You don’t eat caviar because you’re hungry. But the portion set before us at a dinner in the late 1990’s was capable of staving off a serious quantity of pang.
We all eye’d the presentation set before us perched on the base of empty, over-turned, long stemmed Riedel crystal wine glasses. This caviar course was done in the style of the legendary “beggars purses” as created by Barry Wine, once chef-owner of the storied ‘Quilted Giraffe’ restaurant of Manhattan. A man I was pleased to get to know over time.
Back in that time, Chef Wine suggested his guests used no hands, much less forks while eating these regal purses. Chef Wine, some have said, favored taking pictures of his clientele in the act. Some guests put on elegantly designed handcuffs. The guests were instructed to lean way over with their arms and hands cuffed behind them; taking it between their lips and teeth. Then stand upright and eat the vaunted cargo within the chive tied crêpe.
I didn’t wait for anyone’s insisting on handcuffs for me and picked up my beggars purse up with one hand and bit it in half. I enjoyed it tremendously with a gulp of a vintage Krug Champagne. I finished it, followed by some more of the Krug. The evening was looking up.
The grandson of Genghis Khan, Batu Khan was honored at a feast in the year 1240 which took place at a monastery. Perhaps you, like I, have a hard time squaring up the vision of a marauder such as Khan being hosted by holy men, but politics and religion have plenty of episodes that are downright weird. This feast was held on the banks of the River Volga. The menu began with a fish soup made with roasted sturgeon, some eel pâté, pies stuffed with wild mushrooms and that was followed by crystallized apples and you guessed it, caviar.
In the book, “Caviar, the Definitive Guide” by Susie Boeckmann and Natalie Rebeiz-Nielsen I read this amazing excerpt, “Beluga sturgeon have been known to swallow salmon whole. There have also been reports of aquatic birds, baby seals and even a horse’s head being found in a Beluga’s stomach”. When you consider the reality that the largest sturgeon, the endangered beluga of Eurasia can reach 24 feet in length and weigh over 3,000 pounds!
There are three great grades of caviar; Beluga, Sevruga and Osetra, (which also can be spelled Ossetra). The determination of which caviar it will be is done by several criteria. At this level it is a matter of personal taste. Malossal is a term meaning “little salt”. Fresh caviar has very little. The custom of adding salt was greatly diminished when modern refrigeration was introduced to the industry. The presence of salt preserves caviar but masks the flavors. World class caviar should be served as simply as possible. Forget chopped eggs, capers, and onions with caviar of quality. Toasted brioche is perfect.
Among Petrossian’s sustainable offerings are Tsar Imperial Transmontanus Caviar, from farm-raised white sturgeon native to California, and Royal Siberian Caviar, from Siberian sturgeon raised in Florida.
World class caviar is one of life’s musts even if only once in a while.
Handcuffs are optional!
