How To Actually Eat Caviar And Seem Like You Know What You’re Doing

Caviar is easily in the top 3 of those foods you used to scoff at as a kid for being super gross, but now has a kind of prestige about it, like consuming it on the regular would mean you’re definitely loaded and live in an ocean-side mansion with an accompanying superyacht. Caviar says “I’m rich”, even though really it’s just fish eggs. Which should be gross.

Maybe you’ve tried caviar at some fancy event and thought it tasted pretty decent, but would never in your life know what to do with it at home. Or maybe you’ve never touched the stuff. Either way, you’re likely to have a bunch of questions about the delicacy. We sure did, so we hit up Chef Erwan Helary of Prime Restaurant for his hot tips.
WHAT ACTUALLY IS TRUE CAVIAR?

Image: Petrossian.

Caviar is thrown around incorrectly a lot in the food industry. Technically, true caviar comes from the sturgeon fish, which live in the Caspian Sea – the three Sturgeon types being Ossetra, Beluga and Sevruga. But you’ll see other fish eggs being labelled as caviar, like salmon, trout and cod – which is kinda incorrect. Basically, if you’re wanting to give caviar a proper go – get the right stuff. Some places’ll even label stuff like ground eggplant as “eggplant caviar”. Which, like – no.
“Fake caviar is also common,” says Erwan. “Check the bottom of the tin for information regarding origin, species and “use by” date. In Australia wild caviar is banned and cannot be imported, as catching the fish in the wild is illegal due to overfishing. Cheap or fake caviar cannot be traced back to its origin.”

HOW DO YOU EAT IT?

Caviar is known as an A+ starter, and people honestly eat it on it’s own. But if the thought of scoffing a spoonful of fish eggs alarms you, Erwan has some solid pairings.
“It’s commonly served with blinis or lightly toasted brioche, crème fraiche and butter,” he explains. “Traditional accompaniments are baby potatoes, boiled eggs, or sour cream and chives, however the fewer the better.”

Also, in “things that are great for your subconscious trivia knowledge”, caviar is meant to be eaten only with a mother-of-pearl spoon. Why? Because apparently using a metal utensil taints the flavour of the caviar. Who bloody knew. 

HOW DO YOU KNOW YOUR CAVIAR IS GOOD QUALITY?

Image: Getty / Creativ Studio Heinmann.

Good qual caviar shouldn’t taste super intense or fishy. The misconception that caviar is super gross is probably due to heaps of people eating crappy quality stuff, tbh. 
“Quality caviar is mild in flavour and slightly saline and nutty, with a buttery richness. If it’s intense in flavour or overly fishy or salty, then it’s not great quality,” explains Erwan. “The texture should be smooth and firm, with little to no mushiness or oiliness, and distinct eggs that

separate when you roll them on your tongue. There’s also a wonderful pop once you bite into the

eggs which releases a burst of flavour.”


Look, bursting eggs in our mouths seems a little… terrifying. But we’ll give it a go.

CAN YOU PUT IT IN OTHER MEALS?

Image: Getty / Tanya_F.
 
Yep – caviar goes really well through scrambled brekky eggs for a fine dining version, or even scattered on top of avo smash. Whirl it through your pasta dishes, or add it on top of seafood. 

“Try caviar with salmon, ocean trout, oysters, sea scallops, lobster or sushi hand rolls,” says Erwan.

WHY IS CAVIAR SO DAMN EXPENSIVE?


Your caviar price will depend on a couple of things – obviously, if it’s legit caviar (see above pls), and the age of the Sturgeon that the eggs were taken from. 

More mature sturgeon produce the best and most expensive caviar,” explains Erwin. “As the fish ages, the

eggs become bigger, lighter and glossier and the flavour becomes more creamy and smooth.

As sturgeons take about 15 years to reach a reproductive age, only reproduce once every three or

four years and are killed to retrieve the eggs, there’s a low supply and high price tag for this caviar.”


Beluga Sturgeons generally produce the most expensive caviar. That’s cos they can live to over 100 years old and have the largest, smoothest eggs. The rarest type? It’s pearly-white in colour and’ll set you back a cool $44,000 per kg. Hooooo, boy.

Wish you had the kind of spare $$ that’d cover trying all the different caviar types? You could, if you win our comp c/o our pals at Set for Life – you’ll be in the running to win a cool $20k. That’s almost half a kg of the really spenno Beluga stuff. 
Image: D’Artagnan.

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