[:en]
Photo by Asaf Karela for Karat Caviar
“All our work is geared toward this season. It’s the time of year when we harvest egg roe from around 2,000 sturgeon and ship our Karat Caviar brand all over the world.”
It is also the end result of years of extremely careful cultivation. Egg roe, Koren explains, can only be harvested after the female sturgeon reaches maturity, which in Europe takes 12 years on average. Through innovative farming methods developed by Caviar Galilee’s R&D laboratory, this process has been accelerated and females mature around their seventh year.
“The timeframe to harvest is very small, and without our full workforce we were under immense pressure,” Koren tells ISRAEL21c.
Assaf Koren, CEO of Karat Caviar. Photo courtesy of Karat Caviar
Galilee Caviar farm. Photo courtesy of Karat Caviar
At the caviar farm, half of the 30 employees have left. Those who remained are mostly from the Alawite Arab village of Rhadjar, which has the distinction of being located half in Israel and half in Lebanon.
Although Rhadjar, with its population of over 3,000, fell under evacuation orders, the villagers decided not to go.
“I told the workers they must do what is best for their families but they decided to stay. Their loyalty really warms my heart,” says Koren.
He is proud that even with this limited workforce the farm managed to complete the harvest of around three tons.
“We worked around the clock and sometimes had to run to the shelters numerous times during the day when the [air raid] sirens went off. It’s also not easy for workers on the night shift who feed the fish and check oxygen levels in the water, but we have no choice but to operate,” says the CEO.
The caviar farm also faced challenges in packing up the product and transporting it three hours away to Ben-Gurion International Airport.
“Sometimes it had to be brought all the way back as flights were cancelled. It became a very complicated situation when I had to tell buyers their orders were stalled. Some obviously turned to other suppliers and I hope we won’t lose them as customers in the long term.”
As a kibbutz on the Lebanese border comes under almost daily fire and its residents evacuate, two men stay alone to safeguard its fish farms.
Kibbutz Dan is usually a pastoral setting, with lush green vegetation and a river fed yearlong by streams from Mount Hermon. Less than two miles from the Lebanese border, the kibbutz now finds itself in a military zone and the majority of its 850 inhabitants evacuated. Two of those who steadfastly remain are Assaf Koren, CEO of Caviar Galilee; and his cofounder Avshalom Hurvitz, a biologist who since 1982 has overseen the growth of Dan Fish Farms, a cultivator of trout. Hurvitz explains that while many factories can just shut down, “you can’t do this with fish farms, especially when it runs on a vertical model where everything is done ourselves from breeding to cultivation and harvesting of the fish to packaging and delivering the end product to the customer.” The ponds at Dan Fish Farms contain around three million trout, from which 600 tons of fish are harvested annually to the local market year round. Koren was born nearby on Kibbutz Snir and became CEO of Caviar Galilee four years ago after serving 20 years in the army and retiring with the rank of major. He also believes strongly in his decision to stay on. He describes with anguish his struggle to save this year’s harvest and the 40 ponds of Osetra sturgeon from which one of the world’s most prized and expensive types of caviar is produced.
Photo by Asaf Karela for Karat Caviar
“All our work is geared toward this season. It’s the time of year when we harvest egg roe from around 2,000 sturgeon and ship our Karat Caviar brand all over the world.”
It is also the end result of years of extremely careful cultivation. Egg roe, Koren explains, can only be harvested after the female sturgeon reaches maturity, which in Europe takes 12 years on average. Through innovative farming methods developed by Caviar Galilee’s R&D laboratory, this process has been accelerated and females mature around their seventh year.
“The timeframe to harvest is very small, and without our full workforce we were under immense pressure,” Koren tells ISRAEL21c.
Assaf Koren, CEO of Karat Caviar. Photo courtesy of Karat Caviar
Never before
Although the proximity to the Lebanese border has meant Kibbutz Dan has long been under threat to its security, an evacuation is unprecedented, according to Hurvitz, who was born in 1948, the year Israel was founded. “In the Independence War, women and children left the kibbutz for a time, but it was not official. There was no evacuation in the Six Day War of 1967 or the Yom Kippur War in ’73. This time, the government ordered an evacuation.” Hurvitz goes on to say that although the Hamas attack of October 7 took place 125 miles from the Upper Galilee where Kibbutz Dan is situated, the mass killing, kidnapping and storming of army and police installations by Hamas terrorists changed the psyche of the entire nation. Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon have been firing on Israel’s far north and it seems more ominous than usual. “The paradigm changed on October 7. Nobody thought Hamas would attack and we were proven wrong. Afterwards, we couldn’t take a chance and all 14 settlements along the northern border were evacuated. People were really afraid to stay.” Hurvitz’s family members are now scattered. His wife and a daughter are in Haifa, another daughter is in Ramat Gan, and a third daughter is in Karkur. Koren’s wife and children, ranging in age from seven to 16, have moved six times since they left their home on Kibbutz Snir, along with 800 other members of the community. “At the beginning, the government didn’t have a solution for them so they stayed at different friends around the country. They are now living in a hotel in Nazareth and I go and see them maybe once a week,” Koren says.Farms without workers
Gone with the evacuated residents of the kibbutzim and towns on the northern border are many of the workers in the kibbutz industries.
Galilee Caviar farm. Photo courtesy of Karat Caviar
At the caviar farm, half of the 30 employees have left. Those who remained are mostly from the Alawite Arab village of Rhadjar, which has the distinction of being located half in Israel and half in Lebanon.
Although Rhadjar, with its population of over 3,000, fell under evacuation orders, the villagers decided not to go.
“I told the workers they must do what is best for their families but they decided to stay. Their loyalty really warms my heart,” says Koren.
He is proud that even with this limited workforce the farm managed to complete the harvest of around three tons.
“We worked around the clock and sometimes had to run to the shelters numerous times during the day when the [air raid] sirens went off. It’s also not easy for workers on the night shift who feed the fish and check oxygen levels in the water, but we have no choice but to operate,” says the CEO.
The caviar farm also faced challenges in packing up the product and transporting it three hours away to Ben-Gurion International Airport.
“Sometimes it had to be brought all the way back as flights were cancelled. It became a very complicated situation when I had to tell buyers their orders were stalled. Some obviously turned to other suppliers and I hope we won’t lose them as customers in the long term.”
Orders have fallen
The trout farm did not encounter transportation problems as it only supplies the local market, but other challenges remain. Hurvitz estimates that orders have fallen 40 to 50 percent as hotels and restaurants are not working to their usual capacity or have shuttered for the time being. It is also an unknown for how long the war will continue and how this will affect the operation long term. Koren is upbeat, though, when he shares how clients worldwide have reached out. “We have customers in the US who contact me every week to ask how they can help. Another client in Sydney sent photos yesterday of balloons flown in the name of each of the 240 hostages being held in Gaza and there are also messages of support from France, Canada and Japan.” While his love is undiminished for the “paradise” he has called home since he was born to immigrant Polish parents who were amongst the founders of Kibbutz Dan, Hurvitz is pensive when discussing other reasons that keep him from leaving: “A nation has to eat during war too, but we have to think about what happens the day after. That means staying and preserving what we have built up.” Read at: ISRAEL21c, by Elana Shap[:] Read more
November 24, 2023
[:en]Competing worldwide in the market for this costly delicacy required ingenuity to overcome many challenges in harvesting egg roe from sturgeon fish.
Kibbutz Dan, located on the foot of Mount Hermon in northern Israel, decided to set up fish farms over 80 years ago.
It seemed like a good proposition. The ponds would be filled by the stream of melted snow flowing down into the Dan River, whose water the Bible noted for its purity. Today, its temperature is a constant 16 degrees Celsius year round, ideal for fish cultivation.
In the 1990s, the influx of Russian immigration stimulated the ambitious idea to extend the thriving trout-farming business to caviar in the hope that a local market was in the making.
Fingerlings of the Osetra sturgeon were imported from Russia. This is one of the top three breeds for caviar production, which includes the famous Beluga variety.
A sturgeon fingerling. Photo by Elana Shap
Fast forward to 2023 and Caviar Galilee is the sole farm of its kind in the Middle East and a supplier of the premier Karat Caviar brand to top international distributors.
Clients include the 90-year-old illustrious French purveyor, Petrossian, as well as Marky’s, one of America’s foremost brands.
Petrossian is a client of Karat Caviar. Photo by Elana Shap
In addition, the company has developed technological innovations to deal with innumerable challenges in harvesting egg roe from the sturgeon to produce this costliest of delicacies.
“There are longstanding traditions in the caviar business, but we decided to bolster it with science,” Karat Caviar CEO Assaf Koren tells ISRAEL21c.
Galilee Caviar farm. Photo courtesy of Karat Caviar
The first hurdle, he says, is how to identify the females who carry the roe.
“All over the world, caviar farms do an ultrasound on the fish when they reach four years old. Our biologists developed a patented DNA test that enables the identification of the females at around two months old. This allows us to separate them from the males much earlier on so that we can cultivate them with extreme care.”
Around 1,000 samples are done per day and the yield is usually around 20,000 females. The next challenge Koren explains is that egg roe can only be harvested after the female sturgeon reaches maturity, which can take nine years, if not longer.
The Israelis developed innovative farming methods to accelerate this process and enable the females to mature in their seventh year. “In Europe it takes 12 years on average and in Russia, 15 years,” according to Koren.
Assaf Koren, CEO of Karat Caviar. Photo courtesy of Karat Caviar
The next challenge is how to detect the best time to harvest caviar from the mature sturgeon. “We have a very small window of time. From the age of seven we carry out an ultrasound on each fish so that we can check the eggs in quality, size and color. We are able to process 13,000 females in one month,” says the CEO, who grew up on Kibbutz Snir nearby.
Caviar Galilee is also one of the only farms in the world that does not rely on importing fingerlings. This allows “full control on what we want to raise and keeping the quality at a high level,” says Na’ama Ben-Naim, chief aquatic biologist at the farm, who has a PhD in fish reproduction.
Caviar, a rare and expensive delicacy, made in Israel. Photo by Elana Shap
A visitor’s center was opened at the farm three months ago and provides a sophisticated champagne and caviar tasting every Friday.
For ISRAEL21c, Koren brings out a small silver jar of caviar and gives a full explanation of the ritual involved.
Trying caviar involves a traditional ritual. Photo by Elana Shap
First the jar is placed on a very cold porcelain plate and is opened and left to breathe for a while, like a good wine.
Then a tiny mother-of-pearl spoon (never metal!) is used to scoop a small mound of the caviar “pearls” onto the hand to allow it to reach body temperature. Then you lick it off and roll the caviar up to the palate “to let the flavors gain momentum.” The taste is like no other I have ever sampled. It is has a slightly briny tang and what I can only imagine sea-air to taste like. The texture is firm, yet still deliciously soft.
Blini topped with sour cream and caviar is Assaf Koren’s favorite dish. Photo by Assaf Karela
And what is Koren’s favorite dish containing caviar?
He doesn’t hesitate: it’s the blinis with sour cream, topped with caviar, that he recently ate at Boulud in New York.
“I know it’s the traditional choice, but it’s still the best combination,” he concludes.
Read at: ISRAEL21c, by Elana Shap[:] Read more
A sturgeon fingerling. Photo by Elana Shap
Fast forward to 2023 and Caviar Galilee is the sole farm of its kind in the Middle East and a supplier of the premier Karat Caviar brand to top international distributors.
Clients include the 90-year-old illustrious French purveyor, Petrossian, as well as Marky’s, one of America’s foremost brands.
Petrossian is a client of Karat Caviar. Photo by Elana Shap
In addition, the company has developed technological innovations to deal with innumerable challenges in harvesting egg roe from the sturgeon to produce this costliest of delicacies.
“There are longstanding traditions in the caviar business, but we decided to bolster it with science,” Karat Caviar CEO Assaf Koren tells ISRAEL21c.
Meeting each challenge
In an interview in his office on Kibbutz Dan, overlooking the 40 sturgeon ponds, Koren is systematic in describing each challenge and the breakthrough solutions developed in the onsite R&D laboratory.
Galilee Caviar farm. Photo courtesy of Karat Caviar
The first hurdle, he says, is how to identify the females who carry the roe.
“All over the world, caviar farms do an ultrasound on the fish when they reach four years old. Our biologists developed a patented DNA test that enables the identification of the females at around two months old. This allows us to separate them from the males much earlier on so that we can cultivate them with extreme care.”
Around 1,000 samples are done per day and the yield is usually around 20,000 females. The next challenge Koren explains is that egg roe can only be harvested after the female sturgeon reaches maturity, which can take nine years, if not longer.
The Israelis developed innovative farming methods to accelerate this process and enable the females to mature in their seventh year. “In Europe it takes 12 years on average and in Russia, 15 years,” according to Koren.
Assaf Koren, CEO of Karat Caviar. Photo courtesy of Karat Caviar
The next challenge is how to detect the best time to harvest caviar from the mature sturgeon. “We have a very small window of time. From the age of seven we carry out an ultrasound on each fish so that we can check the eggs in quality, size and color. We are able to process 13,000 females in one month,” says the CEO, who grew up on Kibbutz Snir nearby.
Caviar Galilee is also one of the only farms in the world that does not rely on importing fingerlings. This allows “full control on what we want to raise and keeping the quality at a high level,” says Na’ama Ben-Naim, chief aquatic biologist at the farm, who has a PhD in fish reproduction.
Premium caviar
Although China now commands 30 percent of the 500-ton world caviar market, Koren says Chinese caviar is low in quality: “Many are grown in indoor factories which do not achieve the same level of taste and texture.” Koren says at the recent Barcelona Seafood Fair, buyers were searching out Israeli caviar, which has become associated with high quality. French chef Daniel Boulud includes Karat Caviar on his eponymous two-Michelin-star restaurant’s seven-course tasting menu. It should be noted that because sturgeon have no scales, their caviar is not considered kosher for Jews, but it is acceptable for Muslims.Caviar and champagne
Caviar, a rare and expensive delicacy, made in Israel. Photo by Elana Shap
A visitor’s center was opened at the farm three months ago and provides a sophisticated champagne and caviar tasting every Friday.
For ISRAEL21c, Koren brings out a small silver jar of caviar and gives a full explanation of the ritual involved.
Trying caviar involves a traditional ritual. Photo by Elana Shap
First the jar is placed on a very cold porcelain plate and is opened and left to breathe for a while, like a good wine.
Then a tiny mother-of-pearl spoon (never metal!) is used to scoop a small mound of the caviar “pearls” onto the hand to allow it to reach body temperature. Then you lick it off and roll the caviar up to the palate “to let the flavors gain momentum.” The taste is like no other I have ever sampled. It is has a slightly briny tang and what I can only imagine sea-air to taste like. The texture is firm, yet still deliciously soft.
Red, gold, black
Koren points out that every tasting experience is unique as each jar contains caviar from only one fish so as to maintain uniformity of taste, texture and size. The next lesson is that Karat caviar comes in three colors: Renaissance, which is red and the most common; golden Baroque (the most expensive at 9,000 shekels per kilo, equivalent to $2,400), which is a bestseller in Dubai, Canada and Manhattan; and Gothic, the black caviar popular in Japan, Russia and Israel. The colors are not engineered but are due to genetics.
Blini topped with sour cream and caviar is Assaf Koren’s favorite dish. Photo by Assaf Karela
And what is Koren’s favorite dish containing caviar?
He doesn’t hesitate: it’s the blinis with sour cream, topped with caviar, that he recently ate at Boulud in New York.
“I know it’s the traditional choice, but it’s still the best combination,” he concludes.
Read at: ISRAEL21c, by Elana Shap[:] Read more
June 27, 2023
[:en]As Israel emerges from the pandemic, the desire to splurge together with the surreal mania of fundraising and buyouts in the high-tech sector have created a new gourmet craze.
Asaf Koren, the CEO of Karat Caviar at Kibbutz Dan, had a lot of reasons to worry when the coronavirus pandemic erupted. The plant that he manages on the banks of the Dan River in Israel’s north has been raising female Russian sturgeon fish since 1992.
It takes seven years before the fish mature and begin producing caviar. In the midst of a pandemic, if restaurants in Israel or abroad are closed, years of effort and investment could go down the drain. But to his surprise, during the pandemic, as well as in recent months, when restrictions have been eased in the restaurant business, the plant’s revenues have grown twofold compared to prior years.
“During the coronavirus, there were a lot of home chef meals with dishes that included our product. With the exit from the coronavirus, restaurants have returned to work and the demand is surprising us,” Koren said.
Read at: https://www.haaretz.com[:he]As Israel emerges from the pandemic, the desire to splurge together with the surreal mania of fundraising and buyouts in the high-tech sector have created a new gourmet craze.
Asaf Koren, the CEO of Karat Caviar at Kibbutz Dan, had a lot of reasons to worry when the coronavirus pandemic erupted. The plant that he manages on the banks of the Dan River in Israel’s north has been raising female Russian sturgeon fish since 1992.
It takes seven years before the fish mature and begin producing caviar. In the midst of a pandemic, if restaurants in Israel or abroad are closed, years of effort and investment could go down the drain. But to his surprise, during the pandemic, as well as in recent months, when restrictions have been eased in the restaurant business, the plant’s revenues have grown twofold compared to prior years.
“During the coronavirus, there were a lot of home chef meals with dishes that included our product. With the exit from the coronavirus, restaurants have returned to work and the demand is surprising us,” Koren said.
Read at: https://www.haaretz.com[:] Read more
May 11, 2022