What is caviar?
Caviar is salt-cured fish eggs, called roe, from sturgeon. It is considered a luxury food, especially beluga, osetra and sevruga caviar from the Caspian Sea region.
True caviar comes only from sturgeon, an ancient group of fish found mainly in the Caspian and Black Seas and some rivers in Europe, Asia and North America. The eggs are carefully removed, cleaned and lightly salted. High-quality caviar has firm, glossy eggs that pop gently in the mouth with a buttery, briny taste.
Wild sturgeon populations collapsed because of overfishing for caviar, pollution and dams. Most wild sturgeon species are now threatened, and international trade in wild caviar is heavily restricted. Today, most caviar comes from sturgeon farms in countries like China, Italy, France and the United States.
How it is served
Caviar is traditionally served chilled with small pancakes called blini, sour cream, toast or simply on its own. Metal spoons are avoided because they can affect the taste, so caviar is often served with spoons made of mother-of-pearl, bone or wood.
Did You Know?
Roe from other fish, such as salmon, trout and lumpfish, is often sold as caviar substitutes but is not true caviar.