Sturgeon
Acipenser
Not Kosher
No true scales
Scales
No
Description
Sturgeon is harvested mainly for its roe, which becomes true caviar, and also for its flesh. The swim bladder of the beluga sturgeon was historically used as isinglass to clarify wine and beer.
Sturgeon live in subtropical to subarctic waters across North America and Eurasia. In North America they run along the Atlantic coast from the Gulf of Mexico to Newfoundland, through the Great Lakes, and up West Coast rivers. In Eurasia they fill the rivers feeding the Black, Azov, and Caspian Seas. Most are at least partly anadromous, spawning in fresh water and feeding in brackish estuaries.
Also known as
- Beluga sturgeon
- White sturgeon
- Lake sturgeon
- Russian sturgeon
Sturgeon in foreign languages
| Scientific | Acipenser |
| Hebrew | חדקן |
| Arabic | حفش |
| Russian | Осетры |
| Turkish | Mersin balığı |
| Chinese | 鱘屬 |
| Japanese | チョウザメ属 |
| Vietnamese | Cá tầm |
| Thai | ปลาสเตอร์เจียนใหญ่ |
Warnings & Kosher Issues
- Sturgeon are scaleless and armored with five rows of bony plates called scutes instead of true scales, and they have a nearly all-cartilage skeleton, so they're not kosher.
- True caviar comes from sturgeon roe and is also not kosher.
- Caviar from sturgeon is not kosher, since the sturgeon itself is not kosher (its ganoid scales do not qualify).