The ocean-dwelling sea cucumber is covered in soft spines.
The sea cucumber is a member of the echinoderm family belonging to the Holothuroidea class. There are currently 1,250 known species of this ocean-dwelling creature, and many of these are indeed shaped like cucumbers. The sea cucumber has long been considered a delicacy and powerful medicinal agent in China, where it is popularly referred to as '"haishen," which translates as "ginseng of the sea." Several cosmetics manufacturers use sea cucumbers, rich in collagen, as an ingredient in anti-aging creams.
As Food
Sea cucumber has a high protein and low lipid content and is rich in gluten, nitrogen, iodine and zinc. You can use sea cucumbers in soups, stews, stir fries, stocks and many Chinese dishes. While it is rather bland tasting on its own, the sea cucumber is particularly good at absorbing the flavors of the ingredients in which it is cooked, and cooks prize it for its jelly-like texture.
Preparing Sea Cucumbers
To prepare a sea cucumber, remove the internal organs, then thoroughly clean the cavity with water to ensure no dirt remains. Boil the sea cucumber in salty water for between 15 and 30 minutes and air dry it to preserve it. This drying process can take as long as five days, depending on the size of the sea cucumber. Without this cooking and curing process sea cucumbers rot very quickly, so it is a vital part of the preparation process.
Before using it in food, soften the dried sea cucumber by placing it in a covered pot of cold water and soaking it for at least 12 hours. Cook it over low heat for one to two hours, cool it to room temperature and drain it.
In Medicine
Traditionally considered to be an aphrodisiac, probably because of its phallic shape, the sea cucumber has been used in traditional for many centuries. Practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine consider it an effective treatment for conditions ranging from kidney disorders to impotence.
Increasingly, sea cucumbers are being used in Western food supplements and medical treatments. In an article published in the May 6, 1996 issue of "Dynamic Chiropractic," chiropractor Howard Benedikt outlined his work in using sea cucumbers as an effective form of pain relief in arthritis sufferers.
Research published in the December 2007 issue of "Public Library of Science Pathogensl" indicates that the protein lectin, which the sea cucumber is rich in, can impair the development of malaria parasite development in mosquitoes.
In Commercial Fish Farming
In February 2011, researchers at the Newcastle Institute for Research on Sustainability at Newcastle University delivered a lecture on their "Sea Cucumber Project" at the UK Marine Technology Postgraduate Conference.
Dr. Matthew Slater, an expert in sea cucumbers and part of the Newcastle research team, explained to the conference that the aim was to investigate the sea cucumber's potential as a natural, organic cleaner on fish farms around the world as well as a source of food.
The project indicates that the sea cucumber's potential as a natural, organic cleaner on fish farms can be harnessed to reduce the impact of pollution on marine life caused by large-scale commercial fish farming. The cucumbers naturally feed on the waste created by the fish, thereby providing an environmentally friendly cleaning solution.
Tags: Chinese medicine, cleaner fish, , , , fish farms, indicates that