Kaviari: The Art of Tasting Caviar

The magic of caviar comes from its great diversity. Indeed, each sturgeon gives grains of different sizes, colors and tastes. It's fascinating to see the difference there can be between all the caviars!

As a rule, simplicity is the best way to enjoy caviar.

Here are some tips for enjoying the “caviar emotion”:

< strong>Look at
Its color: dark, nuanced with anthracite-grey, sometimes bronze-brown;
Its size: small, medium, or large, with a uniform grain.
Everything is compact, but decoupled (without crushing), shimmering.
The grains must be detached and shiny.

Breathe
Breathe in this specific scent of caviar which diffuses marine fragrances frank and subtle.

In the mouth, savor
Close your eyes and listen to your sensations. Roll the grains against the palate to feel creaminess, roundness, firmness.
The caviar should be neither too firm nor too melting, but offer a subtle texture that crumbles on the palate!
Enjoy this unique taste of sturgeon egg, a buttery flavor, a note of hazelnut or fresh walnut. You should feel neither bitterness, nor acidity, nor any parasitic taste (earth, mud or metal)
Revel in its promising length in the mouth.

Memorize
Freshness, sensuality, harmony, complexity, subtlety... all sensations create the emotion of caviar and make the tasting unique, unforgettable.
Let yourself be won over by pleasure.
It will be greater if the service is respected .

The service

For an appetizer, count 10 to 15g per person. Otherwise, the "minimum" quantity recommended per person is 30 to 50g. You have to taste several mouthfuls in succession so that the palate gets used to the salt of the caviar. The ideal would be to be able to taste several caviars of different species to compare, exchange, discuss….. around a table.

The accompaniment: the caviar is first of all a great solitary. To appreciate its finest aromas and taste, it must be tasted alone with a teaspoon made of horn, mother-of-pearl, even wood, gold or vermeil, but never silver because this metal distorts the aromas. Do not "raise" it with onions or lemon which alter its taste qualities. A simple slice of plain bread, a blini, a potato and a zest of fresh cream can however be associated with it without harming its taste.

Great cooks create anthology recipes with caviar but it can also be cooked "simply": a few grains of caviar are enough to sublimate a dish!

An alliance with champagnes or certain great dry white wines will be preferred to the historical marriage with vodka which was justified part when the caviars were very salty.

Storage: the use-by date (DLC) is clearly indicated on the containers of farmed caviar. In its tightly closed vacuum box, it can be kept for several weeks in the refrigerator, between 0 and 4°C. Longer, the olfactory and taste qualities of the caviar deteriorate. Its appearance deteriorates (it crushes and bathes in oil) and takes on parasitic tastes (for example metallic).

A final piece of advice from Jean-Marie Pinçon: "The freshness of a caviar is controllable by hue, clarity and intensity of fragrance; passed, the caviar becomes dull and smells very strong. Take your caviar fresh but not cold so that it fully develops aroma and flavor”.