckets of caviar at home being prepared for sale. The area we lived in was poor but people always had caviar on the table for breakfast. Also, the article says sturgeon doesn't need to go upstream in freshwater…

Yeah, when I was really young I'd have caviar regularly, it was cheap, never thought much of it. Twenty years later, prices seemed insane for what was basically a weekend of fishing (mostly for the fish meat).

On that note, we had freshwater crabs pretty much every week, one big boiling pot of them. They were great, nowadays I can't find any.

Re: Caviar was a free bar snack

#63
post #48
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Makes sense: lobsters are essentially insects, and eating insects, such as cockroaches is disgusting for most people. I still refuse to eat lobsters and shrimps for this exact reason: I'm not eating any insects, ever.

Some human puts some species under some label. You: I'm not eating anything under this label as it must be alike! But in this case insects a lobsters are not even close in the tree of life. Maybe they indeed look alike a bit. Do you eat feces because it does look a bit like chocolate?

I'm guessing they avoid any arthropods.

Chocolate and feces isn't really a great analog.

Re: Caviar was a free bar snack

#64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A more comparable sustainable alternative is seaweed caviar. It looks, feels and tastes pretty much the same as any caviar.

"pretty much the same as any caviar" Considering that there are a few types of caviar and they all taste, smell and look different...

I suppose that could be in seaweed caviar's favor - if they all taste, smell, and look different, maybe it can fit right in?

Re: Caviar was a free bar snack

#65
post #44
post #28

And lobster wasn't a fancy meal until early 20th century https://www.history.com/news/a-taste-of-lobster-history "lobsters were routinely fed to prisoners, apprentices, slaves and children during the colonial era and beyond"

Makes sense: lobsters are essentially insects, and eating insects, such as cockroaches is disgusting for most people. I still refuse to eat lobsters and shrimps for this exact reason: I'm not eating any insects, ever.

>>Eating insects...is disgusting for most people

The several billion people of the world would like to have a talk with you...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entomophagy

Re: Caviar was a free bar snack

#66
post #44
post #28

And lobster wasn't a fancy meal until early 20th century https://www.history.com/news/a-taste-of-lobster-history "lobsters were routinely fed to prisoners, apprentices, slaves and children during the colonial era and beyond"

Makes sense: lobsters are essentially insects, and eating insects, such as cockroaches is disgusting for most people. I still refuse to eat lobsters and shrimps for this exact reason: I'm not eating any insects, ever.

All animals are essentially worms with some appendages here and there. Might want to avoid them too.

Re: Caviar was a free bar snack

#67
post #2

"It takes twenty years for a female beluga to mature, and at that point she can weigh as much as 1,800 pounds [...]. Such a fish could yield twenty pounds of eggs [when killed]." That's got to be one of the least sustainable things I've ever heard of. I tried caviar once. It didn't taste like much, and I didn't see the point.

Nowadays the majority of caviar is farmed and the eggs often harvested using no-kill methods.

Re: Caviar was a free bar snack

#68
post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And the well-to-do in colonial America were eating luxurious German Bologna

I call baloney ... isn't it originally from Italy?

Yup, what we call bologna is actually 'mortadella' but is from the city of Bologna.

Re: Caviar was a free bar snack

#69
post #48
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Makes sense: lobsters are essentially insects, and eating insects, such as cockroaches is disgusting for most people. I still refuse to eat lobsters and shrimps for this exact reason: I'm not eating any insects, ever.

Some human puts some species under some label. You: I'm not eating anything under this label as it must be alike! But in this case insects a lobsters are not even close in the tree of life. Maybe they indeed look alike a bit. Do you eat feces because it does look a bit like chocolate?

If you have a shellfish allergy you are told to avoid eating insects. I know that is the case for crickets at least. So having them compared isn't that out there of an idea.

Re: Caviar was a free bar snack

#70
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is as sustainable as fishing any other species of fish. Whether caught for meat or eggs the result is the same. What matters is the quantity fished. Many luxury foods became so because of culture/fashion trends, btw. For example, lobster used to be used to fertilise fields and to feed prisoners and servants in the American North-East.

Yeah, that's why I don't buy fish.

Maybe I'm just falling victim to corporate propaganda, but I'm pretty sure wild (Alaskan) salmon is truly sustainably fished, as are sardines and anchovies
Post reply on HN