Holothuria, sea cucumbers, class of echinoderms. Fossil skeletal plates of holothurians have been known since the Devonian. The body is mostly barrel-shaped or worm-shaped (from several mm to 2 m long), many with an external. appendages (tentacles, legs, papillae, sail, etc.), covered with soft skin containing microscopy. skeletal calcareous plates, or spicules, less often completely covered with calcareous plates.
The mouth is at the anterior end of the body, surrounded by a corolla of tentacles. Many are capable of throwing out the insides (evisceration) or autotomizing the back part of the body with subsequent regeneration of lost organs. 5 modern orders, about 1100 species, in the oceans and seas, everywhere; in Russia - about 100 species, mainly in the Far East. seas. Detritivores. They reproduce by sweeping reproductive products into the water; development with a floating larva (auricularium and doliolaria stages). Some bear young. Object of fishing and aquaculture (sea cucumber). See fig. 14-16 at st. Echinoderms.
Latin name Holothuroidea
At one time, rumors about an unusually tasty food called or sea cucumber flew around almost the whole world.
Nowadays, the global production of these marine animals is more than 10,000 quintals per year. You can taste dishes made from sea cucumbers in our country. In specialized fish stores they appear on sale from time to time, canned or dried. Those who have not yet become addicted to the strange delicacy and do not dare to buy these sea animals, which look like cucumbers with needles, and are also dirty-black in color, can try them in ready-made form, for example, in the Moscow restaurants “Anchor”, “Ocean”, "Beijing".
Residents of the Far East do not need to travel across three seas in search of these animals. Echinoderms cucumbers live in the coastal waters of Primorye, Southern Sakhalin, and the Kuril Islands. By the way, sea cucumbers are officially called sea cucumbers, or sea capsules. They belong to class of invertebrates
, typeechinoderms
(Holothurioidea). Off the Soviet shores of Dalny
East meets Far Eastern sea cucumber -sea cucumber(sea cucumber
Stichopus japonicus), reaching 40 cm in length.
They live mainly on the bottom of the sea and are always half asleep: they move slowly, slowly eat plankton, and after spawning they freeze for a long time, falling into summer hibernation from July to September. One-year-old sea egg capsules weighing no more than 50 g are collected on the sea shallows. Adults, three- and four-year-old animals prefer greater depths - up to 40 m.
Sea cucumbers settle in calm coves and bays with a rocky-sandy bottom. It’s not easy to get adults out of there,
but the result is more noticeable: a four-year-old individual is seven to eight times heavier than a baby, and its meat tastes better.
In the Far East, sea cucumbers have long been considered one of the most delicious and tender food products. And as familiar and beloved as mushrooms for residents of the middle zone. Connoisseurs of oriental dishes recognize sea cucumbers in any sauces and marinades, in dishes consisting of many components. The meat of these sea animals has one interesting feature: under the influence of sea cucumbers, some products acquire a peculiar piquant taste, while others, having lost their pronounced individual properties, appear in a completely new quality. Sea cucumbers themselves, in combination with other products, can endlessly change their taste characteristics. In the rich and unique cuisine of the Chinese, Japanese, Malays and Filipinos, there is no worthy replacement for sea cucumbers. They are eaten fresh and stored for future use: frozen, boiled, and then dried, or boiled, salted and then dried and, of course, canned - in their own juice, in oil, in tomato or with vegetables and seaweed.
Harvesting sea cucumbers is not an easy task; you need to know when and how to get them. The nutritional value of sea cucumbers varies greatly depending on what time of year they are caught. Drying is one of the best ways to prepare sea egg pods. They are dried in the open air or in artificial conditions at low temperatures. To prevent the meat from spoiling and losing its taste at this time, sea cucumbers are rolled in crushed charcoal. That’s why dried sea cucumbers look so unsightly that they often scare off uninformed buyers.
Trepangs are not only tasty, but also a healthy product: nutritious and medicinal. Sea cucumber meat contains valuable proteins, mineral salts of phosphorus, calcium, many trace elements and vitamins B, B2, B12 and C. (In addition, it, like
meat of other marine animals contains organic iodine compounds; they are absorbed by the body much more fully than its inorganic compounds.) That is why oriental healers have long advised eating sea cucumber meat for those who are weakened by serious illnesses, severe nervous shock and physical overload. Modern doctors also sometimes recommend eating sea cucumbers to patients, for example, to those who suffer from thyroid dysfunction, atherosclerosis, or certain cardiovascular diseases. The same doctors claim that sea pods have a healing effect on a healthy body, increasing its protective functions. In addition, according to experts, eating sea cucumbers quickly relieves fatigue. It is not surprising, therefore, that in oriental medicine this organism is often called sea ginseng...
What is the secret of the unusual ability of sea cucumbers to be surprisingly combined with a wide variety of products? The fact is that sea cucumbers do not have their own distinct taste. Sea cucumber resembles chicken scallops or boletus, boiled without salt and spices. This is probably why the pulp of sea cucumbers, under the influence of other products, easily transforms itself and very subtly changes the taste of everything to which it is added. Some time ago, for the prepared foods department, we prepared steaks to which we added some sea cucumbers. It turned out the same, familiar minced meat, but more tender and juicy. In any dish they are just an additive, they always play a supporting role. Moreover, this does not depend on how much sea cucumber gets into one serving. For example, when preparing sea cucumbers with chicken, only 75 g of meat is used, and sea cucumbers -. 100 g, and yet sea cucumber is considered an additive, and not vice versa
How do you feel about them, they always give me pleasure, is this a very tasty addition to sea cucumber dishes? and satisfying food, and with all its satiety, it never gives you the feeling that you have overeaten. And yet I will be objective. The famous sea cucumbers have a drawback (in my opinion, the only one): as they say, “they didn’t come out face-first.” You need either a certain habit or a great interest in exotic things to decide to add these strange gelatinous pieces with soft lumps of needles to your food the first time. And a few years ago, when sea pods, black with charcoal, appeared on store shelves, many buyers avoided this product. Those whose curiosity prevailed over prejudice, although they bought, did not know at all what to do with it. The phones in our restaurant were ringing non-stop then. And sea cucumbers are not the only seafood product about which people know very little. Therefore, I am a big supporter of promoting seafood as actively as possible.
How do restaurant visitors feel about dishes made from them?
In a restaurant, no one has to be encouraged to eat sea pods. Despite the apparent lack of information about the product, more than a hundred visitors order sea cucumber dishes every day
What place is given to sea cucumbers on the restaurant menu?
A wide variety of food is prepared with them: hot and cold appetizers, first and second courses. It is sea cucumbers, along with jellyfish, shrimp, young bamboo shoots, as well as with spices characteristic of the East, soybean and sesame oil, that make it possible to create the original and, I would say, unique cuisine for which Beijing has long been famous.
Chinese or Japanese dishes
Homemade recipes
Despite the apparent simplicity of your request, it is unlikely that I will be able to fulfill it properly. National cuisine is considered national because the use of each product in it is deeply traditional. In our country, many ingredients that are used in China or Japan are not available for sale. Even replacing Chinese allspice with all the black allspice we know will disrupt the taste “sound” of a particular dish. Or, for example, what to replace young bamboo shoots with? Inexpressive in taste, crispy, dense, resistant to long cooking, they also add a special uniqueness to food. There is nothing similar in our kitchen. Any arbitrary replacement will change both the taste and appearance of the dish so much that it will not correspond to the standard, and then it cannot be considered a real oriental dish. And yet you can come up with something...
Two dishes from the Beijing restaurant These two recipes were created by Yu. D. Zakharov based on Chinese national cuisine. But first, about what to do with black dried sea cucumbers. Cooking any dish from them begins with thorough washing to remove charcoal powder. Clean sea cucumbers should be soaked in cold water for 25-30 hours; the water must be changed several times. An incision is made along the abdomen of the soaked sea cucumber and the intestines are removed through it, then washed well again. After
These sea cucumbers are set to boil. Cook over low heat for 3-4 hours. Boiled sea pods are transparent and resemble sturgeon cartilage. Now they are ready to eat.
Broth with sea cucumbers
First, prepare chicken broth with onions, carrots and roots, as usual. The chicken is then removed from the pan. Chicken meat is cut into slices and placed on plates. Boiled sea cucumbers cut into slices and slices of fresh cucumber are also placed there.
(regular); All this is poured with hot broth and served to the table.
For one serving you should take: chicken meat - 75 g, boiled sea cucumbers - 50 g, fresh cucumber slices - 30 g.
Trepang with chicken and pork
Boiled sea cucumbers and chicken meat (or pork) are cut into slices and placed in a saucepan or frying pan, after which they are poured with broth, to which salt and spices are added to taste: cinnamon, pepper, green parsley (or its root) and celery. The contents of the pan are allowed to boil. Starch diluted in cold water is poured into the boiling broth, then everything is brought to a boil again. As soon as the liquid thickens, remove the pan from the heat. Before serving, add another 5 g of butter or vegetable oil to each plate. The oil must be dosed accurately, as too much fat can cause them to fall apart.
For one serving you should take 100 g of boiled sea cucumber and 75 g of meat.
And besides, you can add them to a variety of dishes at your discretion or simply cook them with mayonnaise, like hard-boiled eggs.
Gallery
Crayfish, crabs in the sea. They can be explored and described for an infinite amount of time. Oceanologists never cease to be amazed by their new discoveries.
Some inhabitants live right before our eyes, even under our feet. They hunt, feed, reproduce. And there are species that go far into the depths, where there is no light and, it would seem, no life.
The most incredible creature we are about to meet is the sea cucumber, aka sea cucumber, aka nautical cucumber. Outwardly it looks like a very lazy, overfed, huge worm.
This is a creature that has lived for many millions of years in the expanses of water and has survived more than one historical period. It got its name - sea cucumber - from the philosopher from Rome, Pliny. And, for the first time, several of its types have already been described by Aristotle.
Sea cucumber meat is beneficial for health, so it is very popular in cooking that you even have to breed them in swimming pools. Cooks fry them, dry them, can them, and freeze them.
Marinate and add to salads. When preparing sea cucumber meat, culinary specialists advise adding a lot of spices; it has the ability to absorb all the smells and tastes as much as possible.
Interestingly, the nutritional value of meat does not deteriorate during heat treatment. The Japanese generally eat sea cucumber - cucumaria, exclusively raw, after marinating for five minutes in soy sauce with the addition of garlic.
Considering the flesh of sea cucumbers to be a panacea for all diseases. Sea cucumbers are filled with macro and microelements, vitamins, minerals and amino acids. More than thirty chemical elements from Mindileev’s table.
Its meat contains the largest number of useful components, like no other inhabitant of the deep sea, and it is completely disinfected; viruses, bacteria and microbes are not familiar to it.
Also, in the sixteenth century, information came to us about unique healing properties of sea cucumber. Now it is used in the pharmaceutical industry. For medical purposes, especially in Japan and China.
Residents of these countries call sea cucumber - ginseng obtained from the sea. This is a natural component for the complete restoration of the human body after serious illnesses and complex surgical interventions.
Helps regenerate human tissue. Improves heart function, normalizes blood pressure. Stimulates the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. Sea cucumber also has certain components that help in treating joints.
Also, incredibly, but true, this animal has the ability to regenerate. This is a similarity to the Phoenix bird, only from the sea. Even if he has less than half of his body left, after a while, it will already be a full-fledged animal. But such recovery will take a lot of time, up to half a year or more.
ABOUT description and characteristics of sea cucumber
Who is he? nautical cucumber? This echinoderm, an invertebrate mollusk that lives only in sea waters. Its closest relatives are the starfish and the sea urchin.
In appearance, he is a natural silkworm caterpillar, slowly and voluntarily crawling along the bottom of the sea. Dark marsh, brown, almost black, sometimes scarlet. Depending on where they live, their colors change.
For example, on a sandy river bottom you can even find blue sea cucumbers. Body sizes are different. Some species are half a centimeter long. And there are also fifty centimeter individuals. The average size of a mollusk is like a matchbox - five, six centimeters wide, and up to twenty cm long. It weighs almost one kilogram.
When awake and calm, the sea cucumber almost always lies on its side. On its lower part of the body, called the belly, there is a mouth covered with suckers all around its circumference. With the help of them the animal feeds.
It’s like vacuuming everything from the bottom that you can profit from. There can be up to thirty of these suckers. The entire skin of the sea cucumber is tightly covered with limescale. On the back there are pimply formations with small light spines. They have legs that grow along the entire length of the body, in rows.
The body of a sea cucumber has another unique ability to change its density. He becomes rock hard in case he feels his life is in danger. And it can be very elastic if it needs to crawl under some rock for shelter.
Lifestyle and habitat
They call sea cucumbers types of sea cucumbers, living in the northern part of the Kuril Islands, central territories in China and Japan, in southern Sakhalin. There are more than a hundred varieties of them on the territory of Russia.
Sea cucumbers are animals living at a depth of no more than twenty meters. They spend all their time lying at the bottom. They move very little in their lives.
Sea cucumbers live only in salt water. Fresh waters are destructive for them. They love calm water and muddy bottoms. So that in case of danger you can bury yourself in it. Or stick to some stone.
When an echinoderm is attacked by an enemy, the animal may split into several parts while fleeing. Over time, these parts will, of course, recover.
Since these animals do not have lungs, they breathe through the anus. Pumping water into yourself, sifting out oxygen. Some specimens can pump up to seven hundred liters of water through themselves in one hour. Also, sea cucumbers use the anus as a second mouth.
They tolerate temperature changes calmly, and minor minuses do not affect their livelihoods in any way. They also have a positive attitude towards high temperatures in reservoirs.
Even if some mollusk freezes in the ice, and it is gradually warmed up, it will move away and continue to live. These animals live in large schools, forming entire canvases of individuals on the bottom.
Sea cucumber nutrition
Sea cucumbers are those animals that collect and eat all the decaying carrion found at the bottom. Sea cucumber in hunting for plankton, along the way it collects all the silt and sand that comes along the way. Then he passes it all through himself. Therefore, half of its interior consists of soil.
The over-poisoned, so-called food, comes out through the anus. Considering the fact that you won’t be full of sand, a sea cucumber has to absorb a huge amount of land in a day. In just one year of their life, these mollusks pass through themselves up to forty kilograms of sand and silt. Moreover, in the spring their appetite doubles.
Holothurians have sensitive receptors, with the help of which they accurately determine the amount of food located on the seabed. And if the prey is hidden deep in the sand, the sea cucumber will sense this and will bury itself in the ground until it catches the food. And when he feels that there is little food, he quickly runs along the tops and collects dead remains.
Sea cucumber reproduction and lifespan
By the third year of their life, sea cucumbers are already sexually mature and ready to reproduce. Based on their appearance, it is difficult to understand which of them is male and which is female. But they are heterosexual animals.
The mating season begins in late spring and lasts throughout the summer. But there are also species for which the spawning period can occur at any time of the year. Having broken up into pairs, the mollusks get closer to the shore on a hill, or crawl onto stones or onto lying mussels.
When mating has already occurred, they attach their hind legs to some surface with suction cups and raise their heads up. In such a curved position they begin to spawn.
This procedure lasts up to three days. And what’s remarkable is in the dark. In one year, a female sea cucumber can lay more than fifty million eggs. These individuals are very prolific.
At the end, the exhausted animals crawl into their chosen shelter and hibernate for almost two months. Having slept and rested, sea cucumbers develop a voracious appetite, and they begin to eat everything.
In the third week of life, in fry, something like suction cups appear around the mouth opening. With their help, they attach themselves to marine vegetation and then grow and develop on it.
And many types of sea cucumbers, females, carry their young on their backs, throwing them towards them with their tail. The cubs also begin to grow pimples on their backs, and small legs on their bellies.
The fry grows up, its body increases, the number of legs is added. He is already becoming like his parents, a mini worm. In the first year they reach small sizes, up to five centimeters. By the end of the second year they grow twice as large and already look like a young adult. Holothurians live eight to ten years.
Currently you can buy sea cucumber no problem. There are entire aquarium farms dedicated to their cultivation. Expensive fish restaurants order whole batches to their kitchens. And by rummaging around on the Internet, you can easily get what you want.
Sea cucumber (sea cucumber) or sea cucumber (lat. Holoturoidea) is an invertebrate animal belonging to the echinoderm type. The most famous representatives: Japanese and cucumaria. The creature is unique in its structure, appearance, protective capabilities, and also has a number of useful substances. They are actively used for medicinal purposes, and sea cucumber meat makes delicious dietary dishes. In ancient China, the animal was called “sea ginseng”.
How many and what types of sea cucumbers are there?
Number of species: 1100.
There are 6 squads:
| Squad | Peculiarities |
| Legless | Ambulacral legs are absent. They feel great in freshwater environments. Habitat: mangrove swamps of the Egyptian national reserve Ras Mohammed (translated as “Cape Mohammed”). |
| Sidefoot | Body symmetry is bilateral. The ambulacral legs are located on the side of the body. They live at great depths. |
| Barrel-shaped | The body shape is spindle-like. Adapted to life in the soil. |
| Tree-tentacled | It has the greatest number and prevalence. Lifestyle – sedentary. |
| Thyroid-tentacles | Small shield-like tentacles that do not retract inward. |
| Dactylochirotids | The tentacles are finger-shaped. |
Scientists have identified sea cucumbers in the Caribbean Sea, which are significantly different from their counterparts. Enypniastes eximia or pink sea cucumber resembles a jellyfish in appearance. Biologists jokingly call it the “headless chicken.” Bioluminescence, movement in the water column (able to swim up to 1 km) are the special abilities of this representative.
What they look like
Those who see sea egg capsules for the first time describe them as large earthworms or snails without a shell.
The animal has its own distinctive features from other representatives of invertebrates:
- The body of the holothurian is oblong, trapezoidal, slightly flattened laterally. It has thick, elastic walls. Represented by the musculocutaneous sac. If you take a closer look at the animal, you can see a mouth with tentacles and an anus. The body of the holothurian consists of two parts: dorsal and abdominal.
- The surface is rough when touched and externally wrinkled.
- Color: black, red, green.
- The length for each representative is different: from 3 cm to 2 m. There are exceptions to the rules, for example, Synapta maculate reaches 5 m.
- The weight of an adult can reach up to 1.5 kg.
It should be noted that the sea cucumber has the ability to regenerate. If there is a violation of the integrity of the skin bag, over time, the lost or damaged area is restored.
The structure of holothuria
| 1 | Ampoules |
| 2 | Gonad |
| 3 | Longitudinal muscle |
| 4 | Cloaca |
| 5 | Airways |
| 6 | Longitudinal muscle |
| 7 | Introverted retractor muscle |
| 8 | Stomach |
| 9 | Esophagus |
| 10 | Pharynx |
| 11 | Tentacles |
| 12 | Round channel |
| 13 | Bubble |
| 14 | Introverted retractor muscle |
| 15 | Intestines |
The skeleton is represented by calcareous bones.
The muscular frame consists of 5 longitudinal muscles that are attached around the esophagus. One end of the body is represented by the mouth, from which there is a spiral intestine, the second - by the anus.
Breathing is carried out using the ambulacral system and water lungs, which open into the cloaca in front of the anus.
The blood circulation system is highly branched. The greatest concentration of blood vessels is observed near the intestines. Oxygen saturation of the blood occurs through the vessels that surround the left lung. The vessels from the right lung go to the entire body.
Nervous system: peripharyngeal nerve ring and 5 radially located nerves. The sense organs are tentacles, and the balance organs are statocysts.
Ambeocytes are present to secrete the final products of metabolism.
The gonad is a reproductive organ that resembles finger-shaped tubes.
Where does the sea cucumber live?
Main locations: China, Japan, Malay Archipelago, Pacific Ocean waters, near the Philippine Islands.
The Far East is a place where active fishing for cucumaria and Japanese sea cucumber takes place.
Sea egg pods prefer warm, shallow places, hiding in algae or in the surface layers of silt. The animal does not live in fresh water (with the exception of representatives of the legless order).
Features of behavior and movement
Holothurians live in herds, but move independently, alone. Depending on the presence and length of the ambulacral legs, the speed and ability to move is different for each person. Some individuals do not have special outgrowths, so they move using peristaltic movements, pushing off the surface with calcareous bones.
Lifestyle and diet
In most cases, the animal is sedentary, and therefore is easy prey for other inhabitants of the seabed (crustaceans, fish, starfish). To protect itself when attacked, the holothurian throws out the back part of its internal organs. This creates a distraction and allows the front of the sea cucumber to hide. Complete regeneration occurs in 6-8 weeks.
Dangerous or not
The sea capsule lives in symbiosis with fish. They are located inside the animal, namely in the anus and water lungs. The release of toxic substances occurs solely for protection.
So is it poisonous or not? Some species are capable of secreting toxic culver tubes when necessary. The poison is only dangerous for small marine animals. Sea egg pods are completely safe for humans.
What does it eat?
Plankton and organic particles are the basis of holothurian nutrition. By passing water through the tentacles, microorganisms and plankton are retained in the animal’s mouth. To do this, there are 10-30 tentacles that are placed around the mouth.
Researchers claim that sea cucumbers have a bipolar apparatus for feeding. In other words, food enters in two ways: through the mouth and the anus.
The search for food is carried out in the evening or at night. In the autumn-winter period, sea cucumbers practically do not eat. Activation of the search for food occurs at the beginning of spring.
After spawning, males hibernate to regain strength and eat almost nothing. Then, having woken up, they begin an active search for food.
Reproduction
Spawning time: June – September.
During fertilization, the male and female individuals stretch upward, assuming a vertical body position, and begin to sway. The process begins when the exchange of reproductive products takes place at the connection of the genital openings.
Among the representatives there are unisexual (synthesize male and female sex hormones) and dioecious. The maturation of male reproductive cells and eggs occurs in the gonads, then the reproductive products are released out through the genital duct.
In most holothurians, the process of conception and development of the embryo is external. With the help of tentacles, the eggs are attached to the dorsal part of the body. Sometimes the formation of an embryo occurs inside an adult. The eggs become larvae - dipleuroles. After a few days they turn into auricularia, and then into dolioralia, vitellaria and penctatula.
The lifespan of holothurians is about 10 years.
Is it possible to breed sea egg pods in captivity?
Since the sea cucumber is quite a valuable and useful product, its populations have been almost destroyed in the wild. That is why sea cucumbers are bought exclusively from farms where they are grown individually. Sea cucumbers are bred in Russia, in the Far East.
Is it possible to keep sea cucumber at home?
Chemical composition
Sea cucumber contains dietary protein. Rich in amino acids, macro and microelements: potassium, magnesium, iodine, fluorine, cobalt, copper, bromine, chlorine, nickel, calcium, iron. Also present are dietary fiber, polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamins B, C, and nicotinic acid (PP). Acidity is 15.95.
Useful properties in medicine
The benefits of eating sea cucumber meat have a positive effect on health:
- Accelerates the rehabilitation period after surgery or illness.
- Far Eastern medicine has been using raw sea cucumber meat for many years to normalize metabolism and lower blood pressure.
- It has a positive effect on arthritis (inflammation of the joints).
- Sea cucumber extract has a good effect on the nervous and cardiovascular systems.
- Cosmetology uses preparations based on sea cucumber for rejuvenation procedures.
- Improves the functioning of the endocrine system.
- Since ancient times, sea cucumber has been considered a strong aphrodisiac. It was used to treat prostatitis in men, as well as restore male sexual function.
- Calorie content of 100 g of product: 35 kcal. Therefore, edible sea cucumbers are recommended for use by people who control their weight; they are excellent for weight loss.
- The beneficial properties of sea cucumber in medicine are aimed at restoring the level of immune defense.
- Depression goes away, fatigue disappears.
Contraindications
It should be remembered that for pregnant women, during breastfeeding, children under 15 years of age, as well as for hyperfunction (hyperthyroidism, thyrotoxicosis) of the thyroid gland, use is strictly prohibited.
What types of medications are there?
There are capsules, extract with honey, as well as extracts.
The form of the drug is selected individually.
Sea cucumber recipes
Before preparing it, you should know that dietary sea cucumber meat is quite specific - it is tasteless. Therefore, you should not expect taste pleasure from such food. But such dishes will bring enormous health benefits. The most famous recipes for preparing edible sea cucumbers:
- Residents of Far Eastern countries eat raw sea cucumber. To do this, the carcass is thoroughly cleaned of entrails and washed. Then finely chop it and infuse it in soy sauce.
- Skoblyanka is a hot dish, served on its own or as a side dish.
You will need:
- Peeled, cut into pieces sea cucumber.
- Onion
- Salt, pepper, spices to taste
- Tomato
- Sunflower or butter.
Preparation:
Boil the carcass until soft. Fry the onion until golden, add boiled meat, salt, pepper, and tomato. After frying, let simmer for about 5 minutes. Add garlic if desired.
- With vegetables it is quite a tasty dish and can be used as a side dish.
You will need:
- Boiled sea cucumber meat 2-3 pcs.
- Carrots 2 pcs.
- Cabbage 200-300g
- Onions 2 pcs.
- Smoked chicken breast 100-150g
- Green onions 3-4 feathers
- Parsley
- Ginger root 100g
- Butter 6 tbsp.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- Sesame 1-3 tbsp.
Preparation:
Boil the chopped meat and ginger. Mix chopped herbs with meat. Then send it to stew with the cabbage. After 5 minutes (or when the cabbage is ready), add the fried onions and carrots. Simmer over low heat until fully cooked for 10-15 minutes. Serve with sesame seeds.
- Sea cucumber with honey is a medicine. All useful properties are preserved. To prepare honey extract from sea cucumber yourself, cut the meat into half rings and dry. Add honey, maintaining a 1:1 ratio. Leave in a cool place for 2 months, stirring occasionally. Take 1 tbsp. 15-20 minutes before meals.
Diets and healthy eating 17.01.2018
Dear readers, in Chinese, Japanese and Korean cuisines, sea cucumber is considered a delicacy, the taste of which is so appreciated by true gourmets. It is served both fresh and as the main ingredient in soups and sauces. Today, my blog reader Yulia Khoroshilova will talk about these sea animals and why they are so popular in Asia. I give her the floor.
Hello, dear readers of Irina’s blog. Many gourmets are interested in a dish made from sea cucumbers. This echinoderm contains no microbes or viruses, so it is considered effective in treating pathologies of the stomach, liver and kidneys. According to research, sea cucumber meat contains substances that have anti-cancer properties.
What is a sea cucumber?
Holothurians, or sea cucumbers, are a class of invertebrate animals such as echinoderms. The Far Eastern sea cucumber and cucumber are varieties of sea cucumbers; they live mainly in the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk, and Sakhalin. All types of sea cucumbers that are eaten are also called sea cucumbers.
Sea cucumber, depending on the type, can be red, black, or green. This interesting name was given to them by Pliny, and it is due to the fact that when touched, the body of sea cucumbers shrinks and takes the shape of a cucumber. Let's see what a sea cucumber looks like in the photo.
Sea cucumber. Photo
The healing power of sea cucumber is legendary. In Japan, it is called sea ginseng and is credited with unprecedented healing properties.
Composition and calorie content
The calorie content of sea cucumber is quite low - 100 g contains 35 kcal. The composition of the meat of these echinoderms is considered unique, which determines the beneficial properties that it possesses. In addition, it is dietary due to its low fat content - 100 g of product contains less than 1 g of fat.
Due to its high protein content, sea cucumber helps maintain muscle tone, has a beneficial effect on the condition of the skin, and fights infectious and inflammatory processes in the body. The tissues of sea cucumber contain a large amount of vitamins B and C, holothurins, chlorine, phosphorus and calcium.
It is reliably known that this product does not contain microbes or viruses, and its cells are sterile.
Niacin
By regularly including sea cucumber in your diet, you provide the body with the necessary amount of niacin. Vitamin B3 (PP) helps against heart disease, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and cognitive disorders.
This substance is also invaluable for cellular communication and gives strength to the body. According to the Linus Pauling Institute, a diet enriched with this product significantly reduces the risk of developing cancer.
Riboflavin
Sea shellfish is rich in vitamin B2, which is an essential water-soluble substance and a participant in many biochemical processes. Riboflavin acts as a transport link that delivers beneficial substances to tissues and organ systems. This is a unique vitamin of beauty and health, so it is recommended to include sea cucumber in your diet. Eastern healers are convinced that it contains the secret of longevity.
Iron
Everyone knows that seafood is rich in iron, which saturates the body with oxygen and normalizes blood circulation. Therefore, the benefit of sea cucumber sea cucumber is that it eliminates the deficiency of a useful microelement and thereby ensures strong immunity.
Beneficial features
At the moment, research on the beneficial properties and contraindications of sea cucumber is quite limited. However, as a result of clinical trials, certain positive effects that it can have on the body have been identified.
Sea cucumber contains neither microbes nor viruses, so this product is considered useful in the treatment of diabetes, cardiovascular pathologies, and brain diseases. The product is an effective treatment for intestinal infections, acting as an antiviral agent.
In alternative medicine, sea cucumber is used to treat the following problems:
- bowel disorder in the form of constipation;
- erectile dysfunction in men;
- colds;
- periodontitis;
- hypertension;
- elevated cholesterol levels;
- osteoarthritis.
Representatives of traditional medicine are convinced that the main beneficial property of sea cucumber is its ability to slow down the aging process and the development of tumor-like neoplasms of a malignant nature.
Cholesterol control
Along with food, organic lipids enter the body, which are necessary to maintain human health. However, excess cholesterol is in first place among the causes of the development of atherosclerosis, the deposition of plaques in blood vessels.
According to recent scientific research, sea cucumber helps control the levels of these compounds in the blood. In 2002, an article was published in the journal Agricultural and Food Chemistry, which stated that sea cucumber reduces bad cholesterol while increasing good cholesterol.
Gum health
Based on the results of a study conducted in 2003, scientists found that sea cucumber can be used to produce an extract that, when added to toothpaste, helps eliminate periodontitis - bleeding gums. The experiment involved 28 people with the initial stage of gingivitis, who brushed their teeth daily with a paste containing an extract of sea cucumber.
After three months, the results showed that markers of oral health had noticeably improved: bleeding and gum inflammation decreased, and the unpleasant odor disappeared. However, more research is required to confirm this theory.
Oncological diseases
The established sterility of sea cucumber cells gave rise to the hypothesis that this product can be effectively used for the prevention and treatment of malignant cancer.
In 2010, a scientific article was published in the journal Pancreas indicating that substances with anti-cancer properties were found in sea cucumber. The study found that the key compound in sea cucumber, triterpenoid, exhibits pronounced cytotoxicity against carcinoma of the lung, pancreas, breast, colon, leukemia, and prostate.
Many cancer patients who simultaneously use sea cucumber tincture with honey along with chemotherapy have noted a reduction in malignant tumors by 68%.
From this video you will learn about other properties of sea cucumber.
Cautions
Despite the fact that sea cucumber is a source of vitamins and beneficial macro- and microelements for the human body, it is necessary to remember possible contraindications to its use. If you are allergic to seafood, you should avoid using sea cucumbers. This is especially true for pregnant women, whose bodies are most sensitive during this period.
Doctors warn that eating sea cucumber while taking anticoagulants increases the risk of side effects. Patients with an overactive thyroid gland should avoid this iodine-rich product.
Don’t forget how the sea cucumber feeds: waste from other fish, plankton. The mollusk lives on the seabed and filters sand along with various aquatic organisms, which can be poisonous, and all these substances settle in its flesh. It must be remembered that pharmaceutical nutritional supplements have not been tested for safety, which means that it cannot be said that their use will not cause harm.
In Asian cuisine, sea cucumber is also eaten raw, served with grated radish and soy sauce. In Russia, shellfish are boiled, canned or dried for culinary purposes. In the Far East, skoblyanka, which is prepared from potatoes, onions, and sea cucumbers, is popular. On supermarket shelves you can also find canned food “Skoblyanka from cucumaria and fish”.
To improve health, raw sea cucumber is crushed and dried. The resulting mixture is mixed with honey in proportions of 1:5 and left for 7 days. Based on ground sea cucumber, vodka tincture, healing tea and even wine are made.
Since cucumaria scraper is the most popular dish, let's find out how to prepare it.
You will need the following ingredients: sea cucumber, onions, spices, carrots, bell peppers, tomato paste. In Vladivostok, the collected sea cucumber is boiled immediately on the shore in sea water and then cooked at home. But you can also buy it fresh.
Holothuria is an unusual animal that visually resembles a plant. This animal belongs to the class of invertebrates, the type of echinoderm. These “sea sausages”, which is exactly what they look like, have many names - sea cucumber, sea cucumber, sea ginseng.
Class Holothuria unites many species, namely 1150. Each species differs from other representatives of this class in a number of characteristics. Therefore everything holothurian species were combined into 6 types. The criteria that were taken into account during separation were the following: anatomical, external and genetic features. So, let's get acquainted with the types of sea cucumbers:
1. Legless holothurians do not have ambulacral legs. Unlike their other relatives, they perfectly tolerate desalination of water, which has affected their habitat. A large number of legless ones can be found in the mangrove swamps of the Ras Mohamed Nature Reserve.
2. Side-footed holothurians are equipped with ambulacral legs on the sides. They prefer life at great depths.
3. Barrel-shaped holothurians. The shape of their body is spindle-shaped. Such type of sea cucumber adapted to life in the soil.
4. Tree-tentacled holothurians are the most common. The most primitive sea cucumbers belong to this type.
5. Thyroid-tentacles have short tentacles that do not hide inside the body.
6. Dactylochirotids unite sea cucumbers that have from 8 to 30 tentacles.
Holothuria maritime, due to its diversity and ability to adapt to any living conditions, is found in almost all seas. The only exceptions are the Caspian and Baltic seas.
The ocean spaces are also perfect for their living. Largest accumulation holothurian sea cucumber in tropical and subtropical waters. These cucumbers can settle both in shallow water and in deep-sea depressions. Their main refuge is coral reefs and rocky soils overgrown with vegetation.
The body of these underwater inhabitants is oblong, which is probably why they are called sea cucumbers. The skin is rough and wrinkled. All muscles are quite developed. At one end of the body there is a mouth, and at the other an anus. There are tentacles around the mouth.
With their help, sea ginseng captures food and sends it into the mouth. They swallow food completely, since they have no teeth. Nature did not endow these monsters with a brain, and the nervous system consists of only a few nerves connected in a bundle.
Holothuria sea cucumber
Distinctive feature sea cucumber sea ginseng is their hydraulic system. The water lungs of these extraordinary animals open in front of the anus into the cloaca, which is completely unusual for other living organisms.
The color of these animals is quite bright. They come in black, red, blue and green. Skin color depends on where holothurian lives. Their color most often harmoniously combines with the colors of the underwater landscape. The sizes of such “underwater worms” have no clear boundaries. They can be from 5 mm to 5 m.
Character and lifestyle of sea cucumbers
Lifestyle of sea cucumbers- inactive. They are in no hurry and crawl slower than turtles. They move along the seabed on their sides, since this is where their legs are located.
Pictured is sea cucumber sea ginseng
You can see such an unusual way of transportation at photo of sea cucumber. During such walks, they use their tentacles to capture edible particles of organic matter from the bottom.
They feel great at great depths. So, at a depth of 8 km, sea ginseng considers itself a full-fledged owner, and this is not accidental. They make up 90% of all bottom dwellers at great depths.
But even these “bottom masters” have their enemies. Holothurians have to defend themselves from starfish, crustaceans and some species. To protect themselves, sea cucumbers use “special weapons.” In case of danger, they can shrink and throw their internal organs into the water.
As a rule, these are the intestines and genitals. Thus, the enemy is lost or feasts on this “dropped ballast”, and in the meantime the front part of the cucumber escapes from the battlefield. All missing body parts are restored in 1.5-5 weeks and the sea cucumber continues to live as before.
Some species defend themselves slightly differently. During skirmishes with the enemy, they produce toxic enzymes that are fatal to many fish.
This substance is not dangerous for people, the main thing is that it does not get into your eyes. People have adapted to use this substance for their own purposes: for fishing and scaring.
In addition to enemies, sea ginseng also has friends. About 27 species of the carp family use sea cucumbers as a home. They live inside these unusual animals, using them as shelter in case of danger.
Sometimes these “cucumber fish” eat the reproductive and respiratory organs of sea cucumbers, but due to their restorative ability, this does not cause much harm to the “hosts”.
Holothuria edible not only underwater inhabitants, but also humans believe. Sea cucumbers are used to prepare delicacies, as well as in pharmacology. They are tasteless, but very healthy.
An interesting fact is that once you get the sea cucumber to the surface, you must sprinkle it with salt so that it becomes hard. Otherwise, upon contact with air, the mollusk will soften and resemble jelly.
Holothurian nutrition
Sea cucumbers are considered the orderlies of the ocean and seas. They feed on the remains of dead animals. Their mouth end is always raised in order to catch food with the help of tentacles.
The number of tentacles varies among different species. Their maximum number is 30 pieces, and they are all in constant search for food. The holothurian licks each of the tentacles in turn.
Some species feed on algae, others on organic debris and small animals. They are like vacuum cleaners, collecting food mixed with silt and sand from the bottom. The intestines of these animals are adapted to select only nutrients, and send everything unnecessary back out.
Reproduction and lifespan of holothurians
Holothurians have 2 methods of reproduction: sexual and asexual. During sexual reproduction, the female releases eggs into the water. Here, outside, fertilization of the eggs occurs.
After a while, larvae will emerge from the eggs. In their development, these babies go through 3 stages: dipleurula, auricularia and doliolaria. In the first month of their life, the larvae feed exclusively on unicellular algae.
The second option for reproduction is self-reproduction. In this case, holothurians, like plants, are divided into several parts. Over time, new individuals grow from these parts. These extraordinary creatures can live from 5 to 10 years.
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