[Marzoli]

I have never had caviar. I've had the little - i think it's called smelt roe?-on sushi, but I know that I'll never ever order real caviar in a restaurant-we just don't eat quite that high on the hog, if you catch my drift.\
I thought about ordering a jar of lumpfish caviar from mexgrocer.com so that I could have the experience.
If I did that, how is caviar served - with what other food? I know I could just spoon some from the jar, but . . . there must be some "experience" way to do this thing.
I realize that anything I get in a jar for $20 is probably not extremely high on the hog (I'm really worried about that hog today!), but I'd like to know about it even if it would not be considered super cool in the food world.
How little I know about this: I assume it is placed on a plate with some other item. Tell me how to do this. And, really, if what I'm planning to order is just dumb, tell me that too!

[Dorothy81]

I haven't got much experience with caviar, but I sometimes make eggs with mayonnaise and caviar. Maybe it is not very sophisticated but very tasty and it looks fine.

[Mezzaluna]

I used to buy little jars of lumpfish caviar for my reading class students to taste. It was part of a book they read on tide pools and foods from the ocean.

I've had osetra and salmon roe too, and I can tell you lumpfish caviar is no comparison. It was just strong-flavored and salty without any of the subtleness of sturgeon or salmon roe. It would be okay used as Dorothy described, but if you want real caviar, hold out for the real thing. That's my humble opinion.

[Suzanne]

The stuff on sushi is tobiko -- flying fish roe. Very nice, but quite different from sturgeon caviar. The lumpfish in the little jars is not fit to eat, imho. Besides, the dye used to color it is really disgusting when it runs.

REAL caviar from sturgeon in the Caspian Sea is endangered -- so you're actually being more ecologically-minded if you give it a pass. There are some companies that farm caviar -- Tsar Nicoulai is a very, very good one -- and sell a range of products at a range of prices, all of very good quality. If you were to get some of their Paddlefish Sturgeon (almost as expensive as the "real" thing), you'd have a great product. Even if you go with their whitefish, trout, or salmon roes, all very reasonable in price, you'll still have an excellent experience. Just stay away from lumpfish, on the supermarket shelf.

If you get some, keep it simple: just some really good bread, lightly toasted and buttered, is enough to go with it. You want to find out what it really tastes like, before you put it with anything else, like using it to top a sour cream-topped perfect baked potato or boiled tiny new potatoes (cut in half and also topped with sour cream).

Oh -- and a bottle of Champagne or good-quality dry sparkling wine.

[Plongeur]

We serve it in a small glass on a jellified consome with a very fine vegetable brunoise inside, a dollop of whipped creme fraiche on top and then the caviar on that.

[cakerookie]

Anyone ever tried rattlesnake? I hear its pretty expensive too. I have read some people actually replace caviar with it.

[Chef Kaiser]

Caviar,

Years ago it was a must to be on a menu in a fine dining, and served in its original container on an Ice Block. The service gears can not be silver or stainless stell as it will create oxidation and spoils the Caviar. Therefore use mother of pearl, ivory, wood or any other natural materials to serve it.

Traditionally caviar is served with Blinis a type of bread / pancake made of buckwheat flour - as well as with butter, onions, chopped boiled egg, lemon and etc. recommended beverage well many say it is a dry Champagne or white wine, up to you.

The common caviar varieties you traditionallly find are: Beluga, Osetra, Sevruga and Sterlet. note malossol is not a caviar as many believe, it is a term and meaning "little salted" in Russian.

Well enjoy it if you can afford it

regards

Originally Posted by Marzoli

I have never had caviar. I've had the little - i think it's called smelt roe?-on sushi, but I know that I'll never ever order real caviar in a restaurant-we just don't eat quite that high on the hog, if you catch my drift.\
I thought about ordering a jar of lumpfish caviar from mexgrocer.com so that I could have the experience.
If I did that, how is caviar served - with what other food? I know I could just spoon some from the jar, but . . . there must be some "experience" way to do this thing.
I realize that anything I get in a jar for $20 is probably not extremely high on the hog (I'm really worried about that hog today!), but I'd like to know about it even if it would not be considered super cool in the food world.
How little I know about this: I assume it is placed on a plate with some other item. Tell me how to do this. And, really, if what I'm planning to order is just dumb, tell me that too!

[AprilB]

Avocado, nice smoked salmon, capers, fine chopped red onion and tomato, fresh ground pepper, and a tiny bit of balsmatic vinegar.

We have it every holiday.

April

[mudbug]

Marzoli,

Make sure you don't use any metal serving utensils to serve the caviar. Oxidation can lend an unpleasant metallic taste to the caviar.