The favorite was the transmontanus caviar from Sterling, the largest producer in California. But a farmed osetra caviar from Bulgaria was also very impressive.

The berries of the Sterling, sold by Petrossian, were grayish, uniform in size and well-packed, not sitting in excess liquid like a couple of others. It had a faintly briny seaside aroma, and a clean buttery flavor. One taster described it as creamy; another found a hint of nuttiness, a flavor that suggested osetra to a third writer. (Only the Bulgarian was a true osetra, though some others were labeled as such.) The Sterling came close to having the satisfying “pop” of high-quality sturgeon caviar.

The Bulgarian, from Paramount Caviar in Queens, delivered the look, texture and flavor of osetra with medium-large gray-green eggs, a nice pop and a flavor at once buttery and nutty. 

 FAR FROM THE SEA Sturgeon in a holding tank in California produce eggs that are in high demand.

 The next runner-up was transmontanus from Italy, sold by the Browne Trading Company in Maine as Black Pearl. It was darker, with uniform grains, not too soft, and it had a clean, somewhat earthy flavor to one taster, a slightly vegetal taste to another, and was mild, though a bit salty, to a third.

The three other caviars were purchased from Marky’s in Miami. The Tsar Nicoulai, also a California transmontanus, had fairly large grayish grains sitting in some liquid. They were somewhat sticky and soft, and had no particular aroma but an almost funky flavor and a slightly bitter finish.

The French caviar was from baerii sturgeon. It had fairly soft, small, dark grains, and an over-salted flavor despite a hint of odd sweetness on the palate.

The caviar from Uruguay, a baerii, had small black berries that were a little gooey and too salty and had a murky flavor.

 

FLORENCE FABRICANT