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Caviar can only come from sturgeon. There are 27 different types of sturgeon in the world, many of their origins like clones from grapes started from its more native source... more on that later... see our blog.

All eggs from any other fish would be called roe.

The flavour of caviar changes depending on several variables. It is possible to buy wild caviar which would be hackleback in the US and is generally approved for a set amount of fishermans quotas from the Tennessee to Missouri river. Processing also plays a part in the taste of caviar, as the most natural way of preserving it woud mean it is malossol, which has salt and eggs in the tin only. Most all of the caviar in market today comes from farms throughout the world. Some are land based in above and below ground tanks, called RAS or Recirculating Aquasystems and some are in cages in the rivers or in ponds or a flow through water system. What this means is that the water affects the flavor as well as the feed.

Caviar should always be a fresh taste, with ageing comes some depth of flavors like butter, nuttiness and the like. As there is so much in market, sometimes buying general caviar without knowing from where it was from or how long its been ageing can present a good or bad experience depending on its provenance and how long it was stored. Fishiness is not a complimentary flavor.

Water farmers are not able to source caviar from the harvested fish until at least 6 1/2 years and can go upwards of 18 years dependent on the type of sturgeon. It's a labor intensive process to care for the fish for that long and in some cases if the opprtunity is missed, it could mean another 2 years before seeing some eggs.

Also, caviar grading is a factor. The higher the mm or size of the egg, the more money it can fetch. Like wine, smaller productions call for a higher price due to its uniqueness. Careful who is saying its a small production. We source only from producers with 6 tons or less and only from farms that are willing to harvest the fish close to when we are selling you our product.

An unopened tin stored under ice packs in the coldest part of your refrigerator lasts 2-4 weeks.

We use bubble wrap to protect the caviar containers from damage and packed in insulated boxes with gel ice to keep the product under temperature for up to 48 hours.

Orders for perishable items received by 3:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Thursday, are processed and shipped the same-day unless a later ship date is requested.

We cannot ship overseas, sturgeon and paddlefish caviar are protected species and require CITES documentation to export.

No, overnight priority is the fastest option and best choice as caviar is a perishable product.

You don't have to do anything. We will contact the shipping company to let you know when it will be delivered.

Contact us and we will send you a return label if necessary. If product is perishable, re-freeze the gel ice and send it back in the original insulated box. If the product was ordered by customer's mistake then shipping will not be refunded.

Currently, standard Overnight AK and HI shipping is $100. AK and HI Saturday delivery is and added $65.

Malossol is a Russian word that literally translates to "little salt". When used to describe caviar, it refers to the idyllic salting process used to increase the shelf life of the highly perishable fish roe. Most caviar and roes, regardless of quality, are cured to the model of the malossol process.

There are three common ways in which caviar is initially processed to increase its shelf life. The highest quality method is the malossol process. Caviar that would typically be cured as malossol, but is second in quality due to overly ripe, soft or damaged eggs typically becomes pressed caviar. A step down from that is the semi-preserved or “salted” caviar which contains a much higher salt content to increase the product’s shelf stableness. Pasteurized caviar keeps for significantly longer than non-pasteurized caviar but the taste and texture can be negatively affected.