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National Caviar Day

Food · July 18

A food day for caviar, the salted roe of sturgeon, and the small rituals people use to serve and taste it.

National Caviar Day falls on Sunday, July 18, 2027. That is 264 days away.

Caviar is salt-cured fish roe, and in the strict sense it means roe from sturgeon. The eggs are gently separated, lightly salted and packed into tins or jars, where they keep their round shape and soft shine.

The taste surprises people who expect something fishy. Good caviar tends to be briny and buttery, closer to the smell of the sea than to a fish counter. Each egg holds a little burst of flavor when pressed against the roof of the mouth, which is why many tasters skip chewing altogether.

Serving it comes with a few habits. Caviar is often spooned out with mother of pearl, bone or other nonmetal spoons, since some people find metal leaves a taste. It sits on ice to stay cold. Common partners are blini (small buckwheat pancakes), toast points, crème fraîche and plain boiled potatoes. Some people simply put a small dab on the back of the hand and eat it from there, a tasting method that takes very little equipment.

Roe from other fish, such as salmon, trout or lumpfish, is sold more widely and usually costs less. Salmon roe is large and orange, lumpfish roe is tiny and often dyed black, and both make an easy way to try the texture before deciding how far to go.

A tin of caviar, once opened, is best eaten soon, which makes it a food for sharing at the table rather than saving for later.

Ways to celebrate

• Try a spoonful of salmon or trout roe on a cracker.
• Make small blini or potato rounds and top them with crème fraîche.
• Taste caviar from the back of your hand, the traditional tasting way.
• Compare two kinds of fish roe side by side with a friend.

Dates

All national days on July 18

Also on July 18

• National Ice Cream Day
• National Sour Candy Day

Categories: Food days