UGA caviar, the new tailgate party food?

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By Laura Diamond

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

When you think about food in Georgia, you may associate the state with peaches and peanuts. A University of Georgia professor is trying to add caviar to the list.

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The first batch of UGA Premium Siberian Sturgeon Caviar went on sale this month. The label bears the college’s colors and logo.

The slogan? “THEY HAVE GATORADE ... WE HAVE CAVIAR.”

Take that University of Florida!

“People think of Georgia as the peach state, but Georgia really ought to be the sturgeon state,” said Doug Peterson, associate professor of fisheries and aquaculture at UGA.

Four species are native to the state, he said.

Peterson has spent about eight years developing a way to protect the fish in the wild, saying it’s being pushed to extinction because of the value and demand for caviar. He said his cost-effective and environmentally sustainable method of farming Siberian sturgeon has the potential to protect the population in the wild and create a lucrative commodity for the state.

Those who want to serve UGA caviar at their next tailgate party can find it at Inland Seafood of Atlanta. The caviar costs $58 for 30 grams (just over 1 ounce) or $235 for 125 grams (about 4.4 ounces), said Bill Demmond, the chief operating officer.

Demmond, a UGA alum, described the high-end caviar as “excellent.”

Michel Emery, director of sales for Petrossian, a leading caviar distributor, tasted it and said the color and consistency were spot on.

“The flavor,” Emery said, “was impeccable.”