How to serve caviar

First of all, the temperature: eat it cool but not cold which could compromise the development of the aromas. The packaging itself - or a glass dish - needs to be placed on a bed of ice.

Be careful not to damage the precious eggs when transferring the caviar to the serving dish and never use a metal spoon: little glass, mother of pearl, porcelain or horn spatulas made just for the purpose can be bought.

And now for the accompaniments: caviar must be accompanied by a base capable of balancing out the salty flavour. Be liberal with lightly toasted white bread, butter, eggs with a gremolata dressing or potatoes; traditionally in Russia, caviar is served with blinis and sour cream.

To prepare the blinis (soft pancakes): in a basin, mix 200 g of white flour, 200 g of buck wheat flour, 4 teaspoons of dried beer yeast, 50 g of sugar and ½ teaspoon of salt. Heat 600 ml of milk and 115 g of butter in a small pan, pour this into the middle of the flour, add 4 eggs; mix well and leave it in a warm place to rise for at least 45 minutes. Heat a little butter a small frying pan 10-15 cm in diameter; drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto it and cook on both sides. Keep the blinis covered until you are ready to serve.