07/30/2008

NY Times Summer Caviar Recipes

NY Times Caviar Recipes for Summer

Caviar in July? Why not? For great canapés with summery drinks, there are vibrantly colored roe from Little Pearl Caviar in Somerville, Mass. The hackleback sturgeon caviar ($26 an ounce) is black, with a slightly sweet herbaceousness. The paddlefish ($25 an ounce) has a slightly muddy scent, but its pleasantly mild flavor would dress up fresh fluke sashimi. The salmon ($12 an ounce) is not sticky; there is a nutty flavored king and a salty but sweet Yukon Gold.


The rainbow trout ($16 an ounce) is beautiful, mellow and mild. Tiny whitefish roe with characteristically crunchy texture, golden or lightly spiced with wasabi (both $7 an ounce), are both suitable to scatter on tomato slices instead of sea salt.

The farmed white sturgeon (transmontanus) caviar, at $70 an ounce, though clean, oceanic and with great texture, can wait for a holiday season splurge. The caviars are available at Whole Foods and from littlepearl.com. The Web site lists more stores, many in New England. - (excerpted from July 30 article by Florence Fabricant, photo: Tony Cenicola/The New York Times)