How To Grade Caviar | with Alexander Petrossian

Hi, I’m Kirby Allison! In today’s video we
journey to the heart of Petrossian Caviar. The caviar grading room, where every
tin of caviar have passed through Petrossian in the United States is
personally tested and graded before Being packed. So Alex where are we? We are
in the caviar room. The caviar room is Live at the heart of the company. It’s
where we receive all the caviar, and Where we grade, and select the caviar for
customers and when you place an order With us we will come downstairs and
select your caviar to ship to you. Every Thing that goes through our web site or
boutique has been hand selected and hand Packed and shipped to you to make sure
that what you get is absolutely perfect… And you were saying there’s only two
people in the entire company that are Qualified to select caviar. Actually
there’s two here in U.S. So Louis and Myself and in Paris there’s two more
Nicola and my dad. Nicola is our Caviar buyer and he goes
all around the world to find the best Caviar possible.. and yeah in U.S. Louis
and I does the degrading every day Everything is being
personally graded? Personally graded. Exactly. Everything I mean…. any cavier we
sell that you try we have tried before You to make sure that it was pristine
and then delicious. It’s great. So we got.. As part of the guarantee of the caviar.
You know because caviar can can be Temperamental sometimes so we want to
make sure that what you get is the Perfect caviar. So we’ve got a
pretty wide selection here. We do. So what type of grading are we going to
do? So we’re doing a grading For one of my best clients, Author. He’s
absolutely amazing. He orders every week a fairly big
constitute of caviar. He’s been working or During interview from me for the past
ten years so I know really what he’s Looking for into a caviar. We’re gonna
sell cavier for for him and we’re gonna Sell cavier also for you. I know you
have a party in a couple of weeks. Okay. We’re going to select the caviar for you
also. Make it a little fun and Yeah. So we’ve brought the caviars in a
little bit closer so that we can see Everything that we have. So tell us a
little bit about what we have here. So we Have we have a different type of caviar,
different grades, and different species. Okay.
So the two first here is the Osetra special reserve. Here you have the
sound paella cetera. Here you have the Royal Ossetra. Here you have the biker
the pollo fish and here you have the Drink ok so each of these are two tins
but have the same exact correct

You know species correct right same as a
species in same type of maturity okay so Are we going to be able to taste the difference between correct okay so we’re gonna See that even between you know what is
essentially the same There is different so that’s really the
beauty of caviar caviar is a wonderful Product because even if when it’s
farm-raised you still have a huge Difference between one thing to another
it’s it’s it’s very interesting to see That a team that has the same maturity
the same species the same farm can be so Different it’s it’s amazing and so will
one 10 be like from one fish or how is Well you can have more than one tin per
fish usually what they do is they send Me to caviar in family so I have within
one crate I have one sturgeon so it can Be two like this one like this and then
smaller tins and it’s from one sturgeon So one sturgeon is able to
produce more than more than one tin I Mean depends on the species you again
but you can yield on this on the farm Raised sturgeon is between 7 to 15 percent
of the total weight of the fish so if The fish is big it can be pretty
interesting it’s It’s yeah so even so from fish to fish
you know even with it isn’t You know the same harvest if you will
there’s a big difference yeah um you Know there is always you know within a
within one thing there’s always the Stronger fish that will eat more that
will be a little fatter a little Stronger and there’s the thinner fish
it’s so you know you’ll have everything All sized in in within one type of
sturgeon and so this is the special etc Exactly right this is a special set
roster and then we would be tasting four Different grades right so the classic
correct the grade it’s a Different thing so first thing
that comes into play for the grade is The flavor of the caviar you know is it
is it stronger or is it is it more on The balanced side that dictates you know
if it’s a royal on Imperial and then There is the texture and is the caviar
you know a little soft a little soupy or is The caviar firm and nice and then
there is the texture we talked about and Then there’s the color and if the
caviar is light or dark so for the caviar To be special reserve it needs to be
firm light a perfect flavor no off Flavor at all and it needs to be on the
light side But you see within those two what really
makes the difference is the size of the Eggs the size of the eggs here is
smaller than the in this one and Obviously the bigger the eggs the more
enjoyable the caviar and then

We’re gonna be tasting four different
notes of the flavor so you have Customers that say okay I want you know
the special ossetra reserve because I Then they say I prefer kind of this
flavor profile exactly so some of our Customer would look for the briny as in
the caviar and some of them they look For the
the betterness some of them Looks for the nerdiness
some of them looks for this umami type Of flavor it’s it really depends on your
own personal taste if you like the the Caviar that’s a a little softer and very
strong it’s it’s your personal flavor You know who am I to say this is not a
good caviar it’s a great and if you love It it’s a great caviar and you have
customers that you know are really Having that intimate of a conversation
is your stand another one really have a Close connection to me it would call me
and say send me whatever whatever you Want because we know each other very
well We’ve been selecting caviar for them for
ten years and they trust us trust us to Know to nail it each time and if you
know sometimes it’s not as as Maria’s As you like you’ll call me and say oh you
know this one was a little more on the Briny nights watch out for this next
time you ship something to me and a lot Of your chef clients are very specific
about very specific very specific the Chef’s they since they incorporate the
caviar into a dish they really they Really pay attention to what the caviar
brings to a dish and they want something That’s very consistent in flavor and
that that brings the same type of Emotion it’s time they bring into in
into a dish and it’s it’s very difficult For us to to make sure that the caviar
is as a consistent as possible because It’s a it’s really product that has a
lot of variation in flavor and but that New is part of your beauty too you know
big chef will will make sure you know All his ingredients you know follows the
the recipe the flavor profile that is Looking for and the caviar cannot create because it has to be the focal points So now I think the first the the the
first part explaining the caviar we Did now the most interest in interesting
parts beginning so we start by the Special reserve etc because I want your
taste bud to be able to really pick up On the smallest little thin sub flavor
that there’s into a tin and it’s very Very interesting so first you look you
want the eggs to be round but not your Perfectly round they have a little bit
like a diamond that they have like Little sides on the on the eggs you
smell and then

Wow very nutty buttery very interesting
a nice kind of butter or no salt no And it shows you know what the
maturation does to a caviar when the Caviar is young the first sensation you
have in your mouth is the saltiness that Surround the eggs when the caviar is
mature the the salt had time to be Absorbed by the eggs and kind of mixed
in so once you you burst the eggs you Have this beautiful mix of the caviar or
the salt it’s absolutely amazing and so How long has this been aged approximately
approximately I mean the the the the for This type of caviar you need a longer
maturation because you want this Nuttiness to be come through and this
one I would say is between six to eight Months right six to eight months and
this one is about the same age because We want to compare Apple to Apple and so
if you dig in the color is very similar I always dig in the tin a little bit
because I want to have the the real Shape of the eggs if I take only the
what’s on top it’s been you know pressed Down by the the lid a little bit so you
look smell so what are you smelling this One’s a tense I smell like something
different on the nose this one is Very like it’s absolutely amazing the
flavor is so balanced it’s not strong It’s it’s really it’s not strong but
still persistent you know it’s a flavor That lasts in your mouth is very
interesting because this bitterness that’s Kind of stick around and this one has
more of a nutty briny side this one is More of a buttery side softer finish on that
exactly but it lingers too – exactly lingers A lot longer and my client author that’s
really what is looking for this type of Long balance bitterness So a little bit darker in color little
bit darker in color the eggs are a Little smaller
there’s a beautiful thing you see there Though we call it the eye that’s that’s on
the the caviar it’s very interesting to Me it almost looks like a little eye
poking out it’s beautiful So we have beautiful light yellow
greenish color which is absolutely Beautiful Here you have a beautiful bringing this
I sticks around a room a little bit on The stronger side which is absolutely
perfect because some people prefer this Longer brightness very interesting color
absolutely delicious so whenever you’re You know tasting and grading at any
point would you decide that you know Maybe this needs to go back for a little
bit more maturation it’s possible um This one I mean that this was it exactly
yeah oh definitely

Sometimes the caviar needs more
time in we all know in fact exactly Exactly we make sure for the purpose of
the camera I dig in a little bit like This but if we try for for the graining
will go on the side kind of take the Camera on the side like this so we can
close it back without this this without Digging in the middle like this but for
the purpose of the camera it’s so much More beautiful to have this little
little exactly velop of caviar so here We’re gonna go for the another
Osetra here we have a very light color The eggs are a little smaller The smell is beautiful what do you smell
what would I smell a Baroness and Nuttiness and tiny bit of brightness
from the sea itself absolutely beautiful Wow
you see totally different totally Different and there’s a little bit two
sides of it there’s the first you put in Your mouth and you have this beautiful
Baroness that sets in and once you burst You have this brain image that you kind
of overpower the the Baroness and it Really adds something to it but this one
was a little bit sharper the first one Yes when every you know burst it was it
was sharp which is good and these are Both ossetra special reserve ossetra in Paola
ossetra he realized and this is the Royal Ossetra royal ossetra the Royal ossetra is
one of my favorite caviar it’s gorgeous The eggs are very large and the flavor
is unbelievable So first we look Wow Yeah that’s much stronger much stronger
but on good side you know it’s not It’s not the strong bad is the strong
great I mean full of flavor right very Very beautiful finish absolutely amazing
eggs amazing So slightly greener in color slightly
greener slightly larger eggs yes you can Really see those eyes the newest has a
lot of bringing this really long finish On this one beautiful them in such a
long finish gorgeous gorgeous kind of Nice and it just kind of like a soft it
just really kind of evolves into this Know that you’re good a good caviar has
them you know really a lot of sign to it There’s the the texture that’s very that
rolls on the panel that’s very sensual Very sexy there’s the flavor that can be
more this bitterness or a little bit More of a stronger braininess it’s it’s
really amazing mouthfeel now we’re going To go for the back up which one is this
again do back up now is this at sturgeon Yeah where where is this from what is so
the Bank F can be from the different

Different site so there’s forms of of
Becca in France in Germany in China in Used to be one in us nothing more it’s I
mean it’s it’s it’s one of the most form Caviar
I love the Beca because nice firm Texture and to me it’s really the
perfect balance between the Special Reserve and the Royal it’s not quite as
strong as not finish exactly as the Royal and there’s the beautiful Baroness
that starts on top and kind of switch Into this brightness it’s absolutely
amazing the banker is actually one of The biggest biggest sales because it’s a
reasonable in price it’s very beautiful To look at and absolutely delicious This is really delicious it’s
interesting how to frame they’re very Balanced this one and more butter yeah
on that one And absolutely no brain mental nuttiness
it’s just straight on butter this one You know the Royal Assent er I had you
know a lot of Brian is gonna finish you Know the this was the special reserve
the incredibly balanced table you know Smooth from the beginning all the way
through the finish yep and now the door In key is very interesting now describe
to how drinkie differs from the etc so The door in key is very different in the
way it looks quite similar but the Flavor profile is completely different
the eggs is very different too you have This beautiful round greenish color the
very beautiful the the the texture is Very very firm and the flavour is
usually very balanced on the north side Very soft in it I wish you guys were
here to try this with us this is a and Much I mean firm I mean it’s almost it’s
exactly it’s really the firmer of most Caviar he reversed the reeling has this
pop very interesting The smell is
so nerdy is almost smells like his Innards Socks settle not nearly as firm as those
eggs and these are almost like a woody Finish to it at the end they’re
interesting so now we are moving on to The palo fish sao paulo fish is not a
sturgeon is a very close cousin to the Sturgeon and and it yield very tiny gray
eggs that’s beautiful to look at The flavor has a kind of a bitterness
that’s really particular to this product They’re pleasant and on the more photo
ball side and it’s well it’s the Interesting product you see the nose
it’s completely different than caviar You feel this bitterness that’s going to
come in yeah it’s a really interesting I Mean versus kind of the strong briny you
know finish that you get from some of

The other cetera this has a you know a
bitterness but not in it no I’m in an Enjoyable way I mean it’s a really
interesting very interesting And Polly fish is used in recipes is
used in – for cocktail is used for then Is used for it’s very enjoyable very
enjoyable so here we wanted to to get Some caviar for one of his body and we
selected this one so we’re gonna take it And give it to Louis and Louis is going
to show you how to pack that in Thank You scurvy for coming with me on
this Caviar journey and kind of helping me
select all this caviar this is your your Caviar for you for the party that we
packed from your favorite caviar and Sorry I hope it makes it that the
airplane ride I really will we will Definitely and so which is going to
finish packing it for you and we’re Gonna put it in the esoteric bag put
some ice so you can fly with it with no Problem and the ice lasts for within the
next 12 hours you completely fine so you Have time to travel time to go home and
we really have your caviar nice and Pristine when your rice great Alex this
is a you know this is where the magic Happens no yeah I mean thank you for you
know helping me through it it’s I know It’s hard work with someone someone nice
to know it yes it’s difficult whenever You know your your your work is your
passion exactly you know in that’s the Beauty of I think our work is you know
you can’t be in this type of environment If you’re not passionate by it you have
to breathe eat and caviar is really it For me yeah so if if any of your joint
is interested of having their caviar Customly handpick far from us give us a
call go on the website there is a phone Number I give us a call and we will take
care of you from top to bottom and Really select the caveat that you enjoy
that if you have a preference of Nerdiness of readiness or anything like
this let us know and we’ll select the Caviar for you and prepare it and ship
it to you directly Alex hey thank you so Much you so much thank you thank you for
helping me through it and the hopefully See you soon yeah thank you if you
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