[dropcap size=small]A[/dropcap]mong the oldest delicacies in the world, aristocrats and royalty have prized caviar long before its haute contemporaries, truffles and raw oysters.

Wealthy Greeks were said to have had the delicate roe at wild banquets, while the Russian tsars had an insatiable appetite for it. Of all the cultures, Persian nobles were widely believed to be the first to appreciate this handsome delicacy.

Originally harvested in the Caspian Sea by Persian and Russian fishermen, the term ‘caviar’ specifically refers to unfertilized salt-cured fish eggs from various species of the sturgeon, of which all 26, including Beluga, Ossetra (also Oscietra) and Sevruga, have been used for caviar.

Here are five tidbits of information about the delightful morsel: