I did however speak with the local FDA agent that conducted the inspection, and he said that the inspection was mainly a training exercise for several new members of their staff, as only a handful had ever seen Caviar, let alone Snail Caviar! Hey, as long as the caviar is kept cold and properly handled, a 2-3 delay is fine by me. Picture above of our first batch of Snail Caviar.
Taste
Well, it was definitely an interesting experience. First off, I ended up being the only person to actually taste test the snail eggs. The other two individuals, who shall go nameless, chickened out at the last second and didn't try it! I give it a day or two, they will cave in.
So, the taste - the most recent blog entry documents how others have described the taste. ([h]ints of undergrowth, angelica, horseradish, sensation of fresh dew, beaming pearls.)
Well, although it does not happen that often, the way it was described was exactly what it tasted like. Unlike sturgeon caviar, Snail Caviar has much larger roes that have a tougher outer shell. But the second you bite into it, the roes literally burst in your mouth, gushing a mildly tasting viscous liquid over your tongue.
The best way I can describe the taste is: earthy, like a baked asparagus, and sometimes tasting like the juice from a baked mushroom. It was quite refreshing however, as there was absolutely no aftertaste. You can definitely taste a subtle rosemary on the surface of the eggs, but that quickly disappears once the caviar bursts.
I plan on having several of our friends and acquaintances give it a taste in the coming days. Should be interesting to see what they think! I will post up their comments soon.
