Caviar service, part II [split from LA]

[pammi]

You're not wrong-you're right! I transferred the caviar from the shipping tin to a large crystal bowl and surrounded it with crushed ice. it looked so elegant and people were swarming around it and shoveling it onto little blinis. Presentation certainly counts for something !! And like I said in earlier posts-it was perfect. and I've tasted lots of different,and much more expensive, brands.

[MonsieurKnowItAll]

Damn! I knew it! Let me guess, I wasted money buying a mother-of-pearl spoon as well? The store convinced me to buy a mother-of-pearl spoon cause metal affects the taste. I was licking the last eggs from the bottom of the shallow container (sorry, it was really expensive and the fancy spoon wouldn’t pick it up) and it dawned on me it’s made of tin. If metal’s so taboo, why couldn’t I just use one of the many plastic spoons that I collect from fast food restaurants?...is there some conspiracy to sell mother-of-pearl spoons?

[Das Ubergeek]

It's part of the traditional presentation, kind of like why Champagne is sometimes still served in coupes rather than flutes. I don't buy the excuse for why it's necessary, but it definitely does add a note of "wow you spent a lot of really unnecessary money on this hors d'œuvre" to the meal.

[Caroline1]

Well, like most tradittions, the "no metal spoons" is reality based. How much "metallic" taste will result from using a metal spoon for caviar or allowing caviar to sit naked on a metal surface can vary from caviar to caviar as well as from spoon to spoon. I've inadvertently had it happen. So yes, a plastic fast food spoon will work just fine, but so will a horn or mother of pearl or glass spoon if you just happen to have one/some handy.

[Peripatetic]

> it dawned on me it’s made of tin.

Most cans are lined with a thin layer of plastic, typically bisphenol A (BPA). I don't know if that's the case with the can you had, but I'd be surprised if it was unlined.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11...