A Caviar Primer

We can all afford caviar, right?   Just in case you're at a fancy party and it's being served...here's how to pretend you know what you're talking about:  The best caviar comes from the Caspian and Black Seas from a fish called Sturgeon - the caviar is the fish eggs from this fish.  There are three main varieties of  sturgeon, producing slightly different caviar:  Beluga - a really huge fish weighing up to around 1700 pounds!  The fish eggs from the beluga are colored from light grey all the way to black.  Osetra, the next largest sturgeon, can have grayish, gray-green or even brown eggs.  The Osetra gets up to about 500 pounds.  The smallest of the sturgeon, the Sevruga, has small, greenish black eggs.  All sturgeon are in danger because of over fishinga and the demand for their caviar (all named after the fish: Beluga, Osetra, and Sevruga).  There are sturgeon farms now in the US producing caviar, as well as salmon caviar on the market, but none compare with the fish eggs from the Caspian and Black seas...slightly salty, mineraly, and they "pop" in your mouth.  US caviar tends to be much saltier (you can always tell if it's lesser caviar if it's very salty).  Caviar is fatty - ranging from 8-25%, and high in cholesterol, and hence needs to be preserved with salt.  The best caviar is expertly salted with no more than 5% and may be labeled "malassol", which is Russian for "lightly salted".Now, how about those fancy caviar spoons?  Mother of pearl...gold...there's a reason for it believe it or not...salt is corrosive to silver or steel and the two aforementioned substances do not react to the salt.  If you can afford the caviar but all the money is gone before you can buy an expensive spoon, consider plastic - impervious to salt as well!!  I hear some of the fast food joints have little tiny plastic spoons... - otherwise, use your hand.  Form a fist with your thumb on the outside facing downward.  The fold of skin between your forefinger and thumb form the perfect spoon for the caviar - this is called a "body shot" and you will definitely establish yourself as someone "in the know" by doing this!  Follow up your body shot with a shot of vodka and you are well on your way to the ambassadorship to Russia.  Na Zdorovye! - Lula