For most people, authentic caviar is something that they’ll most likely just read about or watch in movies featuring Russian royalty eating it daintily with eggs using mother of pearl spoons. This is because it is one of the epitomes of luxury food that cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars for a small amount–even costlier per gram than the most well marbled steak.

Traditionally defined as the salt-cured and non-fertilized roe (eggs) of only wild sturgeon fish from the Caspian and Black Seas, more accommodating chefs also consider the product of other fish like as salmon, trout and other species of sturgeon from other countries and bodies of water. Stricter definitions call these “caviar substitutes” or have the name of the fish appended to it like salmon caviar.

For the purposes of providing recipes, use substitutes made from salmon or cod roe. If you can afford the real thing, make sure it’s legally sourced. Caviar is marketed as a delicacy and is consumed as a garnish in a dish or as a spread on hors d'oeuvres or accent in seafood dishes. Substitutes are priced more affordably and can be used in simpler dishes.

Beluga, Sterlet, Ossetra and Sevruga are types of the real McCoys of caviars derived from the specific fish and sea. Extremely perishable, they can fetch as much as US$16,000 per kilogram depending on the flavor, size, consistency and color of the eggs. Beluga is the rarest and most expensive type from sturgeon caught in the waters of the Caspian Sea bordered by Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan. Some of these countries have in recent years either banned or restricted its production, export and import due to depletion of the fish.

For those fortunate enough to have tasted real beluga in an ultra fancy restaurant or lavish party, they have sampled the best of the best: esteemed for its soft, large eggs colored pale silver-gray to black. Gourmets can surely detect the nuances of the different tastes and flavors of caviar but for the untrained palate, they’ll probably appreciate the delicate texture like miniscule bubbles that burst in the mouth releasing a mild sea salty flavor. And the incredibly high price tag.

Some interesting trivia to know about caviar: Beluga always comes in blue tins, Osetra in yellow tins and Sevruga in red tins. The US government has ceased importation of Beluga caviar to address diminishing numbers of sturgeon in the Caspian Sea. Anything real and acquired nowadays is most likely illegal or produced before the ban.

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