What to Eat with Caviar
The best way to eat caviar is usually the simplest. The beauty is to fully savor its delicate, nuanced flavors and its unique texture. Traditional pairings include:
- Blini: a small Russian buckwheat pancake
- Toast points
- Boiled quail eggs
- Crème fraiche (a type of sour cream)
- Chopped scallions, minced onions, and lemon wedges
- Smoked salmon
The best caviar like Beluga, or sturgeon in general should be served simply, enjoyed with crème fraîche over a hand-made blini. We offer a selection of caviar accompaniments including fresh hand-made blinis and crème fraîche. These accompaniments come standard as well with all our caviar gift sets.
What to Drink with Caviar
The best pairings in terms of drink are usually also very traditional. Purists will tell you chilled, freezing shots of vodka are the way to go, while the most elegant foodies will argue for champagne. These are all fine! Dry white wines work very well, and just anything that’s sparkling and cold will be a good companion.
The most traditional drinks to pair it with:
- Champagne (chilled) - any good champagne will usually do, but the absolute best is a fine traditional brut or extra-brut
- Vodka (chilled)
- Dry white wine (chilled)
Nontraditional drinks ideas:
- Beer (need you ask? Ice-cold!) The tailgating party just got a first-class upgrade! The trick is to go for light beers (domestic or imported, your choice). Beers that are too dark will overwhelm the palate and take away from the crisp and smooth flavor of the caviar. To best enjoy, keep it simple, and pair a tall glass of ice-cold beer with a scoopful of eggs.
How to Cook with Caviar
The best food to pair with caviar is mild and not overwhelming or overly flavorful. This delicacy has a delicate flavor, and it shouldn’t compete with another ingredient, which could overwhelm it (and make for an expensive culinary mistake). Also, don’t cook; it will make it tough and unpleasant. Add it at the very end of the preparation, or just delicately top a dish.
A surprisingly great pairing for is a smooth, creamy cheese. The contrast of sweet cream and the briny character of caviar make for a unique but pleasant combination. The best cheese for caviar is crème fraiche, but a triple cream cheese or just plain cream cheese with a twist of lemon will also do the trick. Go for decadent textures and small bites – you don’t want anything to obscure the star of the show!
More inexpensive roe (like capelin, tobiko, and whitefish) allow you to be creative without spending a fortune, so feel free to use as garnish (red tobico, and tobico capelin sushi make colorful accompaniments), or grill, bake, sprinkle, and experiment! Rinse all dyed roe using a strainer, and softly and gently soak up excess moisture with a paper towel.