Caviar is extremely perishable and must be refrigerated and eaten within three weeks of taking it from the fish.

Date: 23rd October, 2010

Simply put, caviar is lightly salted roe or fish eggs. Sturgeon roe is considered premium and “true” caviar. It comes in four varieties — beluga, sevruga, osetra and ship.

The most expensive is beluga caviar ($174/ounce in 2008 pricing) from beluga sturgeon that swim in the Caspian Sea, which is bordered by Russia and Iran. Beluga is characterized by soft, pea-size eggs ranging from pale silver-gray to black.

Next in line is osetra caviar which is medium size and gray to brownish gray in color. Next in quality is the smaller, gray sevruga caviar. Last, but not least, is ship, a small- to medium-size, dark-colored caviar sometimes mixed with osetra and sevruga. On its own, it has a sevruga flavor but with an odd musty aftertaste.

Caviar is extremely perishable and must be refrigerated and eaten within three weeks of taking it from the fish. There is some disagreement about freezing caviar for longer shelf life. Some say it’s a no-no, others say it should be frozen by the processor and be purchased frozen by the consumer.
Other Caviars
Much less expensive caviars include lumpfish caviar with tiny, hard, black eggs, whitefish caviar (also called American Golden) with small yellow-gold eggs and salmon caviar (also called red caviar) with medium, pale orange to deep red eggs.
Pasteurized Caviar
Considered inferior by caviar snobs, this is roe that has been partially cooked to extend the shelf life. But the cooking changes the texture of the eggs and, therefore, the flavor. Canned caviars are pasteurized.
Pressed Caviar
Considered the most inferior by caviar snobs, but much more affordable and ideal when using caviar in spreads, pressed caviar consists of damaged eggs and can be a mixture of varieties and grades.
What to Look for in Caviar
Fresh caviar should be bright, shiny and whole. It should not appear smashed or dull. Like good quality-fish, it shouldn’t smell fishy at all. It should smell of a sea breeze.

Classic Caviar Accompaniments
It should be served simply with blini or toast points and lemon wedges. Garnishes include chopped hard-cooked egg, minced red or white onion, chopped dill, sour cream or creme fraiche, and ice-cold vodka or dry champagne.
How Today’s Chefs Are Using Caviar
Chef Rick Tramonto, of Tru Restaurant in Chicago, uses caviar traditionally, accompanied by minced onion, chopped hard-cooked eggs, creme fraiche instead of sour cream, lemon, and nontraditional capers, but it’s his presentation that is avant garde. He uses a glass staircase designed to his specifications for each component of this classy appetizer. Instead of blini, he uses toast points.

Other chefs have taken liberties with the blini and made them with cornmeal, whole-wheat or all white flour, and added chives, garlic and other ingredients, including avocadoes in the batter!

Still others are using caviar in cooked dishes, adding it just at the end so as not to toughen the eggs. But the majority of chefs still use this fragile delicacy in cold offerings or as garnish.
American Freshwater Caviar
Proponents of American freshwater caviar say the quality is starting to rival that of Russian beluga, which is fast becoming an endangered species.

Rachel Collins, the owner of Collins Caviar, says “Collins Caviar is the only processor of handmade American freshwater caviars (not an importer). We offer low-salt hackelback sturgeon ($46/ounce 2008 pricing), paddlefish, American Golden whitefish, and flavor-infused and smoked caviars.”

Collins’ mother, Carolyn Collins, founded the company in 1983. An avid fisherwoman, she turned her hobby into a profession after seeing the beautiful roe of the Great Lakes Chinook salmon going to waste when it was discarded with the rest of the innards. Carolyn Collins researched the process of turning raw fish roe into succulent fine caviar — a closely guarded secret — and became a self-taught caviar maker.

Her handmade fresh Great Lakes salmon and trout caviars quickly became an exclusive menu item for several upscale Chicago restaurants and appeared on menus in dishes like Coconut Blini with Tahitian Vanilla Ice Cream and Mango Caviar, Bloody Mary Gazpacho with Caviar Peppar Crouton Floats, Thick-Cut Sweet Potato Chips and Citron Caviar Creme Spread, among many others.

The Process Remains the Same
In 1985, Rachel Collins joined the company and became president in 1998 when her mother retired. Now as then, hand-processed low-salt salmon caviar is still made fresh every week, along with hackleback sturgeon, paddlefish, and American Golden whitefish caviars.
New Products
Having established the traditional caviar business, the Collinses began offering flavor-infused and smoked caviars, truffle butter and lobster roe. Rachel Collins is the creative force behind Collins Caviar Creme Spread and the American Blini Company.

Take a virtual tour of Collins Caviar and watch their blini-making process.
How Much Caviar to Buy
The most logical answser would be, “How much can you afford?” But, these are some things to consider. How many guests will there be? Is the caviar being served on passed hors d’oeuvres or from an appetizer table? Are your guests big caviar eaters? Here are some guidelines.
• There are 8-10 (1/2 teaspoon) servings of caviar in one ounce.
• There are about 20 (1/4 teaspoon) garnish servings per ounce of caviar.
• For real caviar enthusiasts, figure at least 1/2 to 1 ounce of caviar per person!
• If caviar is being served by itself, or with crackers or toast points, a 2-ounce jar serves about four people. For canapes, a 2-ounce jar should serve eight people.
SOURCE: American Caviar
Handling and Serving Caviar
Caviar is tender and fragile and needs to be treated with TLC. Use a nonmetallic spoon — preferably mother of pearl, tortoise shell, bone, ceramic or even plastic — to lift vertically from top to bottom to avoid crushing the egg. When using large “grain” (which refers to the egg size) salmon caviar as a garnish, remove single grains or eggs with the tip of a table knife.

For best flavor, remove the jars of caviar from the refrigerator 10 to 15 minutes before serving, and open just prior to their consumption.

Source: http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/od/appetizers/a/caviar.htm

Leading Philippines Wine Supplier Yats Wine Cellars based in Clark Philippines with outlets in Angeles City, Subic Freeport and Manila Philippines has been not only a wine shop for fine wines covering all major wine regions but also a source of reliable and useful information about wine, wine appreciation, wine accessories, wine and health, food and wine pairing and all other matters relating to wine and its appreciation. This Philippines Clark Freeport based Wine Supplier and Wine Shop frequently holds public wine tasting events in Pampana Clark Freeport Zone, Angeles City, Subic Bay area, Makati, Fort Bonifacio and other areas in Philippines capital city Manila. Private Wine events such as private wine tasting and private wine dinners are also designed and organized for private clientele for their wine loving guests.

This wine shop in Angeles Clark Philippines is also renowned for a very unique product called Vintage Beer which many characterize as “Champagne beer” because it comes in a bottle with a Champagne stopper and metal restrainer. Vintage beers are top-of-the-line luxury beers bottle-conditioned for a slow fermentation to take place inside the bottle, a process that is very similar to Champagne which is designed to not only create the bubbles but also for an amazing complexity and depth of flavors.

For fans of Port and Sauternes, this wine shop in Clark Pampanga has a large selection of vintage port, Sauternes and Barsac as well as Eiswein/Icewine from Austria and Germany. Likewise, there is a good selection of Vintage Champagne at the wine shoppers’ disposal in the cellars of this wine shop in Clark Pampanga.

http://www.ClarkWineCenter.com

Getting to this wine shop in Pampanga Angeles City Clark Freeport Zone Philippines from Manila
Getting to the Clark Wine Center wine shop from Manila is quite simple: after entering Clark Freeport from Dau and Angeles City, proceed straight along the main highway M A Roxas. Clark Wine Center is the stand-along white building on the right, at the corner A Bonifacio Ave. From the Clark International Airport DMIA, ask the taxi to drive towards the entrance of Clark going to Angeles City. From Mimosa, just proceed towards the exit of Clark and this wine shop is on the opposite side of the main road M A Roxas.

Clark Wine Center
Bldg 6460 Clark Observatory Building
Manuel A. Roxas Highway corner A Bonifacio Ave,
Angeles Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga 2023
0922-870-5173 0917-826-8790 (ask for Ana Fe)

Wine@Yats-International.com

YATS Wine Cellars
Manila Sales Office
3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,
Exchange Rd Ortigas Metro Manila, Philippines 1605
(632) 637-5019 0917-520-4393 ask for Rea or Chay

Best place to buy wine in Clark Pampanga outside Manila near Subic and Angeles City Philippines is Clark Wine Center. Visitors buy wine in Manila and Pampanga should not miss stopping at this wine shop for a few bottles of fine vintage wines to bring home.