Types of dried sea cucumber
Spike sea cucumbers
The body wall of spike sea cucumber is thick and soft, and the warts on the back are well-developed and thorn-like. The body size, color and number of thorns often vary with the living environment. The species with excellent quality among sea cucumbers. The production of wild spike sea cucumbers is very limited, and most on the market are farmed.
Species including:
Apostichopus japonicus
commonly known as "grey-spike" sea cucumber
Thelenota ananas
also named as "plum blossom" sea cucumber
Stichopus chloronotus
Stichopus horrens
Stichopus variegatus
Other Species
- Bohadschia marmorata
- Bohadschia argus
- Actinopyga lecanora
- Actinopyga mauritiana
- Actinopyga miliaris
- Holothuria atra
- Holothuria leucospilota
- Holothuria nobilis
- Holothuria scabra
- Pentacta quadrangularis
- Pentacta inornata
- Pentacta anceps
- Paracaudina chilensis var. ransonnetii
- Dendrochirotida
- Dactylochirotida
- Aspidochirotida
- Elasipodida
- Molpadiida
- Apodida
How to pick dried sea cucumber from the store
In general:
- the more and longer the spikes on sea cucumbers is more expensive, those without any spikes usually are the cheaper ones.
- the larger the size, the more expensive
Place of Origin
Currently, the most expensive sea cucumber on the market is Kanto sea cucumber. Kanto sea cucumbers come from colder places such as Aomori, Sendai, and Hokkaido. Among them, sea cucumbers from Hokkaido are the most famous and high-end, with dense, long, and strong thorns. Japanese spike sea cucumber are specially labelled and named as "Japanese spike sea cucumber". In other places, such as Indonesia, South America, and the Middle East, spike sea cucumbers is generally called "spike sea cucumber". Japanese spike sea cucumbers sometimes can expand 8 times larger than dried form after hydration preparation (soak).
Spike and Bald
Sea cucumber without spikes generally are cheaper in price, common available for example "Bald sea cucumber" (means no spike) which derive from a variety of country and species.
another one is "pig cucumber" (has a fat body and protruding meat particles on its belly, like a sow's udder).
Traditional uses
- aid in individual development,
- boost immunity,
- slow down skin aging,
- eliminate excessive free radicals,
- regulate female endocrine functions,
- contribute to beauty,
- nourish the kidney meridian,
- replenish essence,
- eliminate phlegm,
- help with urination,
- act as aphrodisiacs,
- treat impotence,
- combat sore bugs.
Nutrition
Sea cucumber is a nutritious food source, being high in protein, low in fat and sugar, and rich in essential amino acids, vitamins, and fatty acids. Sea cucumbers also contain many types of amino acids, with high levels of glycine, arginine, and glutamic acid. Amino acids are vital for protein synthesis and possess significant nutritional and medicinal value.
Rich in vitamins and various trace elements
Sea cucumber contains seven kinds of vitamins for example VA, VB1, VB2, VB6, VD, VE and VK, which cannot be synthesized by the human body and are necessary for human growth and metabolism.
Sea cucumbers are rich in macro and trace elements necessary for the human body, among which the contents of iron and zinc in trace elements are significantly higher than other elements.
Sea cucumber has a full range of essential fatty acids, such as linoleic acid, linolenic acid, EPA, DHA, etc. The essential fatty acid content of sea cucumbers is significantly higher than that of other sea cucumbers. Essential fatty acids play an important role in enhancing human immunity and the function of the human brain.
Producing dried sea cucumber
The processing method of dried sea cucumbers involves removing dirt from fresh sea cucumbers, boiling them in hot water, and drying them in the sun or baking them. Some methods, such as boiling sea cucumbers multiple times, adding salt in boiling water, and mixing with herbs during drying, are slightly more complex.
Preparation step - hydration
Dried sea cucumber needs to undergo a hydration preparation step to restore into usable form. It starts with rinse it with water to remove any surface powder. Then, place ginger slices and the dried sea cucumber into frozen water, ensuring that the water covers the cucumber. Boil for 15 minutes, then let it soak until the following day, changing the water periodically. Repeat boiling and soaking if desired. Once done, clean the sea cucumber's internal organs and remove the yellow film on its inner layer using a knife.
Different swelling methods will cause the loss of nutrients in dried sea cucumbers. including copper, iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, lysine, histidine and arginine
The loss of nutrients is the least when exposed to water at room temperature, followed by the loss of nutrients when exposed to water at high temperature, and the loss is greatest when exposed to alkaline water at room temperature.