Departures Magazine: An Expert Reveals Everything You Should Know About Caviar

Here are some surprising facts about one of the world’s most decadent foods.

Departures

By Jordi Lippe-McGraw

December 26, 2019

Like truffles in the fall or a chocolate in February, the winter season is the boom time for caviar. In fact, 65 percent of sales are done in December for California’s Sterling Caviar. After all, tis’ the season for hosting holiday parties and gift-giving, both of which are enhanced with a bit of caviar. But why not also sound like an expert on the delicacy? We tapped Lisa Simon from Sterling Caviar, the leading caviar producer in America—which just launched the Kilo Club, a membership where you receive four direct from the farm shipments timed with major holidays throughout the year—to find out four things you didn’t know about caviar.

Not All Caviar is Black

While many envision jet black beads, caviar actually comes in an array of shades. “It surprises many people that not all caviar is black,” said Simon. “From greenish-brown to even golden, the eggs come in a wide array of hues, and color does not impact flavor.”

Case in point, the Two Color Caviar from Sterling Caviar in California is a rare find that until now has been exclusively sold to one three-star Michelin restaurant, Benu, due to its limited production. This holiday season, for the first time, it is available online to buy directly from the farm. Even rarer is their golden-hued Imperial Caviar. There is a .02% chance of finding Sterling’s Imperial in a given year.