The first caviar was made centuries ago, in what is now Russia and Iran, from the eggs of an ancient family of bony fish called sturgeon that were caught in the Caspian Sea. But the United States has its own history with this storied delicacy; eight species of sturgeon are native to the United States. In fact, for a brief period during the 19th century, the United States was actually the world’s leading producer of caviar, with such a plentiful supply that, as historian Richard Adams Carey has noted, it was once served like peanuts at New York City bars. Caviar and roe continue to be produced across the country, from North Carolina to Oklahoma to California, and they come in a spectrum of prices.
To learn more, we tasted nine of the most widely available varieties of caviar and roe produced in the United States. We also consulted with farmers, fishers, retailers,
