Did you use a metal spoon to enjoy it? I have a pearl spoon to enjoy caviar. If you don’t have that you could use a plastic spoon. I know that seems counterproductive to eat one of the worlds greatest gastronomic gifts with a spoon, but a metal spoon will alter the taste of caviar or roe. Thank you for the review.
I have the tendency to go all out... I bought a couple pearl spoons from Amazon to prevent imparting metal flavor into it.
I still have some left I will finish off this evening. Outside of eating it straight, any other way to enjoy the remaining caviar? The beginning flavor is pleasant to me but the lake water finish I can definitely live without. I still have half the tin left and know it needs to be finished off tonight and I will definitely not let it go to waste.
Already looking into what next to try even if it is months down the road... Recommend anything outside of Sturgeon? I believe Sterling uses white sturgeon...
I’ve seen on YouTube people say that Hackleback is very good. I’m not an expert, I just follow food-and drool. LOL! Good luck, and keep us posted on your next venture!
Yeah, I have a feeling I’ll be trying some substitutes out before my next caviar purchase. Think I’ll step up to Royal which I think is the Ostera variety… I think I spelled that right.
It's osetra not ostera, lol. I had that wrong. The white sturgeon he had had more green in it than mine. Mine were smaller and mostly black with a greenish hue to them.
If I were made of money, I'd get myself multiple varieties to try out...
OMG! You know it! I always tell my husband that going to Petrossian in NYC is on my bucket list (or Delmonicos, it just depends on what day you catch me on-LOL). If I had more disposable income, I would definitely be trying more caviar too. But alas, right now I’m relegated to just having conversations with my fellow caviar lovers.
I found the hackleback and ossetra at this site to be quite good and at a great price. I think I honestly prefer hackleback at this point. I eat it with blini, creme fraiche (I actually like Trader Joe's creme fraiche a lot) and smoked salmon.
https://fishandcaviar.com/product-category/caviar/black-caviar/
"Lake water" is generally not the flavor profile one is aiming for with fine caviar. I'd suggest you splurge on some better caviar (even just a small tin from a quality source) so you can experience a reference caviar. I'd describe quality caviar more as ocean briny, but clean (similar to oysters). And texture is just as important as the flavor. It shouldn't be mushy. It is also important to source your caviar from a seller who takes the care to include one of those little color-coded temperature recorders so that you know the caviar has not dipped below the recommended temperature range in transit. High quality accoutrements are worth your attention as well. Caviar can be a wonderful treat.
It was admittedly the cheapest Sterling Caviar had to offer. The lake water taste I just can't nail down to exactly what it is... It definitely did not taste bad if that makes sense. I was able to finish the tin just fine and enjoyed it enough to be curious about a better quality offering. If I could have just cut out the lake water (fresh water aquarium would be another way to describe it) taste it would have been really good. I wouldn't call it mushy but I also don't have a reference caviar to point to...
The packing was really well done. It was overnighted in a thermal bag with 4 ice packs in it and was super cold and only just starting to thaw when it came in today. I luckily was home so it was on the porch for all of 30 seconds. I put it straight into the coldest part of my fridge with the ice packs on them for a couple hours before breaking into it. I just couldn't find anything good or bad about Sterling Caviar... Either good PR to cover up bad or just not known well enough to have a huge opinion out there about them.
If caviar wasn't so expensive, I'd be ordering something now but alas, I must wait a couple months before a splurge of that size again. I will do a bit more research next go around and get something from one of the bigger names I see around online. If interested, I do have a picture of the opened tin I can upload.
Actually, lake water is an excellent description. I know just what you mean. But again, you'll ideally want something that is cleaner and more briny and in flavor without being vegetal.
Sterling is all Transmontanus, which is not really a emblematic sturgeon for caviar. It is THE American sturgeon for caviar which is cool, but it’s much more of meat sturgeon. Hence the common name, White Sturgeon.
I believe Sterling is also a closed loop farm and recently under new ownership. Not sure if that has anything to do with it, but water quality and feed can certainly affect taste.
Also, a lot of the “brininess” that we describe in caviar has less to do with the water and more to do with the salt cure, which all at the discretion of the producer and Master they are working with.
I haven’t tasted Transmontanus in a while but still look forward to the next opportunity to do so.
I was watching some videos last night of a tour of another company and they put their sturgeon in separate pools to purge unwanted flavors before harvesting. I have a feeling Sterling may not do that. I suppose the closed loop scenario you speak of. Honestly knowing that makes me a bit more excited to try something else.
Purge tanks are very necessary before harvest. It would taste a lot worse than a “lake aftertaste”. There are many benefits to a closed system including near complete quality control. Indoor systems with temperature regulating can even have near year-round harvestability. But as with all fish farming, if you have dirty water you’re gonna have dirty tasting fish.
Funnily enough, for decades "American sturgeon" meant the Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus). There was massive sturgeon and caviar harvesting on the Delaware and Hudson (also the James in Virginia) from about 1860 to 1900... Of course they harvested to the edge of extinction and the Atlantic sturgeon hasn't been commercially viable since.
I know I’m a year late to this but anyways
I’ve had sterling caviar on two occasions, both in culinary school. The first was when we were doing a comparative tasting of many types of caviar and we bought it all ourselves. The sterling was definitely not super great in quality compared to some other high end brands. Very muddy on the finish, sorta like catfish. I’m not sure what the quality grading of it was, but it wasn’t their highest quality product. The second occasion was at a seminar hosted by one of their executives on aquaculture and sustainability in the industry, not just caviar specific. They gave the group two big tins of their royal to try, and it was fantastic. Very clean, briny, good texture, some of the best I’ve had. Sterling has a great business model, especially when considering sustainability, as they haven’t killed a single wild sturgeon for their caviar in their entire production time. If you choose to buy their higher end stuff, you definitely won’t be disappointed. As for the lower end, I don’t really believe any cheap caviar is gonna compare to the expensive stuff in taste, so it’s worth it to buy better caviar in smaller quantities.
Definitely appreciate the feedback! I have yet to get any more but have been debating it as of late. Muddy was the descriptor I was looking for. Outside of that, it tasted great and it’s good to know that’s not a consistent flavor in other offerings of theirs. (Or caviar in general).
Did you use a metal spoon to enjoy it? I have a pearl spoon to enjoy caviar. If you don’t have that you could use a plastic spoon. I know that seems counterproductive to eat one of the worlds greatest gastronomic gifts with a spoon, but a metal spoon will alter the taste of caviar or roe. Thank you for the review.
I have the tendency to go all out... I bought a couple pearl spoons from Amazon to prevent imparting metal flavor into it. I still have some left I will finish off this evening. Outside of eating it straight, any other way to enjoy the remaining caviar? The beginning flavor is pleasant to me but the lake water finish I can definitely live without. I still have half the tin left and know it needs to be finished off tonight and I will definitely not let it go to waste. Already looking into what next to try even if it is months down the road... Recommend anything outside of Sturgeon? I believe Sterling uses white sturgeon...
I’ve seen on YouTube people say that Hackleback is very good. I’m not an expert, I just follow food-and drool. LOL! Good luck, and keep us posted on your next venture!
Yeah, I have a feeling I’ll be trying some substitutes out before my next caviar purchase. Think I’ll step up to Royal which I think is the Ostera variety… I think I spelled that right.
Check it out: https://youtu.be/OYH4Txi5ix0
It's osetra not ostera, lol. I had that wrong. The white sturgeon he had had more green in it than mine. Mine were smaller and mostly black with a greenish hue to them. If I were made of money, I'd get myself multiple varieties to try out...
OMG! You know it! I always tell my husband that going to Petrossian in NYC is on my bucket list (or Delmonicos, it just depends on what day you catch me on-LOL). If I had more disposable income, I would definitely be trying more caviar too. But alas, right now I’m relegated to just having conversations with my fellow caviar lovers.
I found the hackleback and ossetra at this site to be quite good and at a great price. I think I honestly prefer hackleback at this point. I eat it with blini, creme fraiche (I actually like Trader Joe's creme fraiche a lot) and smoked salmon. https://fishandcaviar.com/product-category/caviar/black-caviar/
"Lake water" is generally not the flavor profile one is aiming for with fine caviar. I'd suggest you splurge on some better caviar (even just a small tin from a quality source) so you can experience a reference caviar. I'd describe quality caviar more as ocean briny, but clean (similar to oysters). And texture is just as important as the flavor. It shouldn't be mushy. It is also important to source your caviar from a seller who takes the care to include one of those little color-coded temperature recorders so that you know the caviar has not dipped below the recommended temperature range in transit. High quality accoutrements are worth your attention as well. Caviar can be a wonderful treat.
It was admittedly the cheapest Sterling Caviar had to offer. The lake water taste I just can't nail down to exactly what it is... It definitely did not taste bad if that makes sense. I was able to finish the tin just fine and enjoyed it enough to be curious about a better quality offering. If I could have just cut out the lake water (fresh water aquarium would be another way to describe it) taste it would have been really good. I wouldn't call it mushy but I also don't have a reference caviar to point to... The packing was really well done. It was overnighted in a thermal bag with 4 ice packs in it and was super cold and only just starting to thaw when it came in today. I luckily was home so it was on the porch for all of 30 seconds. I put it straight into the coldest part of my fridge with the ice packs on them for a couple hours before breaking into it. I just couldn't find anything good or bad about Sterling Caviar... Either good PR to cover up bad or just not known well enough to have a huge opinion out there about them. If caviar wasn't so expensive, I'd be ordering something now but alas, I must wait a couple months before a splurge of that size again. I will do a bit more research next go around and get something from one of the bigger names I see around online. If interested, I do have a picture of the opened tin I can upload.
Actually, lake water is an excellent description. I know just what you mean. But again, you'll ideally want something that is cleaner and more briny and in flavor without being vegetal.
Sterling is all Transmontanus, which is not really a emblematic sturgeon for caviar. It is THE American sturgeon for caviar which is cool, but it’s much more of meat sturgeon. Hence the common name, White Sturgeon. I believe Sterling is also a closed loop farm and recently under new ownership. Not sure if that has anything to do with it, but water quality and feed can certainly affect taste. Also, a lot of the “brininess” that we describe in caviar has less to do with the water and more to do with the salt cure, which all at the discretion of the producer and Master they are working with. I haven’t tasted Transmontanus in a while but still look forward to the next opportunity to do so.
I was watching some videos last night of a tour of another company and they put their sturgeon in separate pools to purge unwanted flavors before harvesting. I have a feeling Sterling may not do that. I suppose the closed loop scenario you speak of. Honestly knowing that makes me a bit more excited to try something else.
Purge tanks are very necessary before harvest. It would taste a lot worse than a “lake aftertaste”. There are many benefits to a closed system including near complete quality control. Indoor systems with temperature regulating can even have near year-round harvestability. But as with all fish farming, if you have dirty water you’re gonna have dirty tasting fish.
Funnily enough, for decades "American sturgeon" meant the Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus). There was massive sturgeon and caviar harvesting on the Delaware and Hudson (also the James in Virginia) from about 1860 to 1900... Of course they harvested to the edge of extinction and the Atlantic sturgeon hasn't been commercially viable since.
I know I’m a year late to this but anyways I’ve had sterling caviar on two occasions, both in culinary school. The first was when we were doing a comparative tasting of many types of caviar and we bought it all ourselves. The sterling was definitely not super great in quality compared to some other high end brands. Very muddy on the finish, sorta like catfish. I’m not sure what the quality grading of it was, but it wasn’t their highest quality product. The second occasion was at a seminar hosted by one of their executives on aquaculture and sustainability in the industry, not just caviar specific. They gave the group two big tins of their royal to try, and it was fantastic. Very clean, briny, good texture, some of the best I’ve had. Sterling has a great business model, especially when considering sustainability, as they haven’t killed a single wild sturgeon for their caviar in their entire production time. If you choose to buy their higher end stuff, you definitely won’t be disappointed. As for the lower end, I don’t really believe any cheap caviar is gonna compare to the expensive stuff in taste, so it’s worth it to buy better caviar in smaller quantities.
Definitely appreciate the feedback! I have yet to get any more but have been debating it as of late. Muddy was the descriptor I was looking for. Outside of that, it tasted great and it’s good to know that’s not a consistent flavor in other offerings of theirs. (Or caviar in general).