Beluga Caviar

James Bond is known for his expensive taste and the caviar is no exception: caviar is usually not cheap, but Bond prefers the best, the most exclusive and expensive kind, Beluga caviar.

Bond mentions Beluga Caviar in several movies, including Thunderball (he orders it with some Dom Pérignon champagne), On Her Majesty's Secret Service (OHMSS), A View to A Kill (pre-title sequence, in the submarine), The World is Not Enough and Casino Royale, and in the Ian Fleming novel Thunderball.

In the novel Thunderball, Bond orders Clicquot rosé and 50 dollars' worth of Beluga Caviar. "Anything less would be no more than a spoonful", Bond had commented to Domino.

In OHMSS Bond eats a piece of toast with caviar, after getting rid of a henchman, and notices: "Mm... Royal Beluga, north of the Caspian."

In TWINE, Valentin Zukovsky runs a Beluga factory in the Caspian Sea. Quotes:
James Bond: Theres one critical element here I may have overlooked.
Dr. Christmas Jones: What, more plutonium?
James Bond: No. Beluga caviar.

Valentin Zukovsky already can be seen in GoldenEye although his link to caviar is not as eleborately explained as in TWINE. After Bond pushes Zukovsky back into a wall-mounted shelf full of caviar:
Zukovsky: Five thousand dollars of Beluga, ruined!

Visit the Download area of Bond Lifestyle to download a high resolution version of Zukovsky Caviar labels.

In the movie Casino Royale, Bond orders his famous "Champagne and Beluga for one", in his One & Only Ocean Club suite on the Bahamas, before leaving Solange alone and heading for Miami.

In the 1983 movie Never Say Never Again, Beluga Caviar, with Absolut vodka and wine, can be seen in the suitcase with food that Bond (Sean Connery) brings into his room at Shrublands health clinic.

About Beluga Caviar
Beluga Caviar is caviar consisting of the roe (or eggs) of the Beluga Huso Huso (a species of fish in the sturgeon family). It is found primarily in the Caspian Sea, but can also be found in the Black Sea basin and occasionally in the Adriatic Sea. Beluga caviar is the most expensive type of caviar, with present market prices ranging from $7,000 to $10,000 per 1 kg (2.2 lb).

As with most caviars, Beluga is usually handled with a spoon made of mother of pearl, bone, or other non-metallic material, as metal utensils tend to impart an unwelcome metallic taste to the delicate and expensive roe. Beluga caviar, unlike less expensive varieties, is usually served by itself on toast, and should be served with complimentary foods like potatoes or blini, partnered with creme fraiche or sour cream. Caviar can be served with Russian vodka, but it can also be partnered with a dry champagne.

Besides being very expensive, Beluga is also not an eco-friendly choice. Since 2005 the import of Beluga Caviar is illegal in the United States, partly because of the efforts of Caviar Emptor, a campaign to protect and restore threatened caspian sea sturgeon. The Beluga Sturgeon (Huso Huso) is now protected as a threatened species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. This law generally prohibits the import/export and interstate sale of listed species and products made from them. Read Buying Imported Caviar: Guidelines for U.S. Consumers. You might be able to find Beluga Caviar in certain restaurants that sell caviar that was imported before the 2005 bans went into effect.

Due to these regulations, some companies have begun farming caviar in the US (available here).