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Caviar might be the most overrated food item (besides foie gras) that exists. It is enjoyable, but nowhere in proportion to the cost. It's a status symbol. It'
by throwaway5752 8y ago
Caviar might be the most overrated food item (besides foie gras) that exists. It is enjoyable, but nowhere in proportion to the cost. It's a status symbol.
It's a damn shame we are pushing species into extinction for irrational reasons (overrated fish eggs, rhino horn ED "cures", etc)
- gammateam 8y agoIts not overrated, it is just scarce. Yes, it is a status symbol, solely because of its high price and because it is scarce. These aren't controversial things, you already figured it out, but somehow have cognitive dissonance over this.
- perfmode 8y agoIt is scarce. Because it is scarce, it is a status symbol. Because it is a status symbol only because it is scarce, it is overrated. Therefore it is overrated.
- gammateam 8y ago> Because it is a status symbol only because it is scarce, it is overrated. Ah thats where we are going to disagree. That logic path isn't a leap I would make. You are undervaluing the utility of scarcity.
- mpweiher 8y agoAnd the utility of status symbols. Now one can reasonably disagree over whether they should be useful. But the case that they actually are not useful is a difficult one.
- gammateam 8y agoAgreed, a single market participant can be constricting the supply intentionally or because they have a utility unknown/inaccessible to the rest of the market
- mrighele 8y agoSomething being overrated is subjective. It is another way to say "somebody else appreciate it much more than I do". I admit that when the vast majority holds a common subjective opinion, for many intents and purposes it can be considered objective, but I'm not sure if it applies to caviar...
- defterGoose 8y agoActually I couldn't give two $#!T$ who sees me eating caviar, I pay the price for the pleasure of eating it when I can. It is not overrated just because you don't understand individual taste and/or are disappointed you can't afford it.
- BostonEnginerd 8y ago“I'll buy that the private sector can't solve the tragedy of commons, but if governments can't, we're all lost. The fact that the system we currently exist in uses fossil fuels doesn't equal the right of those who extract it to reap unlimited profit, or to pollute others' environment no matter how gradually or secretly.” — you, six days ago
- vkou 8y agoCaviar only become particularly scarce after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and an explosion in poaching drove sturgeon to extinction. There was plenty of poaching during the communist times, but not enough to utterly destroy the country's fish stocks.
- kw71 8y agoWhen I lived in Russia (2000s) it was quite abundant and seemed to be cheap, it was part of nearly every breakfast that I didn't prepare for myself whether or not there was anything luxurious about the situation. The foie gras that GP mentioned, is inherently labor intensive to produce and not abundant anywhere.
- gammateam 8y agoYes, and due to overfishing Russia banned it periodically in 2007 onwards.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- abtinf 8y agoWhen prepared correctly, foie gras is the single best-tasting food I've ever had.
- throwaway5752 8y agoI'm sorry I said that.. to each their own. Had no intention of making anyone feel bad about something they enjoy.
- MikeCapone 8y agoFish roe is apparently an excellent source of phospholipids, so health-wise, it's probably pretty good. But krill oil is probably a cheaper source.
- throwaway5752 8y agoPhospholipids? Isn't every cell in every animal composed almost entirely of phospholipids? I think you mean omega 3 fatty acids. If that's the case, anchovies or salmon roe is probably a much more efficient source per dollar than caviar. You can even get higher purity algal sources (and can get different ratios of EPA and DHA than are present in natural sources).
- the_gastropod 8y agoOr flax, which is cheaper and has a longer shelf life.
- MikeCapone 8y agoOmega 3 can be in various forms: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3509649/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3509649/
- syrrim 8y agoShark fin soup as well.
- ptero 8y agoTo me, as well, caviar tastes good but almost never worth the costs and certainly not worth pushing species into extinction for. However, as far as most overrated and overpriced item the honor, in my book, goes to truffles. Which, for me, are not even enjoyable. But this is certainly just a personal preference.
- tcgv 8y agoTruffles have really strong smell and taste. It is one of those things you either you love or hate. I personally love home made pasta with black truffle sauce. It is expensive (~US$ 15 per person in truffles for a meal), but for me it's definitely worth every once in a while. Sample recipe: http://www.travellingoven.com/2017/03/tagliatelle-pasta-with-black-truffle-sauce/ http://www.travellingoven.com/2017/03/tagliatelle-pasta-with...
- daphneokeefe 8y agoThe price and availability of truffles in the US may improve in the future as the result of "the great race to grow black truffles in Wine Country [where] Sonoma County has beaten out Napa Valley despite getting a later start" "Ground-breaking truffle harvest portends something big in California" https://www.sfchronicle.com/wine/article/Ground-breaking-truffle-find-is-start-of-11042400.php https://www.sfchronicle.com/wine/article/Ground-breaking-tru...
- grawprog 8y agoIf we're talking about ridiculous overpriced foods I think saffron might beat out truffles for me. I've had it a couple times and i'm still not sure what it tastes like.
- tshanmu 8y agoYou need to have it in a sufficient quantity (Grandma used to give 4-5 filaments in a warm glass of milk) and with very few other ingredients to know it's real taste and smell. Part me still wonders if I liked more it due to its rarity or the coziness of staying over at Grandma's...
- 8y ago
- deanCommie 8y agoSorry, I disagree. I grew up in the Soviet Union, and in the 80's black sturgeon caviar was readily available at reasonable prices. It was and is DELICIOUS. We had no idea it was a status symbol, we just loved the shit out of it on bread with butter.
- hooloovoo_zoo 8y agoI like that this comment chain recapitulates the agents' underestimate of how much some people just want to eat caviar.
- Fins 8y agoWhat GP mentions might really be just an echo of an even earlier times (60's, maybe 70's) when caviar was pretty much the cheapest thing to be served in booze bars (USSR didn't really care much about actually protecting the fish, or anything else) so lots of people developed taste for it. When I was a kid it was stuff you'd mix into mashed potatoes to make them taste better, and it came in huge (a Kilo, I think) tins. But outside of ex-USSR, I don't see why people would pay that much for it. Is it delicious? Yes. Is it that delicious? Not really, for money you can get more of something even tastier, I think.
- belorn 8y agoCaviar is odd in that it should just be an additional way to use the fish that get caught. In the past people just thrown it away. Here in Sweden we use cod caviar for example as a common condiment for eggs and it is rather inexpensive. The price of sturgeon caviar is just odd and seems to be mostly about the rarity. I have a hard time imagining the taste being that different from caviar of other similar type of fish. I have eaten roe from many different species and the primary distinction in taste seem to be linked to the oilyness of the fish.
- iheartpotatoes 8y agofoie gras? Huh. It is cheaper than aged rib eye by about half (at a local boutique grocer, aged ribeye is $30-50/lb and foie gras is about $16). I'd finger filet mignon as an overrated showy food because it actually has very little flavor and it is bragged about among country-club suburban nitwits with their 3-series Beemers and "premium beige" mcmansions.
- rwmj 8y agoI don't particularly like caviar, but mentaiko (pollack roe, usually spiced up with chilli) is delicious on rice.