"clean, oceanic and with great texture," Florence Fabricant, NY Times

Transmontanus Rex, whose name in Latin means King of the White Sturgeon, describes our white sturgeon cultured in Idaho. In the wild, these stocks from the Columbia and Snake Rivers grow large for their 1500 mile spawning run, reaching up to 2,000 pounds. The largest Beluga on record reach 30 feet in length, but both the huso huso (Beluga) and transmontanus (white sturgeon) may weigh 1 ton. Not surprisingly, the caviar from these fish is similar in size, about 4 millimeters, though at times this strain of white sturgeon exceeds that diameter.

The flavor of Transmontanus, however, is crisp-- a product of the volcanic springs in Magic Valley, Idaho. Brilliant color contrasts range from deep black to earthy brown to translucent blue/gray. Healthy diets of natural live plankton supplement the culture regimen at these farms. Spring water flows through the system once, so there is no off-flavor from micro-algae. The most amazing aspect results from the continuous year-round harvest made possible by two water temperatures. The underground lake feeding most of the springs is quite cold, but the geothermal activity from Yellowstone’s hot springs enables the growers to gradually bring their sturgeon to maturity.

These living fossils, affectionately referred to as T-Rex, produce the largest of our sturgeon eggs. The dense texture bursts strongly. Notice the rich complexity of flavor common among large sturgeon that feed on shrimp, mollusks, and tender river plants. The taste may range from nutty to buttery depending on what that particular fish ate. However, when first harvested, you will only taste the cold spring water that is filtered and oxygenated through volcanic soil that was deposited 2.1 million years ago.