Plan B Forum

For several years now I always buy a jar or 2 of some cheap caviar (under$10 for a small jar) and we enjoy it around Christmas. I rather suspect that we don't serve the cheap stuff that we buy properly. I use cream cheese with it and whatever crackers are lying about. I have read that one is supposed to serve it with a spoon made from mother of pearl. I use a stainless spoon. Anyway, while enjoying a cheap jar of caviar this year I got to wondering about the expensive kind. Has anyone here had the kind that busts the piggy bank at >$4K and served "properly"? If so, is it worth the difference in costs verses a difference in quality or flavor?

Two questions - two answers:

(a) No
(ii) Either is a waste of cream cheese and crackers

You eat marmite thus your opinions on taste don't actually count.

...not on cream cheese and nice, juicy crackers I don't

"The Cornish salt is a very wet salt and produces rather a soft egg," states Exmoor Caviar Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Benning. "The Hebridean salt is drier, so makes for a more robust taste."

... soft and wet egg probably accounts for boG (the antipodean epicure of caviar and Marmite)

The only thing I heard about caviar is that you are not supposed to spread it with a metal knife/spreader. I think some type of wood is best, but what do I know, I usually use fish eggs for bait.

I did tast caviar once, salty with a wierd texture. Gimme a chunk of meat instead.

I have had a number of different caviars and have found that all were different in taste, although my preferences didn't correlate with the price. The most expensive I have had (at a party) was a fairly expensive Russian Belluga that didn't taste much better to me than some cheaper ones. The cheapest caviars I find tend to be more oily and have a lot of broken eggs compared with the more expensive ones, but the best tasting is a matter of taste. I tend to prefer the Danish caviars, which are less expensive, but have a flavor I prefer more. It's worth testing a few brands and types to see what you like best.

As for serving, I do think proper serving can make a difference; I prefer chilled (and kept on ice, caviar with a little finely chopped onion and a neutral flavored cracker, but have also seen people use chopped egg--I've never tried it with cheese, but would think something like cream cheese might mask the taste (although too much onion could do the same thing). I don't think the spoons make a difference, but I have always had it served using a small silver spoon. For me, the other thing is not to overdo it; a little caviar is better than a lot.

Hope this helps.

"Fish Fetuses."

Thank you Beldar.

Which came first? The fish, the caviar or the metal container?

fish roe is considered a delicacy by many around here, but I feed it to the animals. yuck!

I don t do raw oysters either..., well maybe one if they are Chincoteague salty oysters....

oyster fritters are popular too. I like the taste of the batter of the fried fritter, but I just eat around the actual oysters, they have a yucky color , so they must not be eaten (wes' rule of food #3)

Good caviar is nice. On toast points it is lovely. But not enough for me to pay for it more than once a decade.

On the other hand Ikura is lovely when fresh:



Little crystalline bursts of sea water in your mouth.

Tobikko is nice too, crunchy!





yrs,
rubato

Think of all those fish that will never hatch.
No wonder the stock is depleted.