It might seem weird at first, but the traditional way of tasting caviar is by eating it off your hand. It all dates back from the era of wild caviar, when the sturgeons were caught in the Black sea, instead of being farmed like they are today. The fishermen on the boats needed to taste the caviar to ensure its quality, and the cleanest area to taste it was on the back of their hand.
There is another reason to it: when a caviar has a defect, you will start feeling the off taste (like muddy taste for instance) when the caviar gets slightly warmer. Therefore the dealers or caviar buyers let the caviar warm up a bit on their hand before tasting, so that they can make sure the quality is up to their standards.
Also, unlike a spoon, your skin is not a foreign texture, and does not have any flavor, therefore you are tasting the purest flavor of the caviar.
So, how to do it?
Take a small amount on caviar on a mother-of-pearl or a wooden spoon, apply it delicately on the flat part of your hand between your thumb and forefinger, then just take your hand to your mouth and “suck it up”.
Once the caviar is in your mouth, roll the grains between your tongue and your palate, then crush the eggs and enjoy the amazing flavors liberated from the grains.
I personally appreciate the flavors of any caviar much more by tasting it this traditional way. It’s approved by The Caviar Lady!