Things about sea cucumber

1. Introduction of sea cucumber and sea cucumber

Sea cucumber, as one of the living fossils in the ocean, has been on the earth for 600 million years, and there are more than 1,000 kinds of sea cucumbers all over the world, which are mostly found in the deep sea, and are very common in the trench of 10,000 meters deep sea.

But deep-sea sea cucumbers can not be eaten, edible sea cucumbers mostly live in the shallow sea coral reef bottom or sandy bottom, there are about 40 kinds of species, there are more than 20 kinds of species in our country, the most famous that is the spiny cucumber, that is the crown of the ginseng is also one of the "eight treasures of seafood".

2. The origin and culture of sea cucumber in China

Since ancient times, sea cucumber has been one of the valuable ingredients, the earliest record can be traced back to the Three Kingdoms period, when the "Linhai Water and Land Records" of the Eastern Wu Dynasty mentioned that "the meat of the soil is as big as the buttocks of a small child, with five inches in the length of the abdomen, no mouth and eyes, and three full", the soil is the first name of sea cucumber in ancient times. The first name of the sea cucumber.

Later, in the Ming Dynasty, the famous pen journal "Five Miscellaneous Chopping Block" wrote "Liaodong seashore, the nature of the warmth of the enemy ginseng foot sea cucumber", the name of the sea cucumber began to popularize.

The classic cuisine of sea cucumber has to mention the classic masterpiece of Lu Cuisine:

Sea cucumber roasted with scallion, supplemented by Shandong specialty onion, the tender sea cucumber with the scallion's aroma highlights people's wisdom in exploring food.

3. Common edible sea cucumber varieties

Imitation sea cucumber: the most commonly mentioned sea cucumber, with 4-6 rows of conical spines of varying sizes on the back, and black-brown or yellow-brown body color, it is the most abundant sea cucumber in the northern part of China.

Plum blossom ginseng: also known as pineapple ginseng, the back of the ginseng is orange-red or orange-yellow in color, and it is named because the spines of the meat are in the shape of plum blossom, and it is mainly distributed in the South China Sea in China, and it is a kind of sea cucumber of superior quality.

Flower ginseng: also known as the square ginseng or yellow meat, generally showing a dark yellow or gray-yellow, thick meat, quality is better than the other green ginseng, mainly distributed in the South China Sea and other sea areas in China.

Green ginseng: also known as the square ginseng, because of its body close to the four-pronged column named, generally presented as dark green or greenish-black, the meat is very soft and tender and very easy to dissolve, in our country is distributed in the island of Hainan and so on.

Alaskan red ginseng: also known as the North American large sashimi, the back and sides as its name is mostly dark red, mainly distributed in the coast of North America, is one of the common domestic varieties of sea cucumbers introduced from abroad.

4. Nutrition and efficacy of sea cucumber

Sea cucumber belongs to the high protein, low fat and low cholesterol food, which is easy to be absorbed, so it is very suitable for the old people with weakened digestive power, patients recovering from illnesses or surgeries.

Sea cucumber contains a variety of biologically active ingredients, including sea cucumber saponins, sea cucumber polysaccharides, sea cucumber peptides, etc., which can help to relieve fatigue, enhance immunity, and antioxidant to slow down the aging process.

Sea cucumber is rich in trace elements, especially iron and zinc, which are the main components of hemoglobin. Supplementation of iron can help improve anemia and promote the synthesis of hematopoietic cells.

And zinc has a close relationship with the human body to produce pronunciation. In addition, sea cucumber also contains more unsaturated fatty acids, which are helpful in softening blood vessels, lowering cholesterol and preventing tissue aging.

5. What does the number of heads of sea cucumber represent

The number of heads of sea cucumber is used to indicate the specification of sea cucumber, i.e., how many sea cucumbers there are in 500g (1 catty). The smaller the number of heads is, the bigger the quality of individual sea cucumber is, and the biggest one is generally 30-40 heads, medium 60-80 heads, and small 80 heads or more.

The larger the sea cucumber, the thicker the meat, the longer the growth cycle, the richer the nutrition and the more expensive the price.

6. Why there are dried sea cucumbers?

Sea cucumbers are self-melting, and if they are not processed immediately after harvesting, they will melt into liquid, so sea cucumbers will be de-intested immediately after landing. Although the nutritional level of dried sea cucumber is not as good as fresh sea cucumber, it is easier to store and the nutritional history is easy to be absorbed, there are mainly 2 kinds of dried sea cucumber.

Lightly dried: after removing the internal organs of fresh sea cucumber, it is boiled with fresh water or seawater, and then dried with drying equipment, because no salt is added, the size appears smaller, but the rehydration rate will be higher.

Salt-drying treatment:After fresh sea cucumber is treated, it will be boiled with salt water first, and then salt-coated or added with grass ash for 2-3 times, which can make the laughing key friend keep longer, but the rehydration rate is not as good as light-drying treatment.

7. How to soak dried sea cucumber?

First step:find a basin without water and oil, wash the sea cucumber with pure water, then pour in pure water that is not more than 1 times the height of the sea cucumber, and put it into the refrigerator for 2 days and 2 nights, and change the water every 12 hours in between.

Step 2: Cut the sea cucumber with scissors, remove the top white sand beak, and cut the white tendon into 3-4 sections to help the second soaking, then put it into a pot, pour in pure water, boil it with high heat, then turn to low heat and cook it for 40 minutes; and finally let it cool naturally.

Step 3: Repeat the first step, you can add some ice cubes at this time, and then put it into the refrigerator for 2 days and 2 nights, change the water every 12 hours, the soaked sea cucumber can be more than 3 times bigger than the original.

Note: Soak the sea cucumber without oil and salt and use pure water, oil will make the sea cucumber autolysis, salt will make the sea cucumber not easy to hair through, soak the sea cucumber with plastic wrap Huizhou put into the refrigerator for freezing and preservation.

8. Sea cucumber's living habit

The reason why sea cucumber can become a living fossil is inseparable from the following 2 special skills.

No picky eaters and its poop can purify the ocean: sea cucumber mainly feeds on tiny organisms in the seabed sediment, such as seaweeds, foraminifera, radiolarians and so on, which will gulp a lot of sediment when they are eating, and while digesting the sand, they will also digest the organic matter in the ocean. In addition, sea cucumbers are alkaline, which can resist the acidification of the ocean and create a better marine environment.

Self-preservation: When the sea cucumber encounters danger or is in a bad environment, it will expel some or even all of its internal organs through the anus, and these blackish internal organs can play the role of confusing the enemy.

The creature with the most bones in the world?

That's right, it's the sea cucumber, the main character of this issue. Don't look at the sea cucumber, it looks soft, but there are actually more than 20 million bones in its body, which are so tiny they need to be magnified tens of times by a microscope in order to be seen, and they come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They belong to the internal skeleton, which supports the body of the sea cucumber, and are considered to be ancient or embryonic remains, which are the reference for scientists to recognize the species and identify the age of the sea cucumber.