It's a damn shame we are pushing species into extinction for irrational reasons (overrated fish eggs, rhino horn ED "cures", etc)
The price of sturgeon caviar is just odd and seems to be mostly about the rarity. I have a hard time imagining the taste being that different from caviar of other similar type of fish. I have eaten roe from many different species and the primary distinction in taste seem to be linked to the oilyness of the fish.
I grew up in the Soviet Union, and in the 80's black sturgeon caviar was readily available at reasonable prices.
It was and is DELICIOUS. We had no idea it was a status symbol, we just loved the shit out of it on bread with butter.
When I was a kid it was stuff you'd mix into mashed potatoes to make them taste better, and it came in huge (a Kilo, I think) tins.
But outside of ex-USSR, I don't see why people would pay that much for it. Is it delicious? Yes. Is it that delicious? Not really, for money you can get more of something even tastier, I think.
However, as far as most overrated and overpriced item the honor, in my book, goes to truffles. Which, for me, are not even enjoyable. But this is certainly just a personal preference.
It is expensive (~US$ 15 per person in truffles for a meal), but for me it's definitely worth every once in a while.
Sample recipe: http://www.travellingoven.com/2017/03/tagliatelle-pasta-with...
"Ground-breaking truffle harvest portends something big in California" https://www.sfchronicle.com/wine/article/Ground-breaking-tru...
I grew some at home once just to see what the real stuff tastes like, and while the flowers were pretty, I'd never bother with it again.
I'd finger filet mignon as an overrated showy food because it actually has very little flavor and it is bragged about among country-club suburban nitwits with their 3-series Beemers and "premium beige" mcmansions.
Yes, it is a status symbol, solely because of its high price and because it is scarce.
These aren't controversial things, you already figured it out, but somehow have cognitive dissonance over this.
Because it is scarce, it is a status symbol.
Because it is a status symbol only because it is scarce, it is overrated.
Therefore it is overrated.
Ah thats where we are going to disagree. That logic path isn't a leap I would make.
You are undervaluing the utility of scarcity.
Now one can reasonably disagree over whether they should be useful. But the case that they actually are not useful is a difficult one.
I admit that when the vast majority holds a common subjective opinion, for many intents and purposes it can be considered objective, but I'm not sure if it applies to caviar...
— you, six days ago
There was plenty of poaching during the communist times, but not enough to utterly destroy the country's fish stocks.
The foie gras that GP mentioned, is inherently labor intensive to produce and not abundant anywhere.