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Best Kaluga

Best (American-raised) Osetra

Best Californian white sturgeon

Best Paddlefish

Best vegan

FAQs

• Best Kaluga
• Best (American-raised) Osetra
• Best Californian white sturgeon
• Best Paddlefish
• Best vegan
• FAQs

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Caviar's origin story does not match its current luxury status. Still, we think there's no better way to lavish your loved ones with care than a jar of eggs from a prehistoric leviathan that spends its life sifting through cold and dark waters for snacks. Maybe that doesn't sound so appetizing, but if Poseidon ever came up with a more delectable ambrosia, he selfishly chose not to bless the rest of the world with its splendor.

Though you can no longer purchase Sterlet and Beluga in the United States due to an alarming decline of those sturgeon, Osetra, Sevruga, Paddlefish (not a sturgeon, but a similarly prehistoric species), and more are much more affordable and widely available alternatives. The best Kaluga caviar we found is Olma Kaluga Sturgeon Black Caviar, in large part because the mellow and buttery flavor is as close as you can get to Beluga caviar. If you want some budget luxury, Marky's Wild-Caught Caviar is half the price of our other top picks and the best Paddlefish caviar we've found. 

Just don't forget the blinis, the creme fraiche, and, of course, the Champagne. 

Our top picks for the best caviar

Best Kaluga: Olma - See at Amazon
Olma's Kaluga caviar is as close as you'll get to Beluga caviar with its firm, juicy, creamy taste.

Best (American-raised) Osetra: Marshallberg Farms Everyday - See at Marshallberg Farms
Marshallberg Farms' caviar is among the only Osetra Russian sturgeon caviars produced in the United States: it's meticulously processed, so you'll get some of the cleanest and most consistent roe around.

Best Californian white sturgeon: Roe Caviar Gift Set - See at Roe Caviar
Some of the closest stuff to Osetra and Kaluga is farm-raised California white sturgeon caviar. We've tasted a handful of them, but our far-and-away favorite is Roe's.

Best Paddlefish: Marky's Wild-Caught Caviar - See at Marky's
Marky's Paddlefish Caviar is a fraction of the cost of Osetra caviar, but it's the cleanest and most delicious paddlefish caviar you can buy.

Best vegan: Cavi-art Caviar - See at Amazon
If you want the texture and flavor of caviar without shelling out top dollar or increasing your ecological footprint, Cavi-art is unbelievably reminiscent — and affordable.

Best Kaluga: Olma

Olma Kaluga Caviar is hand-selected from fresh-water, sustainable farms. Amazon

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Pros: Firm texture, intense flavor, comparable to Beluga caviar

Cons: Pricey

Kaluga, or river caviar, is as close as we can get to the illustrious Beluga, the king of caviar, but also the most endangered sturgeon. The United States has had a ban in place on the import of Beluga caviar in an attempt to stem overharvesting. Kaluga, however, still comes pretty darn close to the taste and texture.

Olma has been serving up caviar in New York City since 2001, and offers a direct line to the best of the best. You can even buy it on Amazon and get fast shipping of some of the best caviar straight to your door.

Best (American-raised) Osetra: Marshallberg Farms Everyday

Each tin of Marshallberg Farms Osetra Caviar is sourced from a single fish, which leads to an unadulterated flavor. Marshallberg Farm

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Pros: Single source, consistent texture, flavorful 

Cons: Lacks the salty bite of other caviars (though that may be a pro, depending on personal preference)

Osetra is a medium-grain caviar often associated with a clean but nutty taste. It's usually not as salty as other best caviars, though that depends on the brine and how long the eggs sit in it.

Marshallberg Farms is based in North Carolina, and the company guarantees that it does not mix roe from different fish to compose your tin of caviar. This might sound snooty, but the flavor and consistency of a given caviar will get a little lost if it's sourced from multiple fish, and blending roe is never preferred.

Best Californian white sturgeon: Roe Caviar Gift Set

A Mother of Pearl spoon and opener key come with the caviar gift set from Roe. Owen Burke/Insider

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Pros: Extremely flavorful, briny, clean finish, some snap

Cons: Not uniformly firm in texture

Raised in northern California and cured in salt for a month, this is single-origin roe, so there's no mixing (a ubiquitous problem in the caviar world), and thus no dilution of flavor.

There's no avoiding the steeper price of white sturgeon roe compared to other options on our list, but if you want a roller coaster ride for your palate, this is hard to beat without hitting the black market, which we don't endorse.

There's pricier, more texture-forward caviar to be found, but this is a crowd-pleaser that can be enjoyed a little more liberally. Roe's best caviar offers a unique, flavorful thrill.

Best Paddlefish: Marky's Wild-Caught Caviar

This is a great caviar for upgrading a gathering of friends, though it might not impress experts. Amazon/Marky's

Shop at Marky's

Pros: Affordable, clean-tasting for paddlefish

Cons: Slightly muddy flavor

Caviar comes in all grades, but we don't find the bottom of the barrel to be worth buying, especially when tobiko, salmon, and trout are all good alternatives. Marky's wild-caught Paddlefish Caviar isn't cheap by any means, but it is the least expensive choice in our list of the best caviar, and it's the cleanest paddlefish caviar we've tried.

Paddlefish is an American sturgeon that is associated with a slightly muddy taste that puts many aficionados off. It's faintly there, but with a bit of creme fraiche, a blini, and a glass of the best champagne, we'd be fooled.

Best vegan: Cavi-art Caviar

While Cavi-art's kelp-based caviar may lack the fishiness of true caviar, it more than fits the bill — and cuts it exponentially. Amazon

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Pros: Good approximation of caviar texture, great mixed into dishes

Cons: Doesn't taste exactly like caviar (but nothing will)

There are a few takes on vegan caviar out there, and they're generally made from kelp or sea grape (caulerpa lentillifera), both of which offer the brininess and desirable snap found in the real deal.

I'm plenty happy with Cavi-art as a kelp-based alternative, especially when it's mixed into dishes that call for a dollop or two of caviar. I won't go so far as to suggest that it imparts the same richness of sturgeon roe, but combined with pasta or set atop an oyster doused in vinegar, it's debatable whether many of us could dissect the subtleties.

Frankly, and with full disclosure that I am an omnivore, I'd choose sea grapes over most legitimate caviar on the market today. Unfortunately, sea grapes are best fresh, and they're notoriously difficult to procure in their optimal state unless you have a very kind friend somewhere in the South Pacific. (You can find them dehydrated on Amazon, but they're just not the same.)

Again, Cavi-art gives you the snap that only four-figure offerings seem to deliver, which is a big reason many of us enjoy caviar in the first place. 

Caviar FAQs

The best caviar lives up to its reputation as a burst of unique flavor and texture. Owen Burke/Insider

What is caviar?

Caviar is salt-cured eggs, or roe, from the sturgeon, or more scientifically, the Acipenseridae family of fish.

Is caviar eaten raw?

Caviar is salt-cured, but still raw. It can be pasteurized or unpasteurized, though many aficionados argue that pasteurization comes at the expense of flavor.

How much is a serving of caviar?

30 grams (a little more than an ounce) is standard per person, but if you're serving the best caviar as a garnish, 15 grams (or about half an ounce) is safe for hors d'oeuvres.

How long does caviar last?

Unopened, pasteurized caviar can last anywhere from three to six weeks, while unpasteurized caviar is best consumed within two weeks.

Owen Burke Former senior reporter Owen Burke covered on espresso and espresso-adjacent products, grills, meat, seafood, and a few other kitchen-related odds and ends for Insider Reviews. He also contributes an array of menswear and outdoor-gear guides, from winter parkas to fishing rods and reels. He is a founding member of Wirecutter and has contributed to publications online and in print, including Outside Magazine, Men's Journal, The Atlantic, Gizmodo, Surfer Magazine, and Power & Motoryacht, among others. He's also worked in raw bars, restaurants, classrooms, and on fishing boats, holding a USCG Master Captain's license, and is co-author of The Ocean Handbook: The Ultimate Handbook of Nautical Knowledge (Chronicle Books, 2021). Say hello at oburke@businessinsider.com.  Learn more about how our team of experts tests and reviews products at Insider. Learn more about how we test kitchen products. Read more Read less

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