Have YOU tried a caviar ‘bump’? Discerning diners now lick the delicacy off their hands before downing a vodka shot like a ‘posh tequila slammer’
- Social media users are going wild over a trend which sees them dining on caviar
- Trendy restaurants are serving the delicacy in ‘Caviar bumps’ on the hand
- Sees the fish eggs placed on the flesh between thumb and forefinger
- Exmoor Caviar director compared the trend to ‘a really posh tequila slammer’
- Harry Ferguson said it allowed people to enjoy caviar ‘at a cheap price’
It has long been considered a luxurious treat reserved for the wealthy, but there’s a new social media trend which is making caviar more accessible.
Caviar ‘bumps’, in which diners lick the fish eggs from between between thumb and forefinger, are being seen as a ‘cool’ way to eat the delicacy.
Harry Ferguson, operations director of Exmoor Caviar, explained how the method has become popular with younger people who are keen to capture snaps for their social media.
He told The Times diners enjoy the delicacy before downing a shot of vodka, comparing it to ‘a tequila slammer’, and adding: ‘It’s £5 for a bump, which is about three grams, but we’re quite generous so it’s usually more like four grams or five grams.
‘It allows people to have caviar at a cheap price. People don’t have to spend £100 for a tin.’
Meanwhile social media users have been going wild over the food trend, with many taking to Instagram to pose for a perfect snap with the delicacy balanced on their hand.
Caviar ‘bumps’, in which diners lick the fish eggs from between between thumb and forefinger, are being seen as a ‘cool’ way to eat the delicacy
Restaurants around the world are inviting diners to ditch the plate and instead, tuck into the delicacy from their hand
Harry Ferguson, operations director of Exmoor Caviar, said the method has become popular with younger people who are keen to capture a snap for their social media
Meanwhile on Instagram, the #CaviarBumps currently has over 1,361 tagged posts, while #CaviarBump and #Caviarbumping have a further 900 posts combined
While many social media users share snaps as they’re about to tuck into the caviar, others post group shots of their hands covered in the delicacy
One woman shared a snap as she enjoyed the caviar bump, writing: ‘Don’t mind me, pretending to know what I’m doing.’
Another social media user described the delicacy as ‘the only bump she needed’ as she posed in a restaurant with friends.
Meanwhile a third added: ‘What better practice is there to have a huge caviar bump on your hand to practice coordination?
‘It’s also a fun and tasty practice too! You get to practice while holding a thin potato chip, or mastering keeping those delicious beads on a succulent crispy chicken breast.’
One diner beamed as she tucked into a cocktail as well as her caviar bump as she posed for a shot for Instagram
Meanwhile other social media users keen to show off the experience posted close up photographs of the fish eggs
A group shot! Experts have compared the social media trend to akin to having an upmarket tequila slammer
Meanwhile another diner watched on as a waitress added a caviar bump to the top of her first (pictured)
The hashtag #CaviarBumps currently has over 1,361 tagged posts on Instagram, while #CaviarBump and #Caviarbumping have a further 900 posts combined.
Ferguson revealed how the idea behind the caviar bump was ‘a really posh tequila slammer’.
He said: ‘You do a bump of caviar and a shot of vodka. It tastes beautiful, especially if you have a really cold vodka from the freezer…
‘About 50 per cent of people who do it ask their friend to take a picture, so it’s great for social media.’
Caviar, the salt-cured eggs of numerous species of the sturgeon fish, was historically centred on wild stocks in the Caspian Sea.
Historically, real caviar has been so difficult to come by that they have only been readily available as canapes or a chilled spoonful at the parties of the elite.
The trendy new way to eat the delicacy has been touted as an accessible way for younger generations to enjoy the dish
Diners at restaurants across the world are invited to enjoy a ‘bump’ of the fish eggs from their hand in the latest social media trend
And while some enjoyed a cocktail with their delicacy, others posted snaps as they sipped on champagne
Much of the high cost of the luxury food is down to the fact that female sturgeon take a long time to reach egg-laying maturity.
The tiny nuggets of black gold take up to 14 years to be laid – with an 125g tin selling for around £160.
The Siberian sturgeon, the main species farmed at Exmoor, takes between four and five years to reach egg-laying maturity, while the white sturgeon females do not start laying eggs until they are 14 years old.
Once the fish can produce eggs, producers can either kill it and harvest the eggs and meat, or inject hormones into the living fish to make it release its eggs.
However, overfishing led to a ban on global sales of almost all wild caviar which led to the establishment of sturgeon farms.
Showing off the delicacy! Social media users have perfected the perfect caviar bump pose, raising one first to the camera so the upmarket snack is clearly visible
Some have touted the caviar bump as a way for the younger generation to taste the delicacy for a more affordable price
The trend has seen groups of social media users crowd together as they pose for a photo with the caviar bump on their hands
Another social media user described the delicacy as ‘the only bump she needed’ as she posed in a restaurant with friends
Earlier this year, scientists from Caviar Biotec and University College London revealed they had grown their ‘clean’ caviar in a biochemical liquid, using cells from a fish’s egg sac that were then replicated in the lab.
The technology could see more caviar created in a 300 square-metre room than is produced globally every year – and cause prices to tumble.
In Europe, the lab-grown caviar is estimated to be available at a cheaper price in 2024 or 2025, according to the founder of Caviar Biotec.
Although it will still be expensive, cell-grown caviar will be a lot cheaper to produce.
‘We have the exact same cell that turns into caviar and we are growing that in a liquid instead of inside a fish,’ Ken Benning, founder of London-based Caviar Biotec, told the Times.
‘There are no antibiotics, no killing of fish. It’s as simple as that.’
Benning said the price of his lab-grown caviar will be less expensive than the high-end Beluga caviar, although he wouldn’t give a specific price.
Benning said humanity is plundering the oceans to cater to its love of caviar and seafood generally, but that there will soon be ‘no bloody fish left’. Lab-grown caviar offers a far more sustainable option.
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