How to Serve Caviar

How do you serve and eat caviar? It’s easy to enjoy this world-renowned sturgeon roe. Caviar makes an elegant addition to parties, whether at the holidays, Valentine’s Day dinner for two, or any time of year. When the caviar comes out, it’s a certain sign of a special occasion. Here are some simple ideas for serving this classic and allowing the natural flavor of the caviar to shine.

Our French Ossetra Malossol Caviar is high-quality, lightly salted, and full of fresh, briny flavor. It doesn’t need much in the way of accompaniments. Enjoy it simply – atop a round of brioche toast, unsalted cracker, or blini, which are bite-sized pancakes made of wheat or buckwheat flour, originating in Russia. Or eat it alone, right off the spoon.

Tips for Handling Caviar

It is recommended to open the sealed tin 15 to 20 minutes before eating; be sure to keep it cold while the caviar is exposed to the air. The recommended temperature for storing caviar is about 30 F - colder than a home refrigerator. Store tins of caviar in the coldest part of your fridge but never in the freezer, as that can affect the texture.

Protect the delicate pearls from breaking by serving caviar right in the tin, nestled in a shallow bowl of ice chips. Once opened, it is best to eat caviar quickly, as it does not have a long shelf life, especially natural caviar without preservatives. Use non-reactive spoons for serving - traditional mother-of-pearl wooden, bone, or horn spoons - not metal as they can affect the taste. Paired with Champagne, sake, vodka, or dry white wine, it’s hard to imagine that there will be any caviar left over.

Traditional Caviar Service

Caviar is an important part of Russian cuisine; in the old days, it was enjoyed every day, and traditionally on New Year’s Eve. At its most simple, you can spread caviar on a slice of generously buttered bread like rye or baguette. But for a classic caviar service, serve with yeasted blini, and small bowls containing chopped chives, hard-boiled eggs (some will serve yolk and white separately), capers, crème fraîche, and diced onions so guests can choose the accompaniments they like.

Caviar on Potatoes

Potatoes make a perfect neutral vehicle for delivering caviar. Enjoy caviar on top of baked baby red potatoes with a dollop of crème fraîche. Substitute golden smashed potatoes, mini potato pancakes fried in duck fat, or pommes gaufrettes - waffle-cut potato chips (we cook ours with duck fat).

Caviar with Seafood

Double up on seafood by serving caviar on seared scallops or mini crabcakes. Caviar will also pair with smoked salmon canapes or even salmon tartare. For a very swanky way to eat caviar, serve it on raw oysters in the shell.

Caviar on Eggs

Go high-protein and serve caviar on hard-boiled or deviled eggs instead of crackers. We like tiny quail eggs for this purpose and have an easy recipe for parties. Or try an elegant recipe with caviar atop creamy scrambled eggs served in the shell.

Pasta and Caviar

Our simple recipe for creamy egg pasta with caviar makes an impressive dinner party first course - or a midnight snack for two if celebrating New Year’s Eve privately at home. Scale the recipe up as needed.

Did You Know?

Caviar may be delicious, but it also packs plenty of nutritional value. Caviar contains calcium, phosphorus, selenium, iron, magnesium, and Vitamins B12, B6, B2, B4, C, A, and D. It’s got amino acids and omega-3 fatty acids to recommend it as well. So eat your caviar!