Serving Caviar

The best caviar should be served ice-cold and as simply as possible. The traditional caviar accompaniments of chopped onion, lemon, chopped egg, and sour cream may be all right for inexpensive roes, but they overwhelm the delicate flavor of top-quality beluga, osetra, and sevruga. Spoons for eating caviar should be made of bone, porcelain, mother of pearl, or even plastic, but not metal, which reacts with the caviar to give it an unpleasant taste.

For more elaborate presentations, caviars a notch or two below the best quality are more economical choices. Foods served with caviar should be fairly mild or delicate. Such items as mild smoked salmon, oysters, and potatoes are often used.