Caviar is synonymous with wealth, élan and luxury all over the world.
Words you normally don’t associate with fish. Leave alone fish eggs.
 
For, simply put, caviar is nothing but sieved salted fish eggs eaten raw
with different garnishes and typically with champagne. Caviar purists (who
find the champagne a tad too sweet) consume it with iced vodka. Chilled
white wine is an option but not a recommended one.

So what makes this dish of fish eggs such a rare and precious commodity?
What drives prices so high that the fish that produce the eggs have been
fished to endangerment levels?

Each single round piece is an egg of a mature fish. Not only do some fish
take a long time to mature but it takes a lengthy production procedure to
get them to edible form. Thus making caviar one of the costliest
delicacies in the world.  

A variety of fish are responsible for giving the mankind caviar but ask a
true caviar lover which one and pat comes the reply - Sturgeon. Beluga,
Osetra and Sevruga are the three main types of sturgeon caviar, and are
named for the species of fish from which they originate.  

Beluga: Rich and creamy, buttery to taste, largish in size as compared to
others and range form pearlish to grey in colour. Most expensive as well,
especially the white ones going upto $23, 308 and are treated like royalty
as they come in a 24K gold tin. Check the Almas link  

Osetra: Medium size, nutty to taste and mainly come either in shades of
grey or brown. There is also a golden Osetra fondly called “Royal Caviar”
which is rare and therefore more expensive than the other osetra siblings.
 

Sevruga: Small in size, mildly floured and grey in colour and the least
expensive of the lot.  

Some other roes that are called Caviar include

   1. Roe of whitefish: golden in colour and called American
Gold Caviar.
   2. Roe of Red Salmon: Largish in size and commonly known as
red caviar extensively used for decorative and garnish purposes.

Good quality Caviar is packed in tins and that too by hand. The delicate
nature of the eggs demands that it be handled carefully to avoid breakage.
The different types of labels that accompany the brand name indicate the
quality of the roe. Some read as:

   1. Malossol - contains little salt.
   2. Grade one - whole, undamaged eggs.
   3. Grade two - up to 50% of the caviar may consist of soft or
broken eggs.
   4. Pasteurised - the eggs have been partially cooked.
   5. Pressed - damaged eggs, sometimes from a variety of fish,
jam-like consistency

Serving and eating the Caviar is an art by itself. If I were to say that
there is an etiquette guide book to serving and eating caviar, trust me, I
am not exaggerating. Here are some basics:  

   1. Caviar is always served in glass, bone china, wood or
plastic utensils and servers. The traditional way to serve it is in
mother-of-pearl or gold utensils and servers. Never use silver or other
metal utensils / servers like steel because the flavor is ruined due to
oxidation.
   2. The utensil has to be nested in a bucket of ice to keep it
cold.
   3. Always have some accompaniments like hard boiled eggs
(yolks and whites chopped separately), sour cream and minced onions. They
are best with bland non salted toast or crackers but not for a caviar
purist.
   4. Taking more than two spoonfuls is considered uncouth.

In order to enjoy caviar one has to understand that the pleasure center of
caviar is the palate and not the throat or the gut. While eating, take
small quantities and put the whole grains in your mouth. Press the globes
to your palate and enjoy a whole mix of flavors as the bubbles burst.
 

Caviar is rumored to be a great hangover cure, therefore happy drinking
(iced vodka or champagne) and enjoy the flavors of the sea.  

In Mumbai one can easily find good quality caviar in the delicatessen shop
of any five star hotel. You could also try your luck at Foodland Fresh at
Juhu (formerly known as SPAR).  

Next time around let’s talk about using and storing caviar… till then
cheers!!!