How to Serve Caviar
Several years ago, after reading the umpteenth article about poaching in the Caspian Sea, and especially an article in the New York Times suggesting that 90+ percent of all Russian caviar is poached, we decided to stop serving caviar at our restaurants altogether. Then we discovered environmentally friendly, sustainable American caviar from farmed white sturgeon.
White sturgeon is very similar to the species Osetra from the Caspian Sea, but is indigenous to the Pacific Coast of North America. The white sturgeon is one of the oldest species found on earth. White sturgeon caviar is a beautiful dark-brown bead with a mild nutty taste balanced by a good ocean flavor.
For some reason it has become popular to “garnish” caviar service with capers, raw onions, sieved eggs, and sour cream. I, for one, think that’s bunk. If I’m going to spend $40 for an ounce of caviar, I want to taste the caviar. I want to feel the egg burst on my tongue. I want to taste the salty freshness of well-handled roe. Maybe a little buttered brioche toast or something else fairly plain, but beyond that...fuhgeddaboutit!
Caviar on October 01, 2009 at 12:07 PM
Great blog. I have the same reaction when I see my friends garnish their caviar with sour cream, but I don't know how to tell them!