ARCHIVE RANDOM RSS Home About Manifesto Foods Contact Us The Luxe Series: Caviar Today, we are launching the first of a series on luxe foods - oysters, champagne, caviar, etc. These periodic posts will showcase a different luxe food item or topic. Why? Well, because love ‘em or hate ‘em, luxe foods are fascinating because they’re just so luxe. Why do they cost so much? Do they live up to the hype? What even is it? Is there a dupe? In this series, we’ll be answering questions like these and giving a primer on the decadent and delectable. First up - caviar. The name itself is intractably associated with with all things luxe, simply because there’s no such thing as authentic, cheap caviar. Today, we’ll be giving a brief background on what it is, how to distinguish good caviar from even better caviar, and the proper way to eat it. Newbies welcome! So what is it? Caviar is the name given to the fish eggs or ovaries of the acipenseriformes order, a category of fish that includes the sturgeon fish. Once extracted, the eggs are usually salted to aid preservation. There are four main types of caviar - beluga, sterlet, ossetra, and sevruga. Beluga harvested from the Black Sea basin is generally recognized as the best. How does it taste? Salty, fishy, buttery, nutty. Good caviar should have a multitude of flavors that develop on the palate and as an aftertaste, though beginners will find it difficult to discern all the flavors. Most people do not enjoy caviar upon their first tasting, citing it as overly salty or fishy, so like wine, scotch, and many expensive habits, you might have to shell out a few more times to develop the appropriate appreciation. How can you tell if it’s good? By species: caviar generally is ranked in the following order - beluga > sterlet > ossetra > sevruga By size: large, mature > small By color: light-colored > dark By freshness: less salted > more salted By taste: usually, milder varieties > fishier ones, except in some rare cases where there is a high demand by caviar connoisseurs for a particular batch known for its strong, funky flavors. NOT BY PRICE: Not always at least. Price corresponds only with the rarity of the caviar, not with the quality, although there can be correlations. For example, larger eggs will often be rarer because they take longer to mature undamaged. But in any case, keep in mind that experts recommend that newbies start off with “affordable” options because the delicate flavors will often be wasted on an inexperienced palate. Further, blind tastings have shown that many chefs actually prefer the taste of some of the cheaper options. How do you eat it? On a non-metallic spoon, with each bite slightly smaller than 1 tablespoon. Metallic spoons affect the taste of the caviar, so many opt for wooden, pearl, or even plastic. In addition, you want to get enough caviar to cover your tongue in a layer so you can get the full flavor profile. If you go over 1 tablespoon however, you’ll be overwhelmed and won’t be able to pick up on some of the more delicate flavors. Eat it chilled, and as soon as possible after buying. Sure, technically a tin that hasn’t been opened can last up to a month if your fridge is very cold, but the flavor has been degrading the whole time, so it’s best to eat on the day of purchase or at the very latest, a couple days after, and try to eat it all in one sitting. Buying tips? It’s strongly recommended to purchase in-stores as reputable stores will let you sample the caviar before purchasing. Controversy? Yes. As you might imagine, extracting eggs from a fish is not a pretty process. Fish traditionally were stunned before removal, but fish can also be left alive when the eggs are surgically extracted so that they can go on and produce more eggs. Painful. In addition, the high demand for caviar has led to overfishing in most areas. As a result, beluga caviar from the Black Sea basin has been banned in the United States and there are no wild ossetra caviar left in the world. Most of the caviar on the market is farmed. Interestingly enough, caviar from Chinese farms are considered to be of high and consistent quality, as many Chinese farms consulted industry experts in the design of their farms. Share Comments Comments z caviar beluga sturgeon petrossian food luxe [ Previous Post Next Post ] Pages Home About Manifesto Foods Contact Us Posts We Like Dark Roast Espresso + Magnum Bars Photo via yummyinmytumbly RASPBERRIES N’ CREME BISCOFF CREPES Photo via kawaii-food-is-kawaii See more ] © 2015–2021 Manifesto Foods