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Subject: Caviar:

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Rothko

Palm Beach

Wine Thief
Posts:2875

11/10/2005 9:15 PM
Seeing how it's been a while since I've had caviar, I ordered some paddlefish caviar today from Kelley's Katch. Less expensive than Marky's Caviar.

love_cab_chard User is Offline

Master of Wine
Posts:12501

11/10/2005 9:28 PM
We’ve slowed out consumption of caviar within the last year. It gets more & more expensive every year. We even don’t buy as much red caviar anymore. Besides the expense, it is not exactly cholesterol-free food. It is very high on cholesterol, so we don’t buy as much & as often anymore. Also, our 4 year old just loves the stuff. She can’t get enough of it. I know, you don’t hear that too often about 4 year olds. It must be the Russian blood in her. But, since she is fanatical about caviar, we try not to buy as much so that she won’t eat as much. No need to raise her cholesterol lever so early in life.

ChangeMe

Master of Wine
Posts:11169

11/10/2005 9:34 PM
Wow, she's 4 years old already? Tempis fugit.

Rothko

Palm Beach

Wine Thief
Posts:2875

11/14/2005 2:49 PM
The paddlefish caviar from Kelley's Katch was just as good as the caviar from Marky's, so for $25 less for a 7 ounce tin, I'll be ordering from there, from now on. Oh, and eating the caviar with some 96 Grande Dame is just heavenly!

ChangeMe

Master of Wine
Posts:11169

11/14/2005 4:12 PM
Is Kelley's Katch a store in Florida?

Rothko

Palm Beach

Wine Thief
Posts:2875

11/14/2005 4:59 PM
No, they are in Tennessee, I believe. They have a website, and you order online. It's shipped overnight. They only carry American paddlefish and sturgeon. No foreign caviar at all.

Rothko

Palm Beach

Wine Thief
Posts:2875

11/14/2005 4:59 PM
Here's their link: http://www.kelleyskatch.com/

ChangeMe

Master of Wine
Posts:11169

11/14/2005 6:51 PM
Thanks. Do you prefer the paddlefish to the sturgeon? I usually buy sturgeon caviar.

Rothko

Palm Beach

Wine Thief
Posts:2875

11/14/2005 7:01 PM
I haven't had them side by side, so I can't really say for sure, but if you were to ask me which I would like to eat, I would say paddlefish.

ChangeMe

Master of Wine
Posts:11169

11/14/2005 7:13 PM
Crown has American sturgeon caviar for $9 an ounce, or at least they did this past April. Is Kelley's Katch better than Crown's? We were happy with Crown's caviar.

Rothko

Palm Beach

Wine Thief
Posts:2875

11/14/2005 7:35 PM
I haven't had the sturgeon caviar from Kelley's Katch, just the paddlefish. I'd keep buying from Crown, if you are only looking at wanting an ounce or two of caviar as a snack. If you are looking for a large purchase, then it makes sense to shop around.

ChangeMe

Grape Sorter
Posts:261

05/31/2006 8:27 PM
Let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of caviar and would buy it on a weekly basis with my groceries if I could afford it. While I was at the New Orleans Wine and Food Expo this past weekend, I had the opportunity to taste the caviar offerings from Cajun Caviar, a local company the makes domestic caviar. They are all made in the Malossol style, so they are not excessively salty. They offer 3 types: Choupique, Paddlefish, and Hackleback. Choupique is an fish that is indigenous to Louisiana and other southern swamps. I'm not sure if it lives in other parts of the country, but I've always been familiar with them, as they are quite prevalent here. They are also called Bowfin, Grinnel, and Cyprus Trout ( although they have no relation to trout ) They are a remnant of the prehistoric armored fish and have a long, thick body with a full length fin down the back, oxygen breathing lungs, and a mouth full of some pretty fierce looking teeth. The meat of the fish is actually very good, but must not be allowed to get too warm, or it gets mushy. This has led to their reputation as a poor food fish only eaten by certain groups. However, if you know how to take care of the meat, it actually tastes strikingly similar to a mixture of bass and catfish. I prefer to filet the fish as soon as they are caught and put the fillets in a bowl full of ice, water, and red wine vinegar. It keeps the meat nice and white and subsequently very fresh and flaky when it is cooked. They are very fun to catch, fight like monsters, and its not unusual to catch an 8-10lb Choupique in less than 2 feet of water, sicne they can live in very muddy or shallow water, due to being able to come to the surface and breathe oxygen through their lungs. Now, to the Choupique caviar...first of all, it is very inexpensive ( less than $100 for 5 oz. ), but the question is, can it really be substituted for sturgeon caviar? I did find that it had absorbed a little more salt than some of the others. I actually did enjoy it more than expected. I was not sure I would like roe from a fish that I was so familiar with, but was never aware of its use for caviar....and besides, its a really ugly fish, but I guess sturgeon are, too. Anyway, the caviar has very distinct purple/black berries with good seperation. I found the texture to be a bit more firm than Beluga. Both its flavor and texture kind of remind me of Sevruga, firm and nutty. Its not as delicately flavored, nor does it have the sophistication of Beluga or Ossetra, but I don't mean that in a negative way. The flavors just kind of stand out more prominantly. It is actually quite good. It is somewhat nutty, almost toasty, with a fresh sea mist flavor, and an interesting, if slightly unusual, finish, that was reminiscent, to me, of dry Nori ( Japanese seaweed ). All in all, very good for the price. I liked it alone, but I think I would prefer it to be used in salads or appetizers rather than on its own. It was served on blini w/ creme fraiche and on crackers with an onion sliver and creme fraiche. I am sure that more of you have had Paddlefish and Hackleback caviar than Choupique. The Paddlefish had a slight olive-brown color and was not as firm as the Choupique. It does have a very silky smooth texture. That was probably the best thing about it. Some people think that this is the closest thing to Russian caviar, but I didn't find it to be so. The flavor was a bit muted, but it did have a more wide array of flavors than the Choupique. I found, though, that this fact caused it to leave a less distinct impression on the palate. It was like a jumble of very minimal flavors that you could never really quite get a grasp on. There was some creamy flavor and hints of sea salt, but it also had a very slight fishiness on the finish that did detract somewhat from my enjoyment. I had it served in a small fingerling potato with creme fraiche and also on water crackers. I did enjoy it, but it was my least favorite of the three. I was told that it runs between $100 and $200 for 5 oz. The Hackleback was by far my girlfriend's and my favorite of all three occaisions that we tasted the different caviars. It went beautifully with the champagnes at the Friday morning seminar and is simply divine alone. It is the one American caviar that I will absolutely, positively, purchase in the future. It had a deep black color, tiny seperated bead, and a smooth consistency with just enough firmness to get a few tiny little pops of sweet, salty creamery butter flavor as it caresses your tongue. I kept calling it Beluga Mini, although, in my humble opinion, it actually comes a bit closer to Ossetra, which I often prefer to Beluga anyway, both in price and flavor. It is very creamy and buttery, sweet, and very rich, with some almost smoky notes that compliment the very delicate and fresh sea breeze component that it brings to your palate. It was served twice with blini and creme fraiche and once with small, very thinly sliced potato chips that were perfectly seasoned with a few light herbs and drops of creme fraiche. That was just awesome. I could have eaten hundreds of them. Accroding to Cajun Caviar, they sell it for about $175 for 4 oz, but I have seen it cheaper on other online websites, although I canot comment on the quality of their product. Anyhow, I hope this informed some of you who, like I, may not have been very familiar with American caviar. It was definitely an eye opening and tastebud exciting experience. I highly recommend that you give a few of them a try the next time you would like some caviar, but are on a budget. Jester

Rothko

Palm Beach

Wine Thief
Posts:2875

05/31/2006 9:32 PM
Jester, thanks for the write-up. With the decline of Russian and Iranian caviar, I think we are going to have to make due with American versions.

love_cab_chard User is Offline

Master of Wine
Posts:12501

06/10/2006 5:17 AM
American caviar is a very good alternative under the circumstances. I would not pay a single penny for Iranian caviar. They will never see a penny of my hard earned money (for the obvious reasons). They can take their caviar & shove it where the sun don't shine.

winebrat

Sacramento, Ca.

Barrel Sampler
Posts:2326

06/10/2006 8:48 AM
Sterling is farmed near Sacramento and we use it in plce of Iranian.

"Everyday is worthy of a glass of sparkling wine" - Andrea Immer MS

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