Not all umami-flavored pearls are fish eggs — some are made of seaweed or olive oil. Why not try all three for your New Year’s celebration?
Rainbow trout caviar
Sunburst Trout Farms sells fresh trout as well as smoked and original trout caviar. We tried the original, which is golden pearls of freshwater trout eggs processed with salt and sugar. We appreciated that, like all caviar, it’s rich in omega-3 fatty acids, but what we loved was the flavor — mildly salty, mildly fishy and buttery. Instead of serving it on the traditional blinis, we enjoyed slices of cucumber topped by a dollop of sour cream and a garnish of caviar. But our midnight snack on New Year’s Eve will be creamy scrambled eggs with a caviar garnish.
$52.50 per 2-ounce jar of original rainbow trout caviar, $57.99 per 2-ounce jar of smoked rainbow trout caviar. Available at sunbursttrout.com.
Credit: Jim Esposito
Credit: Jim Esposito
Caviart
Season Brand offers tinned sardines, mackerel, anchovies, kippers and Caviart, which looks like fish eggs, but is made from seaweed harvested in France and turned into caviar-shaped pearls in Denmark. They have a definite seawater taste but aren’t fishy. We sprinkled them on sour cream-topped baked potatoes, and they were a huge hit. For New Year’s Eve, we’ll be making deviled eggs and topping them with a dollop of Caviart, an idea we found on the company’s website. One of the things we particularly liked is that, unlike some inexpensive fish caviar that is dyed, Caviart doesn’t discolor, whatever it’s served on.
$4.97 per 3.5-ounce jar. Available at Amazon and Walmart. seasonproducts.com/caviart
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Olive oil pearls
Season and Stir sells a wide range of food products. We tried the extra virgin olive oil pearls sold in plain, basil and chili flavors. These little spheres of olive oil melt in your mouth and make a perfect garnish for salads, but you also can use them on hot dishes, because they can withstand heat up to 140 degrees. For New Year’s Day, we’re making mushroom risotto and garnishing it with the chili flavor of these pale green pearls.
$12.95 per 50-gram jar. Available at seasonandstir.com.
Read more stories like this by liking Atlanta Restaurant Scene on Facebook, following @ATLDiningNews on Twitter and @ajcdining on Instagram.
About the Author
