Paddlefish caviar ✦

Caviar de polyodon

What it is

The paddlefish is not a sturgeon at all: it sits in its own family, filters plankton through a rostrum nearly a third of its own length, and lives in the Mississippi basin. Its roe travels under the CITES species code SPA, and those three letters are how you tell a legitimate tin from one quietly calling itself something dearer.

In the kitchen

It is softer than sturgeon roe and goes flat within a day of opening, so buy the small tin. Its earthy side holds up better against warm potato and soured cream than against a plain blini.

Goes with

Egg Potato Crème fraîche Chives Cucumber Dill

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