The moderate price and wide availability of excellent domestic farm-raised caviar has changed the market.
The moderate price and wide availability of excellent domestic farm-raised caviar has changed the market. (FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images)

Rarely does a single word conjure up such consistent images of sheer luxury. The very word represents upper crust, The Gilded Age, emperors and czars, the 1 percent. Once a delicacy reserved for Persian royalty, there was also a time when caviar was considered peasant food.

Actually, caviar has waxed and waned in popularity and price during the last couple hundred years. In the late 1800s, when America was the world's largest producer, it was given away in bars and restaurants and was fed to the poor and hungry. It became exclusive again for most of the 20th century until the 1990s when the market was flooded with Russian caviar and the price plummeted right along with the fishing stocks.

Today, wild and imported farm-raised caviar is once again very scarce and crazy expensive, from $160-$275 per ounce. But the moderate price and wide availability of excellent domestic farm-raised caviar has changed the market. We, the 99 percent, can once again afford to imbibe. Try an unpasteurized American hackleback caviar that has all the rich, nutty sophistication of wild caviar, but for $45 per ounce.

Purists require nothing more than buttered black bread and ice cold vodka. Always serve caviar as cold as possible without freezing. Insert the jar, or your special serving dish, into an ice bath. Using only a bone, mother of pearl or plastic spoon, dip down vertically from top to bottom so as to not bruise the eggs. Fine malossol, or lightly salted, caviar comes in three main types: beluga, osetra and sevruga. Biggest, bigger, big in terms of size and delicacy of the eggs. And don't skimp, either. Plan for half an ounce per person.


Mere mortals would add chopped egg, onion and sour cream on top of a blini, instead of black bread, and wine, instead of vodka shots for the sake of sobriety. I use it as a garnish on all sorts of things like these potato pancakes. Serve them with champagne, soft scrambled eggs and pumpernickel toast for a chic shopping brunch.

Potato latkes with caviar and creme fraiche

1 large russet potato, peeled
1 small yellow onion, peeled and cored
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 large egg, beaten
Salt and pepper to taste
2 ounces vegetable oil, divided use
4 ounces creme fraiche
2 ounces caviar
Chopped scallions as garnish 

Shred potato and onion with a box grater into a medium bowl lined with cheesecloth. Wrap the shredded potato tightly in the cheesecloth, and squeeze all the moisture from it. Repeat this process a couple times over a few minutes until the potatoes are dry. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, egg, salt and pepper. Add potato mixture and stir well to combine. In 2 batches, heat 1 ounce of vegetable oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat until hot. Drop heaping tablespoons of the potato mixture into the skillet and flatten with the back of a spoon. Fry until brown around the edges and flip. Cook till golden brown on both sides. Garnish with a generous dollop each of creme fraiche and caviar. Sprinkle with the chopped scallions and serve immediately. Makes 6 servings. 

Robert Rabine, former owner of Cafe Routier in Westbrook, Conn. is the food and drink columnist for the ShoreLine Times. Contact him at or visit with The Oedipal Epicurean on his Facebook page.