View source for Bottarga

{{short description|Salted, cured fish roe pouch}}
{{Infobox food
| name             = Bottarga
| image            = File:Bottarga from Preveza Greece.jpg
| image_size       = 250px
| caption          = Whole and sliced bottarga
| alternate_name   = Botarga, botargo, butàriga, and many others
| country          = 
| region           = 
| creator          = 
| course           = [[Hors d'oeuvre]], pasta dishes
| type             = 
| served           = 
| main_ingredient  = Fish [[roe]]
| variations       = 
| calories         = 
| other            = 
}}

'''Bottarga''' is salted, cured fish [[roe]] pouch, typically of the [[Mugil cephalus|grey mullet]] or the [[Atlantic bluefin tuna|bluefin tuna]] ({{lang|it|bottarga di tonno}}). The best-known version is produced around the [[Mediterranean cuisine|Mediterranean]]; similar foods are the [[Japanese cuisine|Japanese]] {{lang|ja-Latn|[[karasumi]]}} and [[Taiwanese cuisine|Taiwanese]] {{lang|Ta-Latn|[[karasumi|wuyutsu]]}}, which is softer, and [[Korean cuisine|Korean]] {{lang|ko-Latn|[[eoran]]}}, from mullet or freshwater drum. It has many names and is prepared in various ways. Due to its scarcity and involved preparation it is expensive and regarded as a delicacy.

==Names and etymology==
The English name, ''bottarga'', was borrowed from Italian.<ref name="oed">{{OED|botargo}}; 1st edition</ref> The Italian form is thought to have been introduced from the [[Arabic language|Arabic]] {{lang|ar-Latn|buṭarḫah}} ({{lang|ar|بطارخة}}), plural form {{lang|ar-Latn|buṭariḫ}} ({{wikt-lang|ar|بطارخ}}), itself from [[Medieval Greek|Byzantine Greek]] {{lang|grc-x-byzant|ᾠοτάριχον}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|oiotárikhon}}), a combination of the words {{wikt-lang|grc|ᾠόν}} ('egg') and {{lang|grc|τάριχον}} ('pickled').<ref name="oed"/><ref name="hughes&wasson">{{citation |last1=Hughes |first1=John P. |last2=Wasson |first2=R. Gordon |title=The Etymology of Botargo |journal=[[American Journal of Philology]] |volume=68 |number=4 |year=1947 |pages=414–418 |doi=10.2307/291531 |jstor=291531 }}</ref><ref name="dalby">{{cite book |last=Dalby |first=Andrew |title=Siren Feasts |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2013 |orig-year=1996 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I4UeyRkqgvQC&pg=PA189 |page=189 |isbn=978-0-415-11620-6 }}</ref>

The Italian form can be dated to {{circa|1500}}, as the Greek form of the word, when transliterated into [[Latin]] as {{lang|la|ova tarycha}}, occurs in [[Bartolomeo Platina]]'s {{lang|it|[[De honesta voluptate et valetudine|De honesta voluptate]]}} ({{circa|1474}}), the earliest printed cookbook. In an Italian manuscript that "closely parallels" Platina's cookbook and dated to shortly after its publication, {{lang|it|botarghe}} is attested in the corresponding passage.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hughes|Wasson|1947|p=415, n4}}. Italian MS in the Bitting Collection in the Rare Book Room of the United States [[Library of Congress]]. In Platina, the word is the Latin transliteration of {{lang|grc|ὠβά τάριχα}}</ref>

The first mention of the Greek form ({{lang|grc-Latn|oiotárikhon}}) occurs in the 11th century, in the writings of [[Simeon Seth]], who denounced the food as something to be "avoided totally",<ref name="dalby"/> although a similar phrase may have been in use since antiquity in the same denotation.<ref>{{lang|grc|ᾠά τάριχα}} 'eggs [of fish] preserved by salting', citing [[Diphilus (physician)|Diphilus of Siphnos]] quoted in Athenaeus III, 121 C. {{Harvnb|Hughes|Wasson|1947|p=415}}</ref>

It has been suggested that the [[Coptic language|Coptic]] {{lang|cop-Latn|outarakhon}} may be an intermediate form between the Greek and Arabic,<ref name="oed"/> whereas examination of dialectical variants of the Greek {{lang|grc|ᾠόν}} 'egg' include the [[Pontic Greek]] {{lang|pnt|ὠβόν}} (traditionally where the mullets are caught), and {{lang|pnt|ὀβό}} or {{lang|pnt|βό}} in parts of [[Asia Minor]].<ref name="hughes&wasson"/> The modern Greek name comes from the Byzantine Greek, substituting the modern word {{lang|el|αυγό}} for the ancient word {{lang|grc|ᾠóν}}.

==History==
[[File:Simon Seth on botargo .jpg|thumb|The Byzantine 10th century physician [[Simeon Seth]]'s instruction on ''ootaricho'' (the medieval Greek form of the word): avoid it totally. BNF MS suppl. grec 634, f. 254v detail]]
Bottarga production is first documented in the [[Nile Delta]] in the 10th century BCE.<ref name="semplice">Dino Joannides, ''Semplice: Real Italian Food: Ingredients and Recipes'', 2014, {{isbn|1409052486}}, ''s.v.''</ref><ref>Mark Kurlansky, ''Salt: A World History'', Knopf, 2011, {{isbn|030736979X}}, p. 39</ref>

In the 15th century, [[Martino da Como]] describes the production of bottarga by salting then smoking to dry it.<ref>Maestro Martino da Como, trans. Stefania Barzini, ''The Art of Cooking: The First Modern Cookery Book'', 2005, {{isbn|0520928318}}, p. 112</ref>

==Preparation==
Bottarga is made chiefly from the [[roe]] pouch of [[flathead mullet|grey mullet]]. Sometimes it is prepared from [[Atlantic bluefin tuna]] (''bottarga di tonno rosso'') or [[yellowfin tuna]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Coroneo|first=V.|others=Brandas, V., Sanna, A., Sanna, C., Carraro, V., Dessi, S., Meloni, M.|title=Microbiological characterization of botargo. Classical and molecular microbiological methods|journal=Industrie Alimentari|year=2009|volume=48|number=487|pages=29–36|url=http://www.cabdirect.org/abstracts/20093112173.html;jsessionid=B9E73C6777AEE82BBC5C25B7191DE1B6|access-date=2014-04-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407070807/http://www.cabdirect.org/abstracts/20093112173.html;jsessionid=B9E73C6777AEE82BBC5C25B7191DE1B6|archive-date=2014-04-07|url-status=dead}}</ref> It is massaged by hand to eliminate air pockets, then dried and cured in sea salt for a few weeks. The result is a hard, dry slab. Formerly, it was generally coated in [[beeswax]] to preserve it, as it still is in Greece and Egypt.<ref name="OCIF"/><ref name="MFPH">{{citation|last1=Gall|first1=Ken|last2=Reddy|first2=Kolli P.|last3=Regenstein|first3=Joe M.|contribution=Specialty Seafood Products|editor-last1= Martin|editor-first1=Roy E.|title=Marine and Freshwater Products Handbook (2000): 403|publisher=CRC Press|year=2000|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OFKLk3S0fzgC&pg=PA403|page=416|isbn=1566768896}}</ref><ref name="jenkins">{{cite book|last=Jenkins|first=Nancy Harmon|title=The Essential Mediterranean: How Regional Cooks Transform Key Ingredients|publisher=HarperCollins|year=2003|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bsh5gmwkF4cC&pg=PA41|pages=41–43|isbn=0060196513}}</ref> The curing time may vary depending on the producer and the desired texture as well as the preference of the consumers, which varies by country.

Bottarga usually is sliced thinly or grated when it is served.

==Regions==
[[File:Bottarga.jpg|thumb|A display of various packaged Italian bottarga in a gourmet counter]]

===Croatia===
In [[Croatia]], the delicacy is known as butarga or butarda. It is usually fried before serving.

===Tunisia===

Orange and molded in wax or vacuum sealed, Tunisian bottarga is made from mullet eggs and is known as a sought-after product. Initially a feature of the Judeo-Tunisian cuisine, it was introduced in Tunisia by Jews from Constantinople during Ottoman rule, as early as the 16th century.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Directivs |date=2020-03-17 |title=Comment consommer de la boutargue |url=https://www.boutargue-meyer.com/comment-consommer-de-la-boutargue/ |access-date=2023-01-16 |website=Boutargue Meyer - Le spécialiste de la Boutargue à Marseille et en Provence |language=fr-FR}}</ref>

===Egypt===

Bottarga is produced in the [[Port Said]] area.<ref name="semplice"/> It is commonly pronounced Batarekh all over Egypt.

===France===
The usual French name is {{Lang|fr|boutargue}}''.'' In [[Provence]], it is called ''{{Lang|fr|poutargue}}'' and is produced in the city of [[Martigues]].

===Greece===
In [[Greece]], it is called ''avgotaraxo'' or ''avgotaracho'' ({{langx|el|αβγοτάραχο-αυγοτάραχο}}) and is produced primarily from the [[flathead mullet]] caught in Greek lagoons. The whole mature ovaries are removed from the fish, washed with water, salted with natural sea salt, dried under the sun, and sealed in melted beeswax.

Avgotaracho Messolonghiou,<ref>Katselis G., et al. (2005). ''Fisheries research'' 75:138-148</ref> made from fish caught in the [[Messolonghi-Etoliko Lagoons]], is a European and Greek [[protected designation of origin]], one of the few seafood products with a PDO.<ref>[http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/qual/en/pgi_07en.htm Agriculture - Quality Policy - (PDO/PGI) Fresh fish, molluscs and crustaceans and products derived therefrom<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916180852/http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/qual/en/pgi_07en.htm |date=2008-09-16 }}</ref>

===Italy===
[[File:Bottarga vom Thunfisch.jpg|thumb|Bottarga of [[bluefin tuna]] from [[Favignana]], Sicily]]
In [[Italy]], it is made from [[bluefin tuna]] in [[Sicily]], and from [[flathead mullet]] in [[Sardinia]], where it is called [[Sardinian language|Sardinian]] {{lang|sc|butàriga}}.

Its culinary properties may be compared to those of dry [[anchovies]], although it is much more expensive. Often, it is served with olive oil or lemon juice as an appetizer accompanied by bread or [[crostini]]. It is also used in [[pasta]] dishes.<ref name="OCIF">{{cite book|last=Riley|first= Gillian|author-link=Gillian Riley|title=The Oxford Companion to Italian Food|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2007|url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont0000rile|url-access=registration|pages=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont0000rile/page/63 63]&ndash;4, 209, 500|isbn=978-0198606178}}</ref><ref name="jenkins"/>

Bottarga is categorized as a traditional food product ({{langlink|it|prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali}}).

===Mauritania===
Bottarga is produced in [[Mauritania]]<ref>"Imraguen Women's Mullet Botargo", Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity, [http://www.slowfoodfoundation.com/pagine/eng/presidi/dettaglio_presidi.lasso?-id=454 full text] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140409002247/http://www.slowfoodfoundation.com/pagine/eng/presidi/dettaglio_presidi.lasso?-id=454 |date=April 9, 2014 }}</ref> and [[Senegal]].<ref>"La Bottarga tra Sardegna e Senegal", ''Affrica'', 1 June 2010, [http://affrica.org/la-bottarga-tra-sardegna-e-senegal/ full text]</ref>

===Turkey===
In [[Turkey]], bottarga is made from grey mullet roe. It is listed in the [[Ark of Taste]]. It is produced in [[Dalyan]], on the southwestern coast of Turkey, from the mature fish migrating from [[Lake Köyceğiz]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Petrini|first=Carlo|title=Slow Food: The Case for Taste|publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2004|url=https://archive.org/details/slowfoodcasefort0000petr|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/slowfoodcasefort0000petr/page/129 129]|isbn=9780231502375 }}; {{cite web |url=http://www.slowfoodfoundation.com/pagine/eng/arca/dettaglio.lasso?-id=531 |title=Haviar |work=Ark of Taste |access-date= }}</ref>

===Spain===
Bottarga in [[Spain]] is produced and consumed mainly in the country's southeastern region, in the Autonomous Community of [[Region of Murcia|Murcia]] and the [[province of Alicante]]. It is usually made from a variety of roes including, among others, [[Mugil cephalus|grey mullet]], [[Thunnus thynnus|tuna]], [[Sarda sarda|bonito]], or even [[Pogonias cromis|black drum]] or [[Molva molva|common ling]] (the latter two somewhat cheaper and less valued). Much of its production is centered around the town of [[San Pedro del Pinatar]], to the shores of the [[Mar Menor]], where there are also salt ponds.

===United States===

There are several producers in [[Florida]].<ref>Chris Sherman, "Roe, Roe, Roe at Mote", [[Florida Trend]], 10/4/2012 [http://www.floridatrend.com/article/14755/roe-roe-roe-at-mote full text]</ref><ref>John T. Edge, ''Bottarga, an Export That Stays at Home'', ''[[The New York Times]]'' July 22, 2013 [https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/24/dining/bottarga-an-export-that-stays-at-home.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 full text]</ref><ref>''[http://www.bradentongulfislands.com/featured-stories/taste-of-bottarga/ The Taste of Bottarga]'', Bradenton Area Convention and Visitor's Bureau in Bradenton, Florida</ref> The [[Manatee County]] tourist bureau states that the process of making bottarga was depicted in Ancient Egyptian murals and that documentation from the 1500s exists that the Native Americans along the western coast of Florida were consuming dried mullet roe when encountered by European explorers.

===Elsewhere===

There are various small producers elsewhere. For example, bottarga from Atlantic cod (''[[Gadus morhua]]'') is produced in northern Norway, where it is air-dried.<ref>[https://www.bottargaborealis.com/ "Bottarga Borealis"]</ref>

{{commons category|Bottarga}}

==Notes==
<references/>
{{Roe}}
{{Dried fish and seafood}}
{{Fishing industry topics}}

[[Category:Italian cuisine]]
[[Category:Mediterranean cuisine]]
[[Category:Arab cuisine]]
[[Category:Byzantine cuisine]]
[[Category:French cuisine]]
[[Category:Spanish cuisine]]
[[Category:Greek cuisine]]
[[Category:Croatian cuisine]]
[[Category:Senegalese cuisine]]
[[Category:Turkish cuisine]]
[[Category:Appetizers]]
[[Category:Cuisine of Sardinia]]
[[Category:Roe dishes]]