CaviarMania: How To Make Perfect Salmon Caviar! home | meat grinders | sausage stuffers | sausage casings | e-mail SausageMania | NEW! Sausage Photo Tutorial | sausageMania recipes | more SausageMania recipes | motorize a grinder | tips | links | kippermania | loxmania | NEW! PestoMania | NEW! Even MORE SausageMania Recipes! | NEW! Lox Making Photo Tutorial | NEW! CaviarMania | NEW! Porcini Sausage! How to Make Delicious Salmon Caviar at Home. Easy Recipes From SausageMania.com! The designation "caviar" is traditionally applied to the salted, unfertilized roe of wild Caspian Sea sturgeon, a rapidly diminishing resource as neither Russia nor Iran are able (or willing) to end poaching. While Russian and Iranian caviar is an expensive luxury, going for as much as $500 an ounce, lesser caviars, made from the salted roe of salmon, lump fish, whitefish, steelhead, trout and other species of sturgeon, are more affordable substitutes.

CaviarMania is here to teach you how to make Salmon Caviar, specifically, caviar from Wild Alaskan Salmon. A cracker loaded with Fresh King Salmon Caviar Salmon Caviar is ridiculously simple to make. The most difficult part is getting hold of fresh salmon eggs. Fortunately, here in Alaska, salmon eggs are often discarded, or rolled in Borax, frozen, and used as bait - to catch more salmon, of course. So during the salmon runs in June through August, fresh eggs can be had in abundance if you have the right connections. If you do not, then you need salmon - fresh, whole, uncleaned, iced salmon, and then you hope most of them are hens, that is, full of eggs. You can do without the fish, if you can tap into a good supply of fresh eggs, which, in Alaska, the home of SausageMania, LoxMania, KipperMania and now, CaviarMania, can often be done if you have fishing friends who are wiling to save the roe for you. A word of caution, however: you must know and trust your roe purveyor to care for the roe.

If the fish have been left in the sun for a few hours before being cleaned, or the roe is not immediately iced, you may find youself spending time, energy and salt to produce an inferior product! Two beautiful skeins of roe! The roe is removed from the salmon. A bowl of salmon roe ready for processing. The only tools needed are a few bowls and a screen of 1/4" or 5/16" galvanized mesh to fit over one of the bowls, a large strainer and a 1-gallon ZipLoc bag. The only ingredients are the salmon eggs, salt and cold water. The most time-consuming part is pushing the eggs through the mesh. The brining time necessary to prepare the caviar varies from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of the eggs and your tolerance for saltiness. A few words of caution about salmon roe: handle the skeins with care. Keep them cold at all times. Never, never, never freeze salmon roe unless you’re planning to make fish bait.

The same goes for the finished product: freezing wrecks the eggs, and is especially harsh on the sensual “pop-ness” of the individual eggs as you eat them. Fresh caviar has a unique texture: you can feel each separate egg on the tongue, and each egg pops with a flavorful explosion. Frozen caviar is “dead.” It’s slushy, slimy and inert. OK, so now you have several skeins of fresh, cold salmon eggs from a reputable source. From which species of salmon? Eggs from sockeye (red) and pink (humpy) salmon are small, and require less brining time. Eggs from Coho (silver) salmon are larger and require more brining. Eggs from king (Chinook) salmon, and from chum (dog or keta) salmon are the largest, and need the longest time. (Keta eggs are prized by Russians, who feel they make the best salmon caviar.) Whatever kind of roe you have, you will need a galvanized screen to separate the eggs from their membranous attachment.

A galvanized mesh screen with 1/4 - 5/16” holes is the best; cut it to fit tightly over a large bowl. Then get hold of some non-iodized salt. Coarse is better than fine. Spread each skein, membrane side up, on the screen and work the eggs through the screen and through the mesh with your fingers. Membranes will get caught in the screen, so every now and again, remove the stuck membranes and discard. From time to time, remove the screen, and gently scrape off the eggs hanging from the bottom with a rubber or plastic spatula. Just one ingredient: non-iodized salt. Just one tool: a piece of galvanized mesh. A skein being positioned on the mesh. The skein will be rotated to put the egg membrane on top. Push the eggs through the mesh. Next, fill a large bowl with the coldest water you can get and dissolve enough salt in it until you have a saturated saline solution, meaning that there will be undissolved excess salt in the bottom. Pour the separated eggs into the cold brine and gently stir. Set a timer for 10 minutes.

After ten minutes, take a spoonful of eggs and place in a small strainer, then rinse them in running cold water to rinse off the exterior salt. Taste them. If not salty enough, wait another five minutes and taste again. When the eggs are salty enough for your taste, pour them into a large strainer and rinse them with running cold water, gently turning them over and over with your hands to wash off all the outside salt. Now put the eggs in a cold saturated saline solution for 10-30 minutes, depending on size of eggs and your taste for saltiness. Once you've sampled the eggs, and gotten them to your level of saltiness, rinse in cold running water to remove surface salt. At this stage, the eggs still have active osmotic cell walls, so, if you over-salted them, just soak them in cold water for several minutes, and the salt will travel back out of the eggs and into the water. Once you are completely satisfied with the saltiness of the product, place the egg-laden strainer in a large bowl and fill a gallon ZipLoc bag with cold water.

Place the bag on top of the eggs and put the bowl with strainer, eggs and ZipLoc in the refrigerator overnight. The weight of the ZipLoc bag packs and compresses the eggs, which helps make them spreadable onto crackers or whatever you wish to spread them on. Now you have caviar! It will last 7-10 days in the fridge, after which it won’t spoil, but will acquire an unpleasant fishy taste. If you have a vacuum packer, you can vacuum-pack the jars, which will allow the product to remain decent from 2-3 weeks, if refrigerated, before becoming "fishy." Weight down the eggs with a ZipLoc bag. Store the weighted eggs overnight in the fridge. The next day, the caviar is compacted. Unless you have a vacuum packer that will evacuate Mason jars, you'll need to punch a hole in the tops of the jars to let the air out, and vacuum-pack them in bags. They will then keep in the fridge for up to three weeks. Placing a jar of caviar in the packer. The final product safe in the refrigerator. Now that you've finished, what are you going to do with all that caviar?

Well, it'll go faster than you think. You can spread it on crackers, make Blini or Caviar Omelets (but don't make them "hard" or you'll ruin the caviar). If you make Blini, serve with iced vodka. Preparing a plate of Salmon Caviar Blini. Blini are Russian pancakes, really the same thing as crepes. For the quantity of Caviar we just made, we'll need a lot of Vodka! Serve the Blini with a dollop of sour cream and some iced vodka. You'll be surprised how quickly a quart of caviar goes! How To Make Caviar | Gourmet Food Store How To Make Caviar Log in to rate this item. How To Make Caviar You love eating caviar, but how much do you really know about making it? We delve into the world of caviar and explore how caviar is made. As luxurious and coveted as caviar is, it does seems deceptively easy to make: after all, you just need some fish eggs and some salt, right? Not so fast. While the ingredients might be simple, the methods of making caviar are not.

Much like aging a fine cheese or selecting the best grapes for wine, there’s an art to making caviar that goes beyond tossing a little salt on some fish eggs. The birth of caviar - almost literally- begins with the removal of the fish eggs (roe) from the sturgeon. One of the many reasons sturgeon populations have been in such sharp decline is because the most predominant method of extracting the eggs from the sturgeon involves the actual killing of the fish (either before or after the removal of the egg sack). The roe is sieved and "filtered" into different sizes, and then carefully cleaned and rinsed. Classification takes place according to size and color and the caviar moves on to the salting step. The purpose of salting is primarily to preserve the caviar, and maintain as much of the 'fresh' flavor as possible. Therefore, the amount of salt used can vary. "Malossol" caviar - the most superior type- is prepared with little salt. Other types of caviar can be more or less salted. Although things have changed over the years, one thing still remains true: the salt.

A special kind of salt was - and is- used to prepare caviar, a chlorine-free salt from the Russian Astrakhan Steppe, stored for seven years to assure the least chlorine content. How to Make Caviar: Harvesting the Eggs The first step to making caviar is fishing or harvesting a female sturgeon ripe with eggs (for a full definition on caviar, see our What is Caviar section). Caviar is made from the unfertilized eggs of the female sturgeon. The sturgeon is fished, opened, and the eggs are manually removed, cleaned and separated. And here’s where the caviar master’s skill comes into play, as he or she carefully removes the membrane surrounding the eggs and separates them, gently and expertly, so the caviar’s texture is preserved, and the eggs aren’t crushed. The delicate eggs are then carefully strained, and salted. How to Make Caviar: Salting Fine caviar is always “malossol”, a Russian terms for “little salt”. Salting preserves the caviar, extending its shelf life, but it also gives it a wonderful subtle flavor.

Salting caviar is a skill acquired over time: too much salt and the delicate walls of the eggs break, too little of it and the caviar will spoil and the taste will be off. The highest quality caviar has a salt content of 3% (and sometimes even less). Salt is added to the caviar, left to impregnate and then washed off. How to Make Caviar: Drying, Grading and Tinning After salting, the caviar is dried over steel racks and then tested so it can be graded (find more information on caviar grades here ). The texture, color, glossiness, size and many other factors are considered, which will determine the quality of the caviar and grade it will get. This is the the final step before it is packaged in tins packed tightly with airtight lids, and then sent to be sold. How To Make Caviar With Molecular Gastronomy: Spherification Chances are you’ve encountered many kinds of caviar in restaurants that are definitely NOT made of fish eggs at all. These types of "caviar" are made using spherification, a molecular gastronomy technique.

This relatively new and innovative cooking process puts science into cooking, using chemistry and physics to create fun and unexpected shapes and flavors with food. Spherification uses sodium alginate (a salt derived from algae) and calcium chloride to create a membrane around liquid, encapsulating it and creating a small sphere that look a lot like real caviar, bursting with flavor once you bite into them. Fruit juices, chocolate, cocktails, soups, sauces, desserts, those are just a few of the fun and delicious things you can turn into "caviar" using molecular gastronomy. Did You Find This Article Helpful? (0.00) # of Ratings: 0 Log in to rate this item. There are currently no ratings for this item. Be the first to rate this item. The Nasty Bits: Salmon Roe | Serious Eats The Nasty Bits: Salmon Roe 31 Fish eggs, or roe, are harvested from so many kinds of fish and prepared in such innumerable ways that it's difficult to know where to begin. The Russians are famous for their caviar harvested from sturgeon although red caviar, or salmon roe, is also beloved.

The Japanese eat the same red caviar (called ikura) with white rice, either plainly or rolled up in sheets of seaweed. And if you've browsed the food section at Ikea, then you may have noticed that the Swedes are mighty fond of a smoked and salted cod roe paste that's squeezed from a tube onto sandwiches and crackers. What unifies all these diverse fish egg experiences? No matter the size of the egg or the species from which it came, fish roe is a globule-shaped vehicle to taste the ocean. Though tiny, roe is so full of flavor that you wonder if what you're tasting is real. That's the sense I get at least when eating a spoonful of black or red caviar—that popping release of briny yet sweet ocean liqueur. Though you'll pay a hefty price for black caviar, red caviar is just as delicious and a fraction of the cost. It's available at most Japanese or Korean stores where sushi-grade fish is sold, and can also be found packed in glass jars at artisanal food stores. Salmon roe is very good with blinis and sour cream, or even spooned as is onto buttered toast.

A bowl of white rice topped with a layer of ikura is a meal in itself with perhaps a few pickles on the side. For years I ate it straight out of the package before realizing you could cook with it. The Japanese steam ikura with pieces of lightly salted, seared salmon in a variation of another classic dish of chicken and egg (both preparations are plays on the concept of mother and child.) Steamed, the roe still retains its integrity and is milder in taste, losing a bit of the brininess. Make your scrambled eggs with salmon roe and any fresh herbs of your choice. What the roe lacks in fat, the egg handily provides. The result is a salty, rich, indulgent variation of your typical morning eggs. Understanding More About Caviar by agustin herrera - issuu issuu Issuu on Google+ Without any question, caviar is popular to be the most luxurious food globally. In fact, you can find people who would like flavour it. It comes from the salted fish ovum or roe. A sturgeon fish is considered as the real caviar. As much as possible, learn more info on caviar.

Later on, you’ll acquire more details regarding the proper ways how to eat it. Thus, when it’s time for you to taste it, you will know already what you must do. If you like to eat caviar, you must ensure that you have a sufficient amount of budget for it. It is derived from unfertilized eggs of a sturgeon. The two areas where it started from are in Iran and Russia. A certain sturgeon known as beluga releases adequate amount of roes that happen to be observed from Caspian sea. However, today, you will see that its populace has diminished. This may lead to other options aside from the Iranian and Russian caviar. Several nations have their own caviar too just like in Bulgaria, America, Europe, and even Latin America. In addition to caviar beluga, here are the other types: Caviar Ossetra derives from Ossetra sturgeon in Russia and Iran. It is acknowledged for its yellowish and brown color. It is more liked by many individuals than Beluga. It is because it melts in your mouth. Imperial develops from a mature sturgeon. It offers nutty and fruity taste. It’s usually in green-colored or gold color.

For those who have a limited funds and you really want to eat caviar, you can try eating Sevruga caviar. This is really reasonably priced plus more obtainable compared to the other kinds. From America, they also have their particular type of caviar. From Mississippi River, the roe of hackleback sturgeon is manufactured into caviar. For the expensive caviars, this is a good choice. But many people declare that it has a strong taste. Another variety is recognized as red caviar that is also known as Salmon caviar. It is made out of Salmon roe. It is also inexpensive and, it is saltier and juicier. Even China have their own version of caviar. Kaluga is available in the canal of Amur and Liman, China. There is similarity with Beluga. Having said that, be aware that it is only approved if it is fresh. The reasons why people enjoy caviar. Most of the time, only those people who are rich are able to buy caviar. Because caviar is dear and uncommon, those individuals feel valued every time they eat it.

But nowadays, it can be eaten by anyone who would like to taste it. Some individuals don’t like it for the reason that it is obtained from the unfertilized eggs of sturgeon. You’ll also find others who are simply curious about it. For you to enjoy its flavour, you should follow the right techniques of eating it. The first principle is to ensure that it comes from the sturgeon fish. Lastly, just experience its flavor when you bite. Remember, you are enjoying essentially the most lavish food on Earth. You can get different types of caviar on the net. Just be certain the person who owns the website is legitimate. Check Out The Full Indepth Details Here: Understanding More About Caviar 1/1 Powered by TCPDF ( All pages: agustin herrera Follow publisher Unfollow publisher Be the first to know about new publications. The Benefits of Eating Lumpfish Roe Blog The Benefits of Eating Lumpfish Roe There are times when you might not have enough money to buy yourself some caviar, but that should not be a problem. The reason for this is because there is an alternative food which is very delicious. Do you have any idea? It is called lumpfish roe.

These are simply the eggs of a lumpfish. These eggs are treated before they are released to the market, and the treatment of lumpfish roe is done through salting and then canning. The salting is just a little bit, and that is why it is advisable to refrigerate the eggs in order to maintain the freshness. Preparing a lumpfish roe delicacy Just like with every other meal that you want to prepare to impress and satisfy the taste of your family and friends, you will need to prepare everything when making a lumpfish roe meal. Follow the instructions carefully and get the right equipments and ingredients. You can achieve the same satisfaction that comes with having the real caviar that is prepared with the sturgeon's unfertilized eggs. The meaning of the word caviar Caviar is the roe of a particular fish, and it originated from the Persians, who originally pronounced it as “chav-jar". The translation of it is “a piece of power", and it could only be eaten for medication purposes because they believed that it provided them with stamina. Lumpfish roe was a special delicacy for the upper class people in the community, and it was very rare to find it in the homes of peasants.

They used to use it as an appetizer, usually served with bread. Actually the fact that there are a lot of benefits that come with eating lumpfish roe is more important than the fact that the food is tasty. Major use of lumpfish roe Apart from lumpfish roe and roe from sturgeon, there are other 24 main species in the Caspian Sea, whose eggs are also used to prepare caviar. The difference comes depending on which country the delicacy comes from. Consuming lumpfish roe has a number of benefits due to the various minerals that are contained in this delicacy. It contains selenium, phosphorous, magnesium, calcium, and vitamins like for example A, C and D. The food does not contain fat or carbohydrates. Amino acids like histadine and arginine are also found in this type of food. The serving of caviar should however be moderate because it contains sodium and cholesterol, which when taken in huge quantities will have side effects on your body. The main advantage of eating lumpfish roe is the ability of the food to revitalize the facial skin and that is one way we can care for our skins in a natural way without using the industrial chemical products.

Some cosmetics are actually developed from the components found in the lumpfish roe. In addition to this, your body will take in the components without experiencing any allergy-related side effects. 13 Things You Didn't Know About Caviar - Food Republic 12 Ways To Make A Lobster Roll Caviar is one of the oldest deliacies Before raw oysters, before Champagne , before even truffles were deemed a delicacy, caviar was coveted by kings and the aristocracy. Ancient Greeks, Romans and Russian tsars were all known to splurge on caviar. Caviar is not as expensive as you think OK, it’s definitely not cheap. But caviar prices have dropped in recent years as advances in aquaculture, especially domestically, have made farmed sturgeon more available and affordable. Coincidentally, the U.S. was also responsible for a severe drop in prices in the early 19th century, when lake sturgeon was discovered to be plentiful here. The salmon roe on your sushi is not caviar! Caviar was originally harvested by Russian and Persian fishermen in the Caspian Sea.

The term refers to unfertilized salt-cured fish eggs from different species of sturgeon, including Ossetra, Sevruga and Beluga. Just about all 26 species of sturgeon have been used for caviar. Caviar is judged on its color, flavor, texture and maturity The finest, most expensive caviars are older, larger eggs that are lighter in color. Lower quality caviar is younger, with a less intensely fishy flavor, and darker in color. It’s a good thing, too, for caviar newbies, who are more likely to start on the cheaper, milder stuff. Caviar lasts more than a day Because it’s technically cured fish, caviar has a decent shelf-life, even after it’s opened. Store it in the coldest part of your refrigerator, as close to the freezer as possible, and it should stay fresh for about a month. Caviar is like wine Caviar junkies and VIPs will seek out reserve caviar, the rarest and most expensive of all caviars. In the Middle Ages, many countries had laws that required the finest caviar to be reserved for the monarchy.

Reserve caviar would have been that caviar. Caviar is like Prozac Historically, caviar was prescribed to alleviate depression. Hey, wouldn’t you feel better if someone gave you caviar? It’s not as fishy as it sounds: recent studies show that high doses of omega-3 fatty acids – caviar is rich in omega-3s – may alleviate symptoms of depression and bipolar disorder. Caviar is like Viagra Cooking With Fresh Roe: A Rite Of Spring : NPR Get recipes for Sauteed White Perch Roe With Onions And Garlic , Rockfish Roe With Herbs (above), Baked Whole Shad With Roe and Taramasalata . When I went to my local fishmonger recently, I noticed beside the glistening sets of shad roe a couple of unmarked plastic containers nestled in the crushed ice of the display case. One held white perch roe, I was told, and the other rockfish roe. I began to experiment.

I dredged tiny pale yellow sacs filled with delicate white perch eggs in seasoned flour; I dipped the darker roe of the rockfish (known elsewhere as striped bass) in cornmeal and sauteed it in butter. After years on the Mid-Atlantic coast, I have learned to love the ephemeral spring pleasure of shad roe. It had never occurred to me, however, that the roe (eggs) of other fish might be cooked and enjoyed as well. Cooking Fresh Roe David S. Deutsch David S. Deutsch Many recipes call for parboiling the roe before sauteing or baking. I go straight to the frying pan. It should be cooked slowly over low heat. It's tricky to get it just right, and overcooked roe is not only dry but also taste-free. Also, the sacs can explode, and fish eggs can fly at the cook and splatter all over the kitchen. However, if you carefully prick the roe's membrane with a needle, there's less possibility of eruption. The fishmonger said most fish roe gets thrown out because shoppers — like me — are unfamiliar with anything but shad roe.

Spring fish, he said, are full of roe but most people say they don't want it. It's not like it's a new idea. Fish roe has been relished at least since ancient Egypt, and was commonly eaten in the U.S. as recently as the 20th century. In a 1941 press release, for example, the U.S. Department of the Interior encouraged Americans to eat fish roe. "In all civilized countries," the release reads, "the roes of certain fishes are of recognized high quality and classed among the most valuable of fishery products." At that time, the roe of salmon, sturgeon, whitefish and herring roe were all canned "for the delectation of American gourmets," according to this press release. It was also pushed as a good source of protein — as good as the fish it comes from. However, it also is high in cholesterol. I began to experiment. I dredged tiny pale yellow sacs filled with delicate white perch eggs in seasoned flour; I dipped the darker roe of the rockfish (known elsewhere as striped bass) in cornmeal and sauteed it in butter.

The white perch roe was mild with a creamy texture, while the rockfish roe had a stronger flavor, more like shad roe. The most adventurous I got was to cook a whole roe shad (the female fish) stuffed with sacs of shad roe and cooked with herbs, lemon and leeks for more than six hours in a slow oven. Article continues after sponsorship Shad is an incredibly bony fish, and the theory is that the tiny bones will almost melt through prolonged exposure to heat, the fishmonger said. "You must be kidding," I replied. That delicate line between perfectly cooked fish and overcooked fish? Turns out you can cross it when cooking a whole shad. Shockingly, both the fish and the roe were moist and flavorful. About The Author Bonny Wolf is Kitchen Window's contributing editor, a commentator on NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday and regular contributor to the Washington Post food section. She is the author of Talking with My Mouth Full: Crab Cakes, Bundt Cakes and Other Kitchen Stories (St. Martins 2006), and is working on a book about the foods of Maryland's Eastern Shore. More information is available at bonnywolf.com .

Fava Beans: A Little Spring On Your Plate Some shellfish roe, too, is considered a great delicacy — particularly that of lobsters, scallops and sea urchins. Shellfish roe is often called coral, referring to its orange-red color. These eggs are used in sauces or to make compound butters. Roe curdles if allowed to boil so should be added to hot, not boiling liquids. Then there's cured roe. Salting sturgeon eggs turns them into caviar, the most luxurious of roe. Bottarga (Italian) or boutargue (French) is sometimes called poor man's caviar. The roe of gray mullet is salted, pressed and dried in the sun. Once, it was sold encased in wax but now is more often vacuum packed. Like other processed roes, bottarga/boutargue is available online. It is thinly sliced and served on toast or in salads, or grated and tossed with pasta. Sicilians put slices on ripe tomatoes. Taramasalata is the Greek take on what to do with cured fish roe.

The fish of choice is gray mullet, but because that is hard to find, most taramasalata is made with carp roe. I found a jar at a Greek market and made a creamy dip using milk-soaked bread, oil, lemon juice and yogurt. It was a beautiful pale pink and mildly addictive. Both fresh and cured roe are commonly used to make sushi. If a menu lists something with uni, for example, that's sea urchin roe. Fresh or cured, bright red or pale yellow, fish roe is a culinary rite of spring. So don't balk so fast when you're asked if you want to keep the roe. Sauteed White Perch Roe With Onions And Garlic How to eat Caviar How to eat caviar? There are very few people who have never heard of caviar. It’s an extremely popular delicacy not just in the United States, but all around the world. Caviar’s reputation begs the question — why do people like it so much? What is so special about it? Caviar is a magnificent natural product that amazes people with its unique and delicate taste.

It is really a one-of-a-kind food that leaves you with a feeling that no other food can leave you with. Here’s some information on how to eat caviar properly — general and essential tips on how to get the most out of this product’s taste, how to distinguish between types, and how to appreciate its flavor. Useful tips for all caviar eaters Before trying caviar, learn about what it is. Caviar is a type of roe, and roe is the eggs that come from fish (most famously, the sturgeon). True caviar can come from four types of sturgeon: Beluga, Osetra, Sterlet, or Sevruga. More affordable caviar is made from the American paddlefish or salmon. Serve it in the best way possible. The traditional way to serve caviar is as an appetizer. Caviar should be kept cold and served chilled, never at room temperature. Metallic spoons should not be used while serving or eating it because they could leave an unfortunate metallic taste on the roe. Garnish the caviar. Traditional garnishes will almost always improve your caviar-eating experience.

Sour cream, hard-boiled eggs, chopped onions, and fresh herbs like parsley and dill are common garnishes that can enhance the taste of the caviar you’re eating. Take small bites. Traditionally, caviar has been consumed in amounts smaller than a tablespoon. Small bites help the consumer experience its distinct flavor without becoming overwhelmed by its texture. Appearance and Taste Differences Beluga caviar: Beluga is one of the most expensive and rare species of sturgeon that lives in the Caspian Sea. Containing the highest nutritional value, Beluga caviar is extremely appreciated by gourmets. The aroma it gives off is elegant and rich, practically fully lacking a fishy odor; the taste is similar to hazelnut. The large fish eggs (2.5 mm in diameter) literally melt in your mouth. This caviar perfectly pairs with champagne or heavily chilled vodka. Tip: There’s a category of evaluation of Beluga caviar according to its color. 0 = dark, 00 = a medium-dark color, and 000 = a light, usually pearl gray color.

Although this criterion is not a guarantee of the caviar’s true taste, experts continue to insist that the best Beluga caviar belongs to the 000 category. Osetra caviar: The eggs of Osetra are smaller than Beluga ones, and they vary in color from golden-brown to greenish to grey. The quantity of product bought by Osetra caviar lovers is usually a bit more modest than Beluga caviar fans, as Osetra has a very special taste—spicy, with the slight flavor of the sea and seaweed. Nevertheless, many people consider it to be the finest-tasting caviar of all because it is delicious on its own, without any additions or garnishes. The only thing Osetra caviar really needs so that its unusual taste can be fully savored is a light amount of salt on top. Sevruga caviar: The eggs of this certain type of fish are small and black. Although its nutritional value is not as high as that of Beluga and Osetra caviar, Sevruga caviar has a wonderful flavor and a delicate aroma. These characteristics award it third place on our list.

The covers of Sevruga eggs are more resilient than Beluga eggs, but this does not detract from the advantages of Sevruga caviar. It is best served on a pedestal of ice. Salmon roe: The eggs of salmon are so unusually colored that some call its large eggs “apricot pearls”. They have a specific, sensitive taste that comes with a mild fishy flavor. Salmon roe is often served on traditional Russian pancakes called blini. Trout roe: This fish has slight pink or gold eggs of medium size. They can be distinguished by their vivid, salty aroma. Trout roe is very sticky, so much so that it is not particularly noticeable when served on canapés or sandwiches. Since trout roe is usually considered too salty to be eaten on its own, this caviar is excellent as an ingredient in a variety of dishes that contain cream products, including cream cheese, sour cream, and even mayonnaise. Appreciating the Flavor Imagine this: you have decided that you finally want to try caviar for the first time ever.

You buy a nice jar of it, speed home, and realize you can’t possibly wait any longer — its unusual aroma beckons your taste buds, and your mouth waters with anticipation. You open the jar and try the delicacy without hesitating. You might fall in love with its intense flavor from the very beginning; on the other hand, you might not feel all of its many delights from that first bite. In order to have a fully formed opinion on the amazing product and to understand its real flavor, don’t be shy to taste it again and appreciate all of the advantages of the delicacy. Don’t be discouraged if the first kind you try does not automatically taste good. You might want to try other variants of caviar, since every single one has a distinct taste. Eating caviar should leave you feeling satisfied and happy, and the best way to do it is the right way. Know how to get the best out of every bite of your specific kind of caviar, and you’re guaranteed to enjoy it and crave more.

Sturgeon Caviar Beluga Caviar Kaluga Caviar Osetra Caviar Sevruga Caviar Sterlet Caviar Siberian Sturgeon Caviar White Sturgeon Caviar Hackleback Caviar Caviar Gifts and Samplers Non-Sturgeon Caviar Paddlefish Caviar Bowfin Caviar Salmon Roe Whitefish Caviar Tobiko Caviar Sushi Caviar Tobiko Lumpfish Caviar Capelin Caviar Botarga Caviar Stromluga Caviar Herring Caviar Carp Caviar - Taramosalata Caviar Region American Caviar Russian Caviar Accompaniments Accoutrements de la table Caviar Packaging Blini Eggs Crème Fraîche Kosher Caviar Foie Gras Type Duck Liver Foie Gras Specialties Foie Gras Top Brands Hudson Valley Rougie Foie Gras Preparation Fresh Foie Gras Fully-Cooked Foie Gras Mi-cuit Foie Gras Foie Gras Torchon Foie Gras Specialties Duck and Goose Fat Duck Confit Pate de Foie Gras Duck Rillettes Duck Mousse Duck Breast Cheese Type Aged Cheese

 Blue-Veined Cheese Brie Cheese Camembert Cheese Cheddar Cheese Chevre Cheese Fondue Cheese Fresh Cheese Gouda Cheese Parmesan Cheese Texture Hard Cheese - Firm Cheese Grating, Shredded Cheeses Semi-Hard Cheese Semi-Soft Cheese Soft Cheese Cheese Gifts, Assortments The Health Beneficial Effects of Fish Roe The Health Beneficial Effects of Fish Roe Published: Last Edited: 23rd March, 2015 This essay has been submitted by a student.

This is not an example of the work written by our professional essay writers. Fish serves as a vital dietary requirement in providing nutrients and particularly, protein to human for growth. Increased demand in fish consumption under limited supply of fish resources leads to the area of exploitation of fish by-products. From statistic perspective, the reason to explain the elevated utilisation of fish by-products is that out of the 50 to 60% of the catch meant for human consumption, approximately 25% of the catch is considered inedible (such as scales, fish head and fish bone, just to name a few) and will be discarded (Rustad, 2003). Rustad (2003) further elucidates the definition of 'by-product' which is neither waste to be compost and destroy nor viscera of the fish. It is, however, the edible part of fish that can be utilized after production of main product or undergoes certain food processing technologies. Despite the fact that the by-products are highly perishable due to enzymatic and microbiological reactions, they are rich in protein and lipid contents as well as vitamins and other trace elements.

This essay discussed solely on the fish roe, one of the fish by-products that gain arising interest from researchers, with respect to its constituents and the related health benefits to human well-being. Fish roe is the egg that is separated from the supporting connective tissue at maturity, before spawning (commonly known as fertilization). In general, fish roe is highly consumed around the world, particularly in Japan, Italy, Greece and China, and caviar is an example that is recognized as a luxury delicacy. Only salted unfertilized roe of sturgeon harvested from the Caspian Sea can be known as caviar as its nutrient profile is valuable and irreplaceable through consumption of fish roe from other species. The quality of the fish roe can be evaluated based on the lipid and fatty acids profile (Bledsoe, Bledsoe, & Rasco, 2003), the integrity of the roe structure and the appearance to be free from blood veins (Gagne & Adambounou, 1994). Normally, the fresh fish roe will be processed for the purpose of extending its shelf life and enhancing the eating quality attributes.

The common food preservation methods in used are salting, fermentation and drying. After all, fish roe contains significant amount of essential proteins, lipids (waxes, triacylglycerols, phospholipids and cholesterol), fatty acids (C16:0, C18:1n-9c, C16:1n-7, C20:5n-3 and C22:6n-3), vitamins and other trace minerals. Nevertheless, the variability of these constituents in fish roe changes across species, breeds and between individual fish, condition and maturity of eggs, fish farming condition, feed composition, climate, processing methods and conditions, size of fish roe and other factors. Fish roe is high in lipids and majority of the lipids are waxes, triacylglycerols (TG), phospholipids (PL) and cholesterol. In the total lipid context, majority of the lipid is polar in nature and PL serves as the energy source in fish roe, instead of TG (Bledsoe, Bledsoe, & Rasco, 2003). Food processing technologies is a key factor to change the lipid composition in food roe.

However, this occurrence is unlikely to take place during cooking, in which the extent to which the lipid content in fish roe will not decrease significantly, with respect to the processing methods, given that the outer membrane of fish row remains intact to serve as a physical barrier against mass transport (Mendez, Fernandez, Pazo, & Grompone, 1992). The cooking of fish roe in boiling water might induce the migration of lipids to the liquid cooking medium; but the boiling water prevents further oxygen from dissolving in the medium and hence reduces the permeability of tissue to oxygen. As a result, cooking in boiling water will not change the lipid content substantially and meanwhile, does not affect the fatty acids content and stability. On the contrary, without the presence of liquid cooking medium, i.e. using microwave oven; fish roe does not undergo any changes in lipid content, though the fish roe will shrink in size due to large amount of water removed from the tissue. Besides, fish roes that are processed by salting will induce the water migration within the tissues to the environment, leading to lower water content but concentrate the lipid content.

The predominant essential fatty acids in fish roe are of long chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA): C20:5n-3 eicospaentaenoic acid (EPA) and C22:6n-3 docosahexaenic acid (DHA). Studies have been found that consumption of EPA and DHA-diet rich will prevent and cure cardiovascular disease (CVD) since they possess the anti-inflammatory effect (Hayashi, Tanaka, Hibino, Umeda, Kawamitsu, Fujimoto, et al., 1999). The recommended daily dietary of EPA and DHA to reduce the risk of CVD and cure the existing CVD is 500mg/day and 1g/day, respectively (Rincon-Cervera, Suarez-Medina, & Guil-Guerrero, 2009). The health beneficial effects of EPA are decreasing platelet aggregation, inhibit formation of very low-density lipoprotein and prevent inflammatory and allergic responses (Uauy & Valenzuela, 2000).

DHA is particularly essential to maintain human health and its content can be found in total lipid (TL), sterol esters (SE), triacylglycerols (TG), phospholipids (PL), phosphatidylcholine (PC), and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) fractions of the fish roe (Shirai, Higuchi, & Suzuki, 2006). On the other hand, PC is the main components of PL and high percentage of PC, which is rich in DHA, is also effective in improving the memory and learning ability. Consequently, high intake of PC and DHA is effective to prevent learning ability impairment (Shirai, Higuchi, & Suzuki, 2006). Besides, large amount of DHA intake not only assist in building the intellectual functions of children's brain, DHA also maintain the cognitive brain function of the elderly and those suffered from dementia and Alzheimer's disease. This because there is a substantial loss in n-3 PUFA found in the phospholipids of gray matter and hippocampus of the elderly people (Suzuki, Park, Tamura, & Ando, 1998).

The work of Suzuki and others (1998) also demonstrates that learning ability is associated with the synaptic membrane fluidity. Therefore, mice fed with DHA-rich diet will increase the synaptic membrane fluidity and apparently, greater amount of DHA is required to cause the same effect on aged mice. Other health benefits exhibited by adequate intake of EPA and DHA are healthy foetal development, cancer prevention and decrease the occurrence of rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and lung disease (Berge & Barnathan, 2005). After all, long term intake of dietary lipids abundant in n-3 PUFA is highly recommended, regardless the age and health conditions of consumers. There is evidence that demonstrates that fatty acid composition of fish roe is affected by diet (Linko, Kaitaranta, & Vuorela, 1985; Shirai, Higuchi, & Suzuki, 2006). This leads to the query of the eating pattern of fish. In the food chain, fish normally consumed on marine plants and planktons.

Plankton lipid has considerable high amount of n-3 PUFA, particularly EPA, and greater amount of PUFA will be synthesized by planktons that are able to survive in low temperature (Rincon-Cervera, Suarez-Medina, & Guil-Guerrero, 2009). Therefore, the fish that fed on plankton is able to enhance the overall fatty acids profile of fish roe. Another issue that needs to consider in n-3 PUFA is that it is susceptible to lipid oxidation under prolonged storage due to its high degree of unsaturation (Rosa, Scano, Melis, Deiana, Atzeri, & Dessi, 2009). As a result of oxidation, the formation of oxidation products is significant such as fatty acids peroxides and non-radical intermediates. Some alteration in the nutritional benefits and quality will occur, besides of development of rancid off-flavours, changing of membrane fluidity and destruction of mitochondrial membrane to a great extent. Nevertheless, the oxidative stability of n-3 PUFA can be achieved through food processing technologies such as drying and salting.

Another vital constituent found in fish roe is the wax esters (WE), which constituted almost 70% of TL in fish roe. In fish, WE is responsible in buoyancy, permeability control and provide insulation and energy reserve (Kaitaranta and Ackman, 1981; cited in Bledsoe, Bledsoe, & Rasco, 2003). High WE determines the degree of maturity of the fish roe, too. The rationale is that after egg fertilisation, WE is required as the fatty acid reserve to modify the structural lipids (Bledsoe, Bledsoe, & Rasco, 2003). In fact, WE mainly consists of saturated fatty alcohols, monounsaturated fatty acids and long chain n-3 PUFA. In this context, PUFA further received public interest owing to its antiplatlet activity towards inhibiting the platelets activation factors and thrombin able to resist the extensive development of antherosclerosis (Kalogeropoulos, Nomikos, & Chiou, 2008).

Usually, the processed fish roe products may coated with a thin protective layer of beeswax to retain the moisture content within the tissue, but reduce the TL content of the final product. Notably, Rosa and others (2009) observes that higher oxidative stability of n-3 PUFA can also achieved through enrichment of WE on fish roe. It is worthwhile to realize that despite of the health benefits confer by n-3 PUFA, fish roe contain a significant amount of cholesterol as well. The concern of regular consumption of cholesterol-rich food, as the paramount factor that will lead to CVD despises consumers from eating fish roe. Although cholesterol level of fish roe showed exceptionally high value as compared to fish flesh, chicken, beef and pork, it is still lower than a whole chicken egg, i.e. the cholesterol in fish roe constitutes only Â¼ of the a whole chicken egg (Bledsoe, Bledsoe, & Rasco, 2003).

Nevertheless, it is unlikely that the dietary cholesterol contributes to atherosclerosis and CVD since fish roe contains high concentration of DHA and EPA that offset the effect of dietary cholesterol and hence, shows declination in plasma cholesterol level (Shirai, Higuchi, & Suzuki, 2006). Meanwhile, n-3 PUFA helps to reduce the serum TAG and increase the amount total high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, or commonly known as a 'good cholesterol', owing to its potential to prevent the risk of CVD. However, the downside is that the hepatic TG is increased as cholesterol from blood arteries is transported back to the liver for excretion (Higuchi, Shirai, & Suzuki, 2008). Apart from this, the research of Osada and others (1993) shows that cholesterol is susceptible to oxidation and the oxidation rate will accelerate during processing, storage and cooking. Oxidised cholesterols are considered beneficial as they inhibit synthesis of cholesterol, mutagenicity and atherosclerosis (Osada, Kodama, Cui, Yamada, & Sugano, 1993).

After all, cholesterol can remain a stable compound when heated, provided it is heated in the presence of lipids to initiate the oxidation reaction simultaneously. Fish roe is high in protein, with the value ranged from 16% to 30% is well known for its functional property of providing benefits due to its high quality essential amino acid profile. Fish roe contains considerable amount of essential amino acids methionine, cysteine, tyrosine and tryptophan, just to name a few. In fact, mature salmon roe has shown to possess higher protein content, in which the amount of essential amino acids is greater than non-essential amino acids (Bekhit, Morton, Dawson, Zhao, & Lee, 2009). The functional property of these essential amino acids in fish roe is identified. Fish roe is abundant in cysteine amino acid which is the building block of antioxidant glutathione to provide immunity for the body. Another essential amino acid of tryptophan in fish roe helps to regulate neurobehavioral effects in order to improve sleeping quality and stimulate good mood. Besides of high lipid and high protein content, fish roe provides vitamin E to human upon consumption.

Vitamin E plays it function as an antioxidant to prevent aging in human. Since both the human and fish are unable to synthesis vitamin E in the body, regular diet intake is the sole source to obtain vitamin E. Further work has been done to explore the potentially of vitamin E in fish roe to confers health benefits. Tocopherol which possess vitamin E antioxidant activity can work in synergism with PL to suppress the lipid oxidation of n-3 PUFA to achieve high oxidative stabilities of fish roe lipids (Moriya, Kuniminato, Hosokawa, Fukunaga, Nishiyama, & Miyashita, 2007). Since the fish roe lipids are now more oxidative stable, it is more likely for the n-3 PUFA of fish roe to impart the health beneficial effects on human by preventing and treating CVD upon regular intake of EPA and DHA-rich fish roe. The trace elements found in the fish roe is able to supply essential elements that are unable to be synthesized by human body. Nevertheless, consuming too much or too little essential elements than the recommended daily intake (RDI) may pose an impact on human health.

Besides, wise consumers should avoid consuming fish contaminated with heavy metals such as mercury and chromium as these elements will accumulate inside the organs of fish and consequently, the health of consumer, i.e. the end user, will be affected. In fact, heavy metals are less likely to accumulate in fish roe; hence roe has lower mercury content than fish flesh and heavy metals toxicity seldom take place (Bekhit, Morton, & Dawson, 2008). Since the content of trace elements in fish roe may affected by the fish activity, environment contamination, feed composition, maturity and temperature, the trace elements of importance found in fish roe are sodium, potassium, zinc, iron, manganese and copper. There is a linear relationship between the degree of maturity of fish roe and the trace element content (Bekhit, Morton, Dawson, Zhao, & Lee, 2009). Besides, food preservation technologies do affect the concentration of trace elements in fish roe. For instance, the salting-drying process concentrates the trace elements in fish roe due to the reduction in moisture content, in which the water migrated out from the tissue.

The effect is particularly enhanced at room temperature (Bekhit, Morton, & Dawson, 2008). Besides, regular intake of salted fish roe such as karasumi, tarako and suijiko which enhance the sodium content in human body is detrimental to health. In conclusion, fish roe is a valuable fish by-product that served as an important source of dietary and nutrition to human, namely high protein and lipid fractions as well as vitamins and minerals. Exploitation of various processing technologies to extend shelf life of fish roe to be consumed by consumers across various demographic group not only helps to conserve marine lives, regular intake of fish roe products is regarded as a potential natural source to gain access to n-3 PUFA all-year-round. Fish roe contains a rich source of EPA and DHA that confers a significant inverse relationship between cardiovascular disease risk and EPA and DHA intake. Other beneficial effects identified in fish roe are reducing the plasma cholesterol level, assist learning and memory ability, delay dementia in the elderly people reduce the risk of premature birth in new-born baby and prevent antherosclerosis.

Serious Eats Guide: How To Buy Caviar | Serious Eats Serious Eats Guide: How To Buy Caviar Serious Eats Guide: How To Buy Caviar [Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt] As a half-Japanese American, salty preserved fish products are in my blood. I grew up eating tarako, the salted, cured roe of Alaskan pollock, served inside rice onigiri, or grilled up for breakfast. But it wasn't until I started working at fancy-pants restaurants that I first tasted real caviar. The first bite I had was a small dollop of Iranian ossetra that I ate off of a plastic spoon the chef handed me in the walk-in refrigerator. Subtly salty with a distinct minerality and an aroma of the sea. The beads of sturgeon roe rolled across my tongue, popping against the roof of my mouth in little saline bursts. It was mind-blowing stuff, and I relished every opportunity to work with it and taste the many varieties available. Caviar is technically the salted roe of sturgeon, a prehistoric, scale-less fish that ranges in the Northern hemisphere from North America to China.

At the market, you'll also find cured eggs from other fish that are occasionally referred to as caviar, but their labeling will always indicate the type of fish they came from, such as "American spoonbill caviar" or "Salmon caviar." Depending on the species of sturgeon, area of harvest, and treatment of the eggs after harvest, caviar can vary in texture, flavor, and appearance. What was once largely a wild-harvested product is now largely farm-raised. During the Soviet era, the harvest and production of wild caviar was a tightly controlled, highly lucrative industry in the Caspian and Black seas. But this all changed with the dissolution of the USSR—everybody wanted a piece of the pie. The ensuing over-fishing of sturgeon has been devastating to the ecosystem and the industry. The sale of Beluga caviar—the most highly prized of the three most famous sturgeon species—has been banned by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service since 2005. Wild ossetra sturgeon have likewise been harvested to near extinction. Their caviar is currently unavailable. These days, most of the caviar available in the U.S.

comes from farmed fish around the world—the United States, China, and Israel being some of the largest producers. So what does this new market look like, and more importantly, how can you buy it with confidence? Alexandre Petrossian outside the eponymous New York restaurant. We sat down with Alexandre Petrossian, 30, the third generation Vice President of Petrossian, to talk about the salty fish eggs. The famed Paris caviar house has an online boutique as well as a shop and restaurant in New York. "They say that a good caviar should have at least 15 different flavors in it," he starts. "Each time you take a bite, you should taste something new. It should develop on your tongue and the aftertaste should linger for a very long time." "Surprisingly, the Chinese farms are some of the best," he says. Petrossian currently offers several varieties of Chinese caviar, including their Imperial Shassetra and Kaluga, which is amongst the more expensive in their line-up. "They actually came to us before they started designing the farms, asking for details about every step of the process, and how we like our caviar to be raised and harvested.

They were really determined to do it right." Because of this, the Chinese caviar is among the most consistent. I brought back five tins of sturgeon caviar to Serious Eats World Headquarters where we had a blind tasting. The caviars ranged in price from $113 to $481 per 50 gram tin. But our favorites were not the most expensive. Take a look at our tasting notes in the slideshow above. "Good caviar should have distinct eggs that separate when you roll them on the roof of your mouth," says Alexandre. "They need to pop," rather than taste mushy. When you open a tin, the caviar should be shiny, each egg glistening, not oily or murky. "Good caviar sparkles like diamonds," says Alexandre. "It makes it quite difficult to take photographs." How To Taste And Serve Caviar The traditional accompaniments to caviar are Champagne or ice cold vodka. "Avoid a heavier red or white wine with caviar," advises Alexander. "It will compete with the flavor." If tasting a variety of different caviars, drink water or sparkling water between varieties to cleanse your palate.

I prefer to taste caviar straight out of the tin using a spoon. Mother-of-pearl is pretty and the traditional choice, but you don't need a fancy spoon to eat it. "I taste my caviar from a wooden spoon, because that's how I was taught to taste it growing up," says Alex. I like to use plastic spoons. The only material to avoid is silver, which can react with the caviar to give it a metallic flavor. If you want to put a little more work into the presentation, toast, cold boiled potatoes, or blini are all excellent, relatively bland backdrops that will give you some body, but not compete with the caviar for flavor. Sour cream and chives also work well. When the caviar is in your mouth, let the individual eggs spread on your tongue first, gently rolling them against the roof of your mouth while you breath in through your nose to get the initial aroma. Once you've got it, crush the eggs gently, feeling them pop against your soft palate, releasing their buttery contents. This is where the primary flavor of the caviar should come out. Try and identify as many flavors as you can.

Buttery, rich, nutty, earthy, salty, fishy are all common descriptors for caviar. Finally, swallow the caviar, continuing to breathe in through your nose to allow its aftertaste to linger as long as possible. Take a shot, clear your head, lather, rinse, and repeat. How To Buy Caviar Alverta President, Royal Transmontanus, Tsar Imperial Shassetra, Tsar Imperial Kaluga, and Tsar Imperial Ossetra caviar from Petrossian Sopping for caviar can be intimidating. Here are five tips to make sure that you get your money's worth. #1: More Expensive ≠ Better Ok, let's face it: even the most inexpensive sturgeon caviar is still going to be expensive. You should expect to spend at least $50 to $75 for 30 grams (1 ounce)—enough caviar to make a few good bites for two people. But the prices can get astronomically high. The Special Reserve Ossetra from Petrossian runs at $12,000 a kilo, or $378 for a 30 gram tin.

Does paying more guarantee better caviar? "No, not at all," says Alexandre. "The main factor that determines the price of the caviar is its rarity, but that does not mean that the more rare caviar tastes better to all people." Caviar is generally graded by the size and texture of its beads (larger, firmer beads that pop in your mouth are more rare, and thus more expensive), and by their flavor—as a general rule, more mildly flavored caviars tend to be more rare. However, the species of the fish, how it was raised, and how the caviar was treated and matured can vastly affect the final flavor. Just as with wine or whiskey, many tasters— even professionals —prefer the flavor and texture of less expensive, more common offerings, so long as they are tasted blind without knowledge of pricing. In a completely blind taste test at our office, many tasters picked out Petrossian's Royal Transmontanus ($69/30 grams) as their favorite, beating out caviars over four times the price.

#2: Start at the low end Caviar can be an acquired taste, and like many expensive foods prized for the complexity, there is a learning curve when it comes to appreciating their subtlety. Dive right into the deep end with the more expensive caviars, and most likely those more delicate flavors will be missed on you, and your money will have been wasted. A better approach is to start with a relatively inexpensive—but still high quality—caviar. Taste it carefully and thoughtfully, figure out what it is you like about it. Do you like buttery richness and nutty flavor? Or perhaps a more pronounced fishiness and saltiness? Once you can answer these questions, you'll be better equipped to talk to the salesperson and help them pinpoint a caviar that is custom-suited to your personal preferences. #3: If they don't let you taste it, shop somewhere else When shopping for caviar, make sure that you taste the product before you buy it. You wouldn't buy a $125 pair of shoes without trying it on; why would you drop that kind of cash on caviar if you aren't sure you're going to like what you're going to get?

Caviars can vary from batch to batch or tin to tin, even when they're coming from the same farm or same species of fish. For this reason, past experience is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Indeed, Alexandre suggests you take it one step further: insist on tasting a sample of caviar from the actual tin you are planning on buying. An unscrupulous caviar salesman is not above the old bait-and-switch, swapping out a tin of dry or sub-par caviar. #4: Make sure you buy enough Whether it's knowing the value of what they're about to taste or fear of the unknown, first-time caviar tasters often go in for a tiny nibble, placing a half dozen eggs on their tongue. "It is impossible to taste caviar in this way," says Alexandre. "You must have enough to roll on your tongue to understand the texture and aroma." 5 grams (a heaping half teaspoon) is a more reasonable size for a taste. For this reason, a 30 gram tin (about 1 ounce) should be the absolute minimum you purchase when shopping for two people.

Those cute little 10 gram tins may be tempting—and their relatively low price makes them even more so—but unless you plan on tasting by yourself and having only a couple bites, they are essentially useless. #5: Be careful when you buy online or black market caviar Given rule #3, this one goes without saying. There is no guarantee of quality for any caviar you cannot taste yourself, so buying from an online source is an almost guaranteed way to get sub-par product. If you must buy online, shop at a reputable source who is committed to keeping that good reputation. Dean & Deluca , Russ & Daughters , and of course Petrossian are all good places to start. "With caviar, if it the price seems too good to be true, then it is," says Alexandre. Similarly, black market caviar has not guarantor, no culpability for sub-par product, and even worse for some, no accountability for the environmental damages caused by illegal poaching of severely depleted wild sturgeon stocks.

#6: Only buy as much as you need and eat it fast Like a good cheese or high quality cured ham, good caviar is cured and matured by experts for a specific amount of time to maximize their flavor. Once it is sold and the tin is opened, it can very rapidly change in quality, developing fishier aromas, the eggs softening, turning stickier or oilier, liquid weeping out into the tin. Once you've bought the caviar keep it refrigerated until you open the tin, which should be done within a few days of purchase. Once opened, the caviar should be consumed within a day. Petrossian Boutique and Cafe 911 Seventh Ave New York, NY 10019 (between 57th and 58th, map ); 212-245-2217; petrossian.com/ About the author: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt is the Chief Creative Officer of Serious Eats where he likes to explore the science of home cooking in his weekly column The Food Lab . You can follow him at @thefoodlab on Twitter, or at The Food Lab on Facebook.

Question: If you are eating salted, unfertilized sturgeon roe, what are you eating?
Answer: Caviar