As someone who's always been on a budget, I've never understood as much about caviar as I'd like to know. After all, I've always told myself, what's the point of getting to know a delicacy that I can rarely afford to enjoy, anyway?
I was fortunate enough to attend Petrossian's caviar seminar at the NYC Wine & Food Festival, and that's when I realized my thinking's been a little backward. After tasting a handful of varieties, I realized that's why I should get better acquainted with caviar: so that when I do want to make the splurge, it's easy to make well-educated purchasing decisions.
Among some of the facts I learned: caviar is only one fish (sturgeon) but composed of many species (such as osetra, beluga, sevruga, and kaluga) — and almost everything you'll come across today is farmed. Keep reading to see more caviar basics.
