Question 1

What is caviar?

Accepted Answer

Caviar is salt-cured roe from sturgeon — the order Acipenseriformes. Under EU labelling rules the term is reserved for sturgeon; in the United States other roes may use it when the species is named, as in "salmon caviar".

Question 2

What does caviar taste like?

Accepted Answer

Salt, cream, and clean cold seawater, with a nutty or buttery finish that arrives after the grain pops. Good caviar never tastes fishy — a sour or oily note means the tin is old or has been stored too warm.

Question 3

Which caviar should I buy first?

Accepted Answer

Farmed siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii) is the least expensive genuine sturgeon caviar and a clean, nutty introduction. Kaluga hybrid gives the large-grain experience at a fraction of beluga pricing.

Question 4

What do you drink with caviar?

Accepted Answer

Low-dosage champagne — brut nature, extra brut, or blanc de blancs — or a neutral vodka served frozen. For still wine, choose something lean and unoaked such as Chablis, Muscadet, or dry Riesling.

Question 5

How much caviar do you serve per person?

Accepted Answer

15–30 g per person as part of a spread, or 50 g per person if caviar is its own course. A 30 g tin is a single serving.

Question 6

Is beluga caviar legal?

Accepted Answer

Imported Caspian beluga caviar has been banned in the United States since 2005. Beluga farmed inside the US is legal to buy domestically, and beluga hybrids farmed outside the Caspian basin are generally importable.

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