Eating Sea Urchins: How It’s Done

Eating sea urchins – how to proceed

Sea urchins are very popular in the Mediterranean region. There they are caught and sold in winter since the animals are protected in summer. Exact times for catching vary from region to region.

• Using scissors or sea urchin scissors, cut the sea urchin in half. You then separate off the flatter part that contains the sea urchin’s mouth and eat only the innards of the rounder part.
• Once you open the sea urchin, the animal’s five orange gonads will look out at you. These are the sex glands of the animal.
• Traditionally, the glands are wiped out with pieces of bread, scooped out with a spoon, or slurped up. You eat directly from the sea urchins. A squeeze of lemon juice is often added.
• You drink red wine with sea urchins. This also has a disinfecting effect if there are germs in the animal. Sea urchins are eaten raw.

Sea urchin – taste

Sea urchins taste like the sea. The consistency is watery and the taste is salty. A typical sea product.

• There are now numerous restaurants and dishes that contain sea urchins as an ingredient. This includes pesto or even sausages.
• The consistency of the gonads is similar to that of caviar. No wonder, since both products are the means of reproduction for sea creatures.
• Sea urchins are found almost everywhere in the world. They can be found in the oceans as well as in the most diverse seas. Sea urchins are also very popular in Japan. In addition to the regionally occurring specimens, animals are even imported from overseas.
• Sea urchins can be bought in fish shops in Germany. They can also be found frozen in Asian supermarkets. Alternatively, you can also find sea urchin caviar on the internet.

Recipe idea: Spaghetti with sea urchins

If you would like to cook with sea urchins, we have a suitable recipe for you here. You will need about 350 grams of spaghetti, 4 sea urchins, a clove of garlic, 3-4 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp breadcrumbs, and a bit of fresh parsley for the topping.

1. First, cut open the sea urchins and collect the gonads on a plate. Set this aside.
2. Now cook the spaghetti until al dente.
3. At the same time, sauté the garlic in the olive oil and add the breadcrumbs. If you like it a bit spicier, you can also add chili pepper to the garlic.
4. Add the spaghetti to the pan and mix everything. Finally, add the sea urchin gonads and stir again. Enjoy your meal!