How to Eat Caviar Properly
How to Eat Caviar Properly
Did you know that some types of caviar can cost as much as $5,000 a pound? Yeah, it's true.
And we don't know about you, but if we're going to drop five grand on anything, we like to make sure we're getting our money's worth. Now, not all caviar is that expensive, but all caviar is quite expensive as a food item. That's why we put together this guide for how to eat caviar properly.
You wouldn't eat ribs with a spoon, soup with a fork, or ice cream after it's completely melted. Every food has a preferred way that gets you the best flavor experience, and that's true for caviar too.
The Best Way to Eat Caviar
As a luxury food, caviar is about more than just feeding your hunger. It's about creating a sensory experience that will allow you to take in all the taste and smell slowly and appreciate every bite. And if you subscribe to the idea that food is consumed first through the eyes, then through the nose, and finally through the mouth, that means that eating caviar starts with the right presentation.How to Serve Caviar
As a rule of thumb, you don't want to buy caviar more than a day or two at most before you will serve it. Keep it stored in the chillest area of your refrigerator, but avoid freezing. The worst enemy of caviar is heat, but the second worst is oxygen. Always keep your caviar in a sealed container until it's ready to be consumed. Caviar usually comes in tins, and all you really need to do is place the tin on an area of crushed ice and present it with crackers. Your guests will spoon a small amount of caviar onto a cracker and eat it directly. In this sense, caviar is pretty low-maintenance and doesn't really need anything else. But this leads us to another important point—the spoon. Caviar is usually served with an ivory, gold-plated, plastic spoon, or mother of pearl. Silver and stainless steel react with the caviar and create an off-flavor.What to Eat With Caviar
Blinis are caviar's traditional serving companion, but you can serve it on toast, light crackers, or even bread. What it's served with won't impact that experience all that much. Again, there's not much more caviar needs, but if you want to serve more accompaniments, sour cream, melted butter, and lemon wedges all work. Resist the urge to do so with Ossetra caviar or other fine caviars since they can stand on their own. Typically, caviar is served with champagne. After all, one decadent luxury deserves another. But there's some disagreement about whether champagne helps you enjoy the caviar. Purists will tell you that it's champagne or nothing. However, vodka is much closer to how traditional caviar was enjoyed. If you choose vodka, choose a clean and flat vodka that won't impart any flavor. If you choose Champagne when eating caviar, choose a dry variety. A dry Champagne will complement the buttery and fatty qualities of caviar rather than compete with them.How To Eat Caviar Properly - Etiquette
If you're in a fine dining setting, which is where you'll likely eat caviar, there are usually some expectations about how you should eat it. The same doesn't go when you're around friends and family, but it's always nice to maintain some habits no matter what the circumstances.- Eating caviar is not about getting full, especially if it's served as an hors d'oeuvre. Most hosts will calculate an ounce or two per person, but not much more than that. In practice, that means about two spoons should be a soft limit. Eating a lot of caviar almost always sends the wrong impression.
- You typically don't want to chew caviar. Instead, use your tongue. This is especially true if you're tasting the caviar plain. When it's served on crackers or toast, you'll have to chew a bit but try to keep the chewing to a minimum.
- Try to relax. All the pomp and circumstance in the world goes out the window if you're focusing too much on how to eat caviar properly and not enough on savoring it. Don't let "rules" and tradition take precedence over your personal enjoyment of the caviar.
How to Pick and Buy Caviar
Some of the most known types of caviar are Beluga, Ossetra caviar, Sterlet, and Kaluga. Incidentally, that list is in order of most to least expensive. And the first question most people ask is whether more expensive caviar is better. The answer is not necessarily. Many factors play into what caviar is good and its availability, so you'll have to find the one that you like best rather than rely on price points. Some things to note about caviar when picking it:- Good caviar shouldn't taste mushy. Each egg should have a distinct shape and pop rather than squish when you press on it with your tongue.
- When you open the tin of caviar, the eggs should look shiny and clean rather than oily and murky. The eggs should almost look sparkly.
- When you roll them in your mouth, the eggs should separate rather than clump together.