What is caviar and how does it taste?!

NEVER eat caviar unless it is an expensive variety. Cheap caviar, and you can find it on your supermarket shelves, is pretty rude.

Fine caviar, when chilled, and eaten in moderation is quite delicious. It is not something you eat like a PBJ. You typically eat it as an hors d'oeuvre or canapé. In Germany, I've eaten it on thickly sliced buttered bread. Delish, but not typically American. The best introduction: a toast point, LIGHTLY spread with mayonnaise + ?tsp caviar + finely diced hard boiled egg or onions-but just a touch. Crêpes (blinis) with sour cream and caviar are a Russian delicacy. I've also seen it on sour cream on a baked potato (after all, this is America).

Don't open caviar and put it back in the refrigerator. By it in small quantities, chill it good, and give it a try. Remember: the taste is intense, and the texture of the popping eggs in your teeth unique. It is epicurean fare, not the thing for somebody who's idea of eating out is waiting in a McDonald's drive through for a ? hour for a bag of grease and refined sugar.

Cavier is fish eggs. Some like it some don't. I don't care for it as it tastes nasty. It's a delicacy for the rich and is expensive.

Caviar is fish eggs. It is often expensive and used in fine cuisine. It taste salty

It's salty fish eggs that taste rather salty and fishy.

it's fish eggs i've never tried it but i'm guessing it tastes good by the way people talk about it.

Fish eggs. They are very salty.

caviar is fish eggs. sounds gross.

From Wiki:

Caviar, sometimes called black caviar, is a luxury delicacy, consisting of processed, salted, non-fertilized sturgeon roe.[1] The roe can be "fresh" (non-pasteurized) or pasteurized, the latter having much less gastronomic and economic value.[2]

Traditionally the designation caviar is only used for sturgeon roe from the wild sturgeon species living in the Caspian Sea, in most cases from Azerbaijan, Russia or Iran (Beluga, Ossetra and Sevruga caviars). These caviar varieties, according to their quality (based on flavour, size, consistency and colour) can reach (February 2009) prices between € 6,000 and € 12,000 per kilo, and are associated with gourmet and Haute cuisine environments.

Depending on specific national laws, the name caviar may also be used by a variety of less expensive products, substitutes and imitations of caviar such as salmon roe (sometimes called red caviar), trout roe, lumpfish roe, etc.

Salmon roe is often found on everything from canapes to sushi. Real sturgeon caviar is extremely expensive and often comes in tiny tin containers. No one orders a soup bowl of it in real life. I can't really explain the taste of great caviar because it has been many years since I had it. Faintly salty but it is usually eaten on something else or with a tiny spoon made of horn.

Sturgeon roe is the caviar. Technically, only sturgeon roe could be called caviar but the word caviar was overused in recent years.

As for tastes:
1) Quality caviar do not taste salty.
2) Quality caviar do not have a strong fishy smell.
3) Quality caviar do not have a hard texture.

If it is fishy and chewy/rubbery, then you probably ate catfish eggs/roes (not kidding). Catfish eggs and caviar looked similar but the taste was way off; it's not even a good substitute. Fake caviar, which weren't even made with fish eggs, will taste fishy and salty and it will be chewier than the real thing. Japanese style fish roes like ikura (salmon roe), masago (capelin roe) and tobiko (flying fish roe) ALL tasted like fish eggs. Before I tried beluga caviar, I kind of looked down on caviar. I expect it to be over rated and way over priced. Judging from the appearance, I thought caviar probably have a taste and texture that's somewhat in between ikura and masago. I was VERY wrong. If I was blindfolded, I will not guess it was fish roe. Other than the appearance, caviar did not remind me of fish at all. It was creamy and mild. The taste was very unique and the taste was very difficult to describe with words. It tasted so much better than I thought it would be.

FYI, my first reaction after trying beluga caviar = WHOA! All those descriptions I've heard and read about caviar were understatements! Personally, I think the word "caviar" and the fish roe appearance created a negative psychological effect on many people. Substandard caviar kind of helped many "confirm" that caviar "do" taste somewhat offensive. In reality, the real stuff is very different. I was lucky that I was served quality caviar on my very first time. If I was served substandard stuff (like my 2nd and 3rd experience), I'll not give caviar a second chance and I'll never get to experience the real stuff.

PS: Gordon Ramsay fed Hell's Kitchen contestants "caviar" while it really was catfish eggs in one of the past episodes. He also fed the contestants other craps. I think none of the contestants said anything too negative because Ramsay said: "I've personally prepared those...". LOL