What Is and How to Eat Caviar? Caviar 101!

Veronica Belmont of Tekzilla sent in a video requesting us to cover caviar, and so, in today's WTF, Daniel Delaney explores the ins and outs of the spherical delicacy. Today's sponsor is UrbanOyster.com


----
What's This Food?! (WTF?!) is a daily cooking show, with a new episode posted every day of 2011.

Learn more at http://danieldelaney.com
Facebook - http://danieldelaney.com/facebook
Twitter - http://twitter.com/danieldelaney
Email Newsletter - http://eepurl.com/cLA6Y

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• caviar
• roe
• beluga
• ossetra
• fish
• raw
• eggs
• fisheggs
• veronicabelmont
• sturgeon
• salt
• brine
• whatsthisfood
• danieldelaney
• dandelaney
• delaney
• cooking
• howto
• how-to
• instruction
• demonstration
• educational
• demo
• recipe
• food
• what's this food
• whats this food
• how to
• dan delaney
• Daniel Delaney
• vendrtv
• diy
• tutorial

[miZsCrZe3]

Awesome video!(:

[danieldelaney]

@miZsCrZe3 Thanks much.

[TwistedAlphonso1]

no matter what, I will never eat caviar...sorry.

[danieldelaney]

@TwistedAlphonso1 Can't win 'em all!

[VisibleNinja5674]

"It's like IPad 2s" I actually did laugh out loud.

[danieldelaney]

@VisibleNinja5674 :P

[pearlyone1]

Beluga Sturgeon are an endangered species. Although other species are on the endangered list for many other reasons, a species such as the Sturgeon and particularly the Beluga Sturgeon are on the endangered list merely for the pleasure of rich ostentatious people and wannabe's that only wish they were rich. If anyone cares about the planet and endangered species, they'd never buy things like caviar that require the slaughter of the fish merely for its roe.

[esorlaksa]

Your mouth moves funny^^ No offense meant^^

[Boodhunnilesh]

I've tasted Caviar, its tasty but it's way over-rated

[jahanr1]

I'm eating some right now, it's delicious! Nothing quite like it. I was hoping for some more recommendations on how to eat it tho cuz I don't like crackers or bread too much, so I just eat it without anything else.

[parahumanoid]

@flyersfan1799

(continuation)

Let the mix stand in the refrigerator overnight. Salt and vinegar will kill possible parasites (it's a raw fish product after all). Oil will be absorbed by the roe and it will gain in volume. Besides, oil is a natural preservative and it will give it extra moisture, so it doesn't form a crust or goes sticky.

Before serving, feel free to finely chop green onions, chives or whatever suits your taste and use that for garnish or mix it in.

Bon appetit.

[parahumanoid]

@flyersfan1799

(continuation).

The slime that envelops the eggs will boil and turn, staying on top, whereas the eggs should sink. Remove the turned slime from the surface with a skimmer and drain the roe. You don't want to keep it there too long, so as not to cook it through. All of this should take about one minute. Once drained, add 25% of roe's volume vegetable oil or deodorized fish oil, 1 tbsp salt per pound, 0-2 tbsp vinegar and mix well.

(continuted)

[parahumanoid]

@flyersfan1799

Here's what I recommend: get a sack of fresh pike roe from local fishermen if you can. Now is exactly the season. Cut the sack open and separate the roe from the sack. Rub the roe through the sift/screen of apropriate aperture to separate remaining fragments of the sack. Bring sufficient volume of saturated salty water solution to a boil, take it off the heat, let it cool slightly and dump the roe into it, mixing it with a spoon or a spatula.

(continued)

[parahumanoid]

@flyersfan1799

You probably won't get anything good for $40. That is if you specifically mean sturgeon roe. A cheaper, and by no means worse, alternative is the so-called "red caviar", made of salmon roe. I personally like it better than the sturgeon product. Probably because I prefer using it with vodka whereas sturgeon roe calls for a more gentle drink like champaigne. I frequently make my own from pike or carp (Cyprinus carpio). I made a batch of 6 pounds today for tomorrow's party.

[parahumanoid]

An important point to make here is that all fish roe is pretty much the same in terms of nutritional value. The balance of omega-3 fatty acids, proteins and vitamins differs, but not by much. It really comes down to taste more than anything else. Correctly prepared pike roe can pretty easily rival the "real caviar" (which is more of a marketing term than any tangible characteristic - depending on the kind of sturgeon and technology employed in preparing it, caviars may have little in common)

[parahumanoid]

@EvilPlasticPlate

Exactly the point I made in another comment here. Russia and Iran are known to farm sturgeon and harvest the roe without killing the fish. At least that goes for the bigger, more valuable kinds of sturgeon that take a while to mature. "Sterlyad", for example, is not a very valuable kind, so it may very well be killed in the process, but then again it is being cultivated in such numbers and matures so quickly that it's not a problem.

[parahumanoid]

@pearlyone1

That is not how the beluga caviar is produced. This fish is too precious and grows to maturity way to long to kill it for the caviar. There are methods of extracting the roe when it's ripe enough without killing the specimen, so it can be reused yearly. Belugas can live up to over a hundred years of age. They are being farmed and no one is dumb enough to conduct a business in such a wasteful manner. What you describe here is pouching and has nothing to do with legal production.

[Xx3dviolencexX]

So.. if i use a plastic spoon, it will taste like plastic?