The number of spines of sea cucumbers is not the only index that determines the quality of sea cucumbers. In fact, the most critical factor that determines the quality of sea cucumbers is "the place of origin and the sea area". For example, the growth rate of sea cucumbers in the cold water area of the Arctic is slow, the nutrition is more adequate, and the seabed in the wild sea area is rich in nutrition, which is completely different from the monotonous feed feeding of domestic sea cucumbers.

Generally speaking, the quality of sea cucumber has little to do with the density of thorns, but the number of thorns is related to the growth environment, which is a geographical symbol to distinguish the origin of sea cucumber. The sea cucumber in Shandong Peninsula, represented by Laoshan Long Island, has few thorns and is bald, but its meat is plump and healthy. The sea cucumber in Liaodong Peninsula has many thorns and is sharp. Because the sea cucumber industry in Liaodong Peninsula started early and has a wide publicity, it is misunderstood by many people, and they all think that sea cucumber is an index to distinguish the good from the bad.

The reason is very simple. Wild sea cucumbers that struggle hard with the natural environment are relatively healthy and stout. Under the influence of harsh seabed environment and water pressure, sea cucumbers living in areas with low water temperature at the bottom of rocky reefs have short spines and thick roots, and their spines are pagoda-shaped, and their meat is firm and plump. Wild sea cucumbers in the deep sea often have short spines. Cultured sea cucumbers in ponds are like flowers in greenhouses, which look good but have no real ability to resist wind and rain, so the spines are better. If you look carefully, you will definitely find this secret! People always mistakenly believe that Japanese sea cucumbers are the best and are willing to buy them at a high price. Some people even think that eggplant is not a sea cucumber, and some newspapers report that "illegal traders sell eggplant as a sea cucumber", which shows that some media do not know that eggplant is also a kind of sea cucumber, not to mention ordinary people.

Some sea cucumbers have high mucopolysaccharide content, which is good for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases; Some sea cucumbers have high saponin content, which is beneficial to anti-cancer. Sea cucumber, like ginseng, has high medicinal value if its saponin content is high, but it may taste bad and is not suitable for cooking. Some sea cucumbers with high protein content, such as Solanum melongena and Stichopus japonicus, can be used in hotels and family dining tables in large quantities to provide nutrients for people who are deficient and malnourished in protein. In short, the nutrition of sea cucumber has little to do with thorns.