Have you ever looked at a tin of caviar and thought, “Wow, that’s expensive for tiny fish eggs?” You are not wrong, but there is a reason little pearls are royalty in the seafood. They give you a rare, lovely taste and an unmatched luxury that warrants their costly price.
Want to know more about this delicacy? Let’s dive into the top caviar varieties, the practical methods used to process them, and the best way to enjoy them.
What Is Caviar?
Caviar, sometimes referred to as roe, is a rare, fancy, and highly nutritious fish egg used to garnish cooked or seafood. This is the ultimate “I have expensive taste” topping, customarily served in tiny portions, as it can be pretty pricey.
You can enjoy the delicacies with different drinks, including vodka, champagne, or wine, because a rich snack is incomplete without a touch of bubbly. These eggs are considered a relish as they come packed with a ton of health benefits, including:
- Amino acids
- Iron
- Protein
- Calcium
- Vitamins A, B12, C, D, and E.
But where do you get caviar from? Caviar producers sourced and harvested this treat from a prehistoric fish called the sturgeon. It's a rare fish, mainly due to these species losing their habitats to pollution and more people overfishing. This adds to the caviar's rarity, raising its prices.
There are various sturgeon fish, including the Beluga, Ossetra, and Sevruga. But here’s the kicker: These species take a pretty long time (about 5-20 years) before they are mature enough to produce eggs. This makes caviar valuable.
Top Four Caviar Varieties
Identifying caviar is relatively easy. These tiny, glossy eggs gently pop in your mouth as they are not mushy. They also have a unique but mild aroma, usually a fresh smell that is overly fishy. Authentic caviar is not cheap and melts like butter. It’s recommended that you go with renowned types of caviars, including:
Beluga
Beluga is a highly regarded caviar sourced and collected from Beluga sturgeon—one of the largest fish species, which weighs roughly 3000 pounds and can reach 15 feet long. It is native to the unpolluted waters of the Caspian Sea. Beluga caviar comes in a variety of colors ranging from light grey to extremely dark.
As one of the most desired delicacies, beluga caviar treats you to a pretty noticeable nutty aroma. It is also visually appealing and comparatively large, measuring 3 to 4 mm. This treat is overly soft, with a buttery and creamy tang, which you will enjoy as it melts in your mouth. Beluga caviar is also among the high-priced caviars but with so much to offer: vitamins A, B, and D, plus nutritious fats and proteins.
Sevruga
Sevruga is a European caviar harvested from sevruga, a relatively small fish from the sturgeon family found in the Caspian, Black, and Aegean Seas. It grows up to 7 feet in length and can reach 150 lbs in weight. This roe is pretty tiny and has a striking appearance with distinctive grey colors that supplement the overall experience.
Despite being small, sevruga has the highest amount of calories and is packed with nutritious benefits and a mouthwatering flavor. This caviar is one of the fish roe that has maintained a high demand. Opting for this delicacy, you enjoy healthy benefits and a smooth, velvety texture. The best part? It is offered at a budget-friendly price.
For flavor, sevruga treats you with a unique profile of salty, fresh, and crisp tang, which some chefs and foodies have described as comparatively intense and complex. You can enjoy this caviar on its own or garnish your breakfast, dinner, or seafood to bring a touch of opulence to your table.
Osetra
More like a crowd-pleaser of caviar, Osetra is a preferred roe mainly for flavors and usage. It's obtained from a native fish in the Caspian Sea called Ossetra sturgeon. This species of fish has been categorized as endangered, largely due to their low reproductive rate and fishermen's overexploitation. This has consequently increased the caviar’s prices.
Fortunately, there are responsible caviar producers who have conserved Ossetra sturgeon, increasing its availability. This delicacy is a “chef’s favorite” thanks to its accessibility good quality, and nutty tang.
Relatively smaller than most caviars, Osetra comes with a pretty alluring color–from golden to dark brown. The roe treats you to a buttery texture that bursts with a slight pop once you put it in your mouth, releasing a rich flavor and leaving you with an intricate taste.
The delicacy is a preferred ingredient and flexible in the sense that it can be served alone or used to garnish your gourmet food, for a more elevated taste and presentation.
Sterlet
Sourced from the Sterlet sturgeon, Sterlet caviar is a tasteful roe found in fresh and salt water, such as the Black or Caspian Sea. It's pretty difficult to breed as it can take between 5-10 years to produce caviar. This makes the sterlet roe quite pricey for some people, mainly because of its rarity.
Historically known as “Russian royalty” sterlet was enjoyed by czars on its own, like a delicious snack. For some years, this caviar was a staple food and was seen as a symbol of prosperity and status.
Sterlet shares a similar taste with sevruga roe but is seemingly smaller, ranging between 2 and 2.5 mm. It also comes in an enticing grey color with amber tones, and people like it for its smooth texture. Sterlet caviar has a mild and nutty flavor that connoisseurs are fond of, and the distinctive intense tang is one of its defining characteristics.
Salmon
Salmon caviar is a treat that has today become pretty popular for not only being enjoyable but also affordable to most people. Often called the “red caviar,” the delicacy is harvested from salmonid fish, among them chum salmon, pink salmon, and trout.
This little pearl naturally has lots of nutrients: vitamins, minerals, omega-3, and amino acids that leave your body healthier with every bite you take. Like most sturgeon caviars, salmon caviar is commonly used in sushi and an incredible topping for snacks, toast, or just enjoyed straight from the tin.
Caviar Processing Methods
Caviar is not just a fancy fish egg; it’s a masterpiece of craftmanship. From careful harvesting of the sturgeon fish to conventional techniques, every step shapes its flavor and texture. Here are processes that turn roe into the opulence delicacies we enjoy today.
Malossol
Malossol is the highest quality and one of the most known methods people use to preserve caviar. This time-honored and carefully curated process has been in existence for many years, and producers use about 3-5% salt to preserve the delicacy and even enhance the texture.
This is one of the most prized but effective techniques of caviar preservation. Unlike most methods, Malossol caviar tends to retain the roe’s original taste and distinct pop.
The process is pretty straightforward. It starts with choosing only the freshest eggs, sorting them to get rid of any impurities, and differentiating the sizes and quality. Next, the caviar is carefully salted to ensure even distribution without tampering with the natural taste.
The roe is then allowed to sit and absorb the salt in a chilled condition, after which the delicacy is inspected for damage before packaging in tins. Most caviar connoisseurs prefer caviar processed using this method due to its purity and untainted taste of premium roe.
Pressed
The pressed method is also known as the second-best technique for producing quality caviar. It results in a thick, paste-like consistency instead of individual, delicate roe. Originally, this technique was used on caviar made from broken eggs.
When using this method, a mass of fish eggs is pressed against a high-concentrated salt solution before being laid out to dry. The caviar is then carefully pressed to remove any excessive moisture and to concentrate the flavor.
This process gives the delicacy an incredible but intense, briny, and thick texture, which you can scoop or spread. Pressed caviar is relatively different from fresh one as it has deep umami notes, making it the ideal treat to enjoy with your gourmet foods and enhance your scrambled eggs.
Salted
Sometimes referred to as semi-preserving, the salted method tends to use a moderate amount of salt, about 8%, which is noticeable. This technique is handy as it helps extend the caviar’s shelf life while maintaining a rich, fresh taste. The salted method is preferred, especially for lower-grade caviar or when the producers don’t have access to fresh refrigeration.
This process is pretty simple and conventional. It starts with gently rinsing the fish eggs, followed by a precise salting stage that evenly coats the caviar. The high salt content intensifies the flavor, making it less delicate compared to malossol caviar.
Salted caviar is a favorite of individuals who want to taste this delicacy but with fewer worries about immediate consumption, as it can be stored without refrigeration. The treat may not have the same quality as malossol caviar’s but you still enjoy a satisfying burst of umami.
Pasteurized
Pasteurized caviar comes from fresh caviar, which is then processed using moderate heat. This technique helps extend the roe’s shelf life without losing much of the natural flavor or texture. Also, if producers use proper preparation, they process caviars that retain the natural vitamins, minerals, and amino acids.
With this kind of preservation, caviar is more transportable, as there is no need for constant refrigeration, making it more accessible. You can find such delicacies at supermarkets. Caviar made using the pasteurized method is convenient as even when the jar is opened; the treat does not lose its quality for nearly 5 days.
Which Caviar Type Offers the Best Flavor?
When it comes to the question of the best-tasting caviar, this is totally subjective. The type of caviar that is pleasant to one person may not be as mouthwatering to another individual. Also, this decision boils down to the kind of taste you yearn for and whether you are working with a budget, as caviars are priced differently.
If you prefer the buttery smoothness and spicy taste of caviar that will melt seamlessly with a rich oceanic feel, beluga caviar would be an incredible choice.
Some gourmet foodies may swear by Osetra caviar if they prefer the nutty and flavorsome salty tang this type brings. Other people who like a briny flavor with a bit of punch may go for sevruga over any caviar.
For individuals yearning for something conventional, opt for salmon caviar as it is budget-friendly, less salty, and has a light fishy aroma. But if you fancy caviar that will leave you with a salty post-taste, the sterlet would be a great choice.
The real secret here is understanding the kind of taste you are looking for and going for caviar that will give the taste or something close to it. Regardless of what you fancy, a briny pop of umami, or a melt-in-your-mouth opulence, there is caviar for everyone.
How to Serve/Eat Caviars Correctly?
Caviars that versatile as they can be consumed with a variety of dishes. You can eat your preferred caviar with cooked foods like a hardboiled egg, bread, and seafood. For a better experience, these little pearls go well with a selection of condiments, including:
- Unsalted butter
- Capers
- Lemon wedges
- Unsalted crackers.
We recommend serving them using the mother-of-pearl spoon, as it helps retain their authentic flavor.
Final Thoughts
Caviar is a delicacy that everyone needs to try at least once to experience its natural health benefits while elevating their dining experience. Despite this delicacy’s luxury aspect, the roe makes a perfect addition to your nutrition plan. And the best part? They come in a variety, giving you more choices so you can go with what pleases your taste buds and is within your budget.
Also, caviars are processed using different methods, adding to their versatility as some people like this treat fresh and delicate. Others prefer it with a bit of salt and with a prolonged shelf life without refrigeration.
How do you find your perfect match? We recommend giving each of these delicacies a try. Caviar is more than just food; it’s an experience, as a single bite with your breakfast or dinner will turn your typical meal into a healthier celebration.
So whether you are an avid caviar connoisseur looking into different types or just naturally curious about the hype surrounding these delicacies, they are worth a shot. Worst case,? You won’t like it, but your body will benefit from the nutrients.