Caviar - expensive fish eggs?

24th August 2008 • Related • Filed Under

Caviar. I am sure just the word will make a lot of people pull faces and even a expression of disgust. The thought of eating salted raw fish eggs is not what most of us have in mind when it comes to food. I can say the same for oysters or Steak Tartare. I am not talking about the red Salmon roe you buy in supermarkets. I am talking about the one that you obtain from the sturgeon.
Caviar is the roe of fleshly caught female sturgeon, the Acipenseridae. Beluga is probably the most commonly known from the three rarest of varieties caviar we get. Oscietra en Sevruga are the other two and are mainly from the Caspian Sea. We surely do associate caviar with wealth, glamour and champagne. Rightly so as it is not in everyone’s budget to savour this delicacy.


The method of extraction is a delicate process and as soon as the fish leaves the water, the egga are removed, cleaned and carefully rolled to remove the membrane. Washed and drained after which a precise amount of salt is added and packed immediately. All in about as little as half an hour.

The only time I ever had the opportunity of tasting caviar was during my butler course in London. I find it very difficult to explain what it taste like, besides salty. Care must be taken when serving as not to break the delicate egg as it is very easy to do so. I had it with sour cream and blinis and chilled vodka. Here are a few pointers how to serve caviar. Just in case you happen to have a spare tin in your fridge. Here is a few points on serving caviar.

  1.  Mother-of-Pearl spoon, knife, fork and chilled plate are the traditional way to serve caviar.
  2.  Remove caviar from the refrigerator 15 minutes before eating. The lid should be removed only at the last moment.
  3.  The ideal presentation is to offer the whole tin on a bed of crushed ice. Allow at least 50 grams per person. It should be spooned onto a chilled plate with care taken not to break the grains, which would make it oily. It should be eaten with a fork.
  4.  You can accompany caviar with pieces of bread (or Blinis) that have been lightly toasted (to preserve softness) and then quickly filmed with butter. Don’t use commercially made toasts or crackers because they are too hard and dry. Blinis are little buckwheat pancakes.
  5.  A small glass of iced vodka is the ideal companion. It is very important not to spoil your palate with anything but the most pure vodka. It is a matter of personal taste whether you drink champagne with caviar but many think that it is too “sweet” in itself, with too much of its own flavor and that it will distract your palate from the taste of caviar.
  6.  Many people swallow caviar whole, but to fully appreciate the flavor you should “burst” the eggs with the tip of your tongue against your palate to release the flavor in your mouth.
  7.  Unopened, a container of fresh caviar may be kept in the refrigerator for up to 8 weeks. Once opened, it is highly perishable and should be eaten right away. Never keep caviar in a freezer.

And there you have it. That will impress the neighbours on your next BBQ. On the vodka side I will recommend Russian Stolichnaya Elit at US$70.00 or Diva Vodka from Scotland for between US$70.00 to US$1060.00 per bottle. Maybe Emil can suggest a good champagne in his next wine blog.

How long the rich and famous will be able to indulge in Caviar is any ones guess? The sturgeon is under severe threat of extinction and the black market caviar does not make it any better. I wonder if caviar is not just over priced salty fish eggs at the end? If the sturgeon become extinct, what will the rich and famous do to impress?

You may have a look here (Caviar House) if you are interested in where to buy.

There Are 29 Responses So Far. »

  1. Comment by flippiefanus on 24 August 2008:

    Nou het ek weer iets geleer. Nie dat ek dink ek ooit die geleentheid sal he^ om hierdie kennis te kan gebruik nie.:-( Wonder of dit regtig baie anders proe as salm eiertjies?

  2. Comment by Rustig on 24 August 2008:

    Flippie: Dit is baie beter en anders as salm eiers. Dit is baie meer delikaat.

  3. Comment by Zee on 24 August 2008:

    Haai nee, ek sal nooit daardie ogies wat so vir my loer kan eet nie. Nou wat lees ek ook nog. ‘n Regte Butler nè!! Moes jy ook soos in die movies so by die deur staan en nie ‘n oog knip nie?

  4. Comment by Rustig on 24 August 2008:

    Zee, regte egte Engelse Butler. Ja jou word geleer om alles te waar te neem en niks te sien nie. Groot gedeelte van die kursus was oor hantering van situasies. Diplomaties. Nie altyd een van my sterk punte nie. Kaviaar is rykmans tapioca!

  5. Comment by Wipneus on 24 August 2008:

    Dankie vir al hierdie inligting Rustig. Ek gaan met my volgende ete bietjie impress, met al my kennis oor kaviaar ;)

  6. Comment by Rustig on 25 August 2008:

    Wip: Jy kan nie net “impress” nie, jy moet uit haal en wys ook. Watse gasvrou is jy?

  7. Comment by demoerin on 25 August 2008:

    Mmmmm….mmmmm. Ek is gelukkig om vriende en familie te hê waar ek darem ‘n paar keer ‘n jaar my palate kan spoil met kaviaar. Nog nooit regtig die vodka ding probeer nie! Mental note is gemaak! Aan die champers kant bly Verve maar volgens my die waarde vir geld. Dit gaan net so goed saam met die prawns en salmon. ‘n Nie slegte alternatief, en baie meer bekostigbaar, is die Pongracz cap classique teen so R160 ‘n bottel.

  8. Comment by demoerin on 25 August 2008:

    :lol: My mond kwyl so, my spelling laat my in die steek…Veuve

  9. Comment by Rustig on 25 August 2008:

    Nog nooit Pongracz gedrink nie. Ek dink nie 5th Ave Cold Duck gaan die ding doen nie. Demoerin, jy moet die vodka in die vrieskas sit. As dit baie suiwer en goeie vodka is dan vries dit glad nie. Hoe suiwerder die vodka is hoe minder is die kanse vir hangover. Word in klein “shot” glase bedien.
    Daar is ander manier om kaviaar te bedien! ;)

  10. Comment by demoerin on 25 August 2008:

    Ja nee, gooi maar eerder daai Duck innie dam! Weet in elk geval nie hoe mense sulke soet goed oor hulle lippe kan kry nie. Seker maar persoonlike smaak?

  11. Comment by Emil on 25 August 2008:

    :lol: tradisioneel is daar niks beter as ou Dom P saam kaviar nie. Maar dit word ‘n verskriklike duur voorgegereg! Beluga Malossal Graad 1 kaviar (uit Iran kos R85,000 per kilo. Dom P gaan jou seker minimum R1,000 uit die sak jaag, afhangende van jou kontakte. Ek raai mens aan om liefs nie te probeer nie, want netnou raak julle - soos ek - verslaaf aan iets wat ek nie kan bekostig nie :wink:

  12. Comment by Rustig on 25 August 2008:

    Dit is net Rappers en nuwe Russiese Miljoeners wat 1kg kaviaar gaan koop. :lol:
    Dit is ‘n voorgereg wat baie eenvoudig is maar ongelooflik interessant voorgesit kan word. So “ice sculpture” is regtig iets om te aanskou. Self is ek ‘n Moët & Chandon. Is darem nie so duur nie. Ek beveel die Vodka aan om saam met kaviaar te gaan.
    My volgende gereg is Steak Tartare. Moet net so bietjie my notas weer deur gaan.

  13. Comment by Rustig on 25 August 2008:

    I added a link to the post for Wip and Emil so they know where to buy their next few kilograms of caviar.
    ;)

  14. Comment by Jasper on 25 August 2008:

    Ek het al Sturgeon gevang op die Ural in Siberie (Fly-fishing)
    Die kaviaar is nou glad nie ‘n lekker ding om te eet nie. (’n hoop geld kan dit nou maar nie soos biltong laat proe nie :lol: )

  15. Comment by demoerin on 25 August 2008:

    Kan nie wag om die Steak Tartare kommentaar te lees nie! Gee my maar eerder Carpaccio, dit lyk meer aanloklik. :lol: , Dom P is ongelukkig heelemal uit my klas uit!

  16. Comment by Rustig on 25 August 2008:

    Welkom Jasper! Al gewonder wat van jou geword het. Ek het al my smaak vir biltong verloor. Ek eet dit maar is nie meer vir my so lekker nie.
    Demoerin: Ek self is ook lief vir carpaccio! Aangesien Emil die een is met ‘n vet beursie, dink ek hy moet ons uit nooit vir die Dom P en Kaviaar.
    :lol:

  17. Comment by boerinballingskap on 25 August 2008:

    Baie interessant! En lekkerrrr…

  18. Comment by boerinballingskap on 25 August 2008:

    …en dankie vir die skakel na Caviar House. Jipiee! Nou het ek weer darem iets nuuts om te doen, as ek weer op Hong Kong-lughawe rondle.

  19. Comment by Rustig on 25 August 2008:

    Op Heathrow het hulle ook baie lekker winkel en restaurant. Ek “treat” my altyd voor ‘n vlug na SA met so gerookte salm bord en ou glassie vonkel. Net wat die doktor aanbeveel voor so lang vlug huis toe.
    ;)

  20. Comment by flippiefanus on 25 August 2008:

    So van die “icescupture” gepraat wonder ek nou of ‘n bietjie yswyn (”icewine”) nie ook lekker sal wees saam met die kaviaar nie. Dit kos darem nie so duur soos Dom P nie maar dit kan jou ook ‘n aardige bedraggie uit die sak jaag. Hang af wat jy koop.

  21. Comment by Rustig on 26 August 2008:

    Solank dit nie te soet is nie. Caviar is maar souterig, maar kan gedoen word.

  22. Comment by Grander Gander on 26 August 2008:

    Caviar does not have to be an expensive outing. I took a date to the mountain lakes and experienced a delightful helping of roe from brook trout. I served it on a mother-of-pearl Wobble-Right lurer with dipping dishes filled with garlic pesto and iced vodka. Hint: Always bring twice as much vodka as you think is needed. I recommend Hood River Vodka ($15/half gallon). The boat was rocking in the moonlight!

  23. Comment by Rustig on 27 August 2008:

    Gander: I agree. Think caviar is so overrated. I had some lovely salmon roe a long time ago. I was prepard in more or less the same way as caviar. Lovely.
    Demoerin: Remember, twice as much vodka.
    :)

  24. Comment by Emil on 28 August 2008:

    Beslis overrated. Daar is goedkoper dinge soos Salmon eiers wat lekkerder is, en natuurlik goedkoper is. Ek dink mens kan steeds beindruk met ‘n R35 potjies pink en swart Salmon eiers, en ‘n R60 bottel Kaapse Vonkel van Simonsig. Of selfs teen R90 ‘n Graham Beck of Delheim Brut (al maak Delheim dit nou nie self nie!).

    Ek nooi julle graag vir hierdie etetjie, demoerin en rustig … en enige ander wat wil inval :lol:

  25. Comment by Emil on 28 August 2008:

    Hemel, jammer vir die swak skryfstyl en foute - dis die Fleur de Cap Merlot 2002 Unfiltered wat ‘n invloed speel :wink: Ek het juis so ‘n smagtig na sushi en Salmon eiers!!

  26. Pingback by Die week in ‘n neutedop…. « Demoerin’s Klasak on 29 August 2008:

    [...] die kookrubriek kan julle so bietjie oor die koningskos, Kaviaar gaan lees. Ek is jammer, maar Steak Tartare lyk nog steeds vir my soos ‘n rou hamburger [...]

  27. Comment by Rustig on 29 August 2008:

    Emil: “Cheap skate”! Ek kan dit by Ocean Basket ook kry. Watse gasheer is jy?

  28. Comment by Emil on 29 August 2008:

    Hehehe, dan gaan ons maar Ocean Basket toe, drink Two Oceans saam die Salmon.

  29. Comment by Rustig on 29 August 2008:

    Na twee bottels Two Oceans sal ek saam met die visse swem. Ek is maar lig in die broek.
    :)

Post a Response