What type of animal are sea cucumbers? Sea cucumbers: medicinal properties, recipes, photos

Trepang is a marine invertebrate animal belonging to the phylum echinoderm. Sea cucumbers, sea cucumbers or sea capsules are called mollusks, the body of which tends to shrink strongly at the slightest touch, becoming similar to a cucumber or an old capsule.

Today there are 1,150 species, which differ in their structure, tentacle shape, color and appearance. Closest relatives - starfish and hedgehogs. In Russia you can find about a hundred species of these animals, the most popular of which are cucumaria (Japanese sea cucumber) and Far Eastern sea cucumber: healthy and delicious dishes. Sea cucumber reaches a size of up to half a meter, and its largest heavy weight, known today is 1500 g!

Trepang: description

Most often, these worm-like animals are found in the reservoirs of the Japanese and Yellow Seas, where they live for quite a long time. great depth(about 100 m or more). By appearance the mollusk resembles a cucumber (hence the name): it has elongated oval-shaped body, a thick skin on which long growths similar to thorns are visible. Sea cucumber has a number of healing properties and has been used as food for a long time.

Appearance of holothuria

Holothuria - a unique inhabitant underwater world, similar at the same time to a huge worm and big caterpillar. The soft body of a mollusk can be either completely smooth or rough (depending on the variety) and covered with short or long outgrowths. Color - red, gray, green, brown or black.

Sea cucumbers also differ in size. Animals can be very tiny (from 0.5 cm) or incredibly huge (up to five meters!), which is why they attract interest from sea hunters.

The mouth of the sea cucumber is practically devoid of any devices for grinding and chewing food. It is located either at the front end of the body, or slightly shifted towards the belly. The few forms of this marine inhabitant, which have the ability to attach to rocks or burrow into mud, have a vaulted, flask-shaped or spherical shape. This is explained by the fact that the anus and mouth of the sea cucumber are slightly shifted to the back.

All sea cucumbers have characteristic tentacles located around the mouth. These processes are modified ambulacral legs. U various representatives of sea cucumber orders, the structure of the tentacles is not the same, and their number ranges from 8 to 30 pieces. The tentacles are short, shield-shaped, intended mainly for collecting nutritious material from the ground surface, and tree-like branched, covering a fairly large area of water when catching prey.

But, despite the fact that holothuria has such unusual shape It is almost always possible to distinguish between the ventral and dorsal sides, but in terms of its structure, the belly of the sea cucumber does not morphologically correspond to that of other animals. Since these worm-like animals always crawl on their sides, the names “dorsal” and “ventral” sides do not quite correspond to generally accepted concepts.

Most forms of sea pods does not have a clear separation of boundaries between the head and body However, in some species it is still possible to discern some separation of the body from the head end. Sea cucumbers are very slow and move from place to place, slowly stretching and contracting. However, their usual state is to spend quiet time lying on their side, which makes them much easier to catch.

Composition and properties

Sea cucumbers can safely be called a dietary product, since they have very low calorie content(only 33 Kcal per 100 g). The beneficial properties of shellfish are determined by their composition. In sea cucumbers contains the following substances:

Holothuria is a unique natural substance, the use of which allows for rapid recovery after surgery or illness. Eastern medicine uses sterile sea cucumber meat to normalize metabolic processes, reduction blood pressure, stimulation of cardiac activity, acceleration of tissue regeneration and even getting rid of bradycardia and tachycardia.

Thus, sea cucumbers have a beneficial effect on human health and if you include them in your daily diet, you can avoid many diseases. Holothuria also has a healing effect on joints, which is why it is widely used to treat arthritis. The elements contained in sea cucumber meat will help reduce joint stiffness and also relieve pain.

Not only fresh sea cucumber meat has beneficial properties, but also sea cucumber extract. According to Chinese doctors, the extract of this mollusk, obtained according to a unique recipe, prolongs life, improves the functioning of the nervous and cardiovascular systems, and also helps saturate the body with a complex of necessary elements and strengthen the immune system. The use of the hood is especially recommended for people suffering from chronic diseases and pensioners.

Thus, sea cucumber meat is a unique raw material for the production of medicines and medicinal extracts.

In addition, a sea cucumber found wide application in cooking. It is consumed canned, stewed or fried, and delicious salads are also prepared.

However, there are also contraindications to the use of drugs based on sea cucumber, as well as its meat:

Hyperfunction of the thyroid gland. Eating sea cucumber may aggravate the disease;
hypertension. The product helps to significantly lower blood pressure;
pregnancy and lactation;
age up to 15 years;
individual intolerance.

How to cook?

Preparing sea cucumber for consumption is not difficult at all. However, the product must first be prepared. To begin with dried shellfish should be washed thoroughly until the black powder completely disappears. Then place it in a container of water to soak for a while. The water should be changed periodically. After these steps, boil the sea cucumber in clean water until ready (at least three hours).

There are a huge number of dishes based on sea cucumber. It can be solyanka, soup, pilaf, salad, as well as all kinds of snacks. Sea cucumber can also be used as a filling for cutlets. Dishes containing this shellfish can be served with various sauces (especially spicy ones).

Sea cucumber with honey has gained particular popularity among gourmets not only for its unique taste, but also for its very beneficial properties.

Shellfish that are too dry should be soaked for several days until the product no longer smells of iodine and the water after washing becomes completely clear.

Storing sea cucumbers

The dried product should be stored in a cool and dry place, away from sun rays. Already cooked or fresh sea cucumber can be frozen if necessary. However, you should not store sea cucumber in freezer too long (more than two months), otherwise it will lose its beneficial properties.

The Japanese use sea cucumbers raw. For this remove the animal's entrails, cut it into small pieces, season with vinegar or soy sauce. Also islanders Pacific Ocean and Japan, the gonads and intestines of sea cucumber are used for cooking. These products are more valuable than the skin-muscular sac of sea cucumber.

Canned sea cucumber is in great demand around the world, thanks to which some modern factories and companies European countries put the production of canned products from sea cucumber meat on stream. Nowadays, not only hunting for sea cucumber is widely practiced, but also artificial breeding , including here in Russia (Far East).

So, this seemingly unsightly and to some extent even disgusting sea animal can not only save you from many ailments, but also provide you with a healthy and satisfying dinner.

Sea cucumber sea cucumber

Irina Kamshilina

Cooking for someone is much more pleasant than cooking for yourself))

The marine fauna is rich in various living organisms, many of which are used as food. One of them is the sea cucumber (holothurian), a class of which includes more than 1000 species. They vary in appearance (size, color, body length, etc.), and some are even used for cooking. Mollusks have a number of useful medicinal properties, and sea cucumber extracts are even used to make medicines.

What is a sea cucumber

Such a representative of the fauna as the sea cucumber is a class of invertebrate animals, such as echinoderms. They are also called sea capsules and sea cucumbers. The sea cucumber looks like a large oblong worm or caterpillar. Depending on the species, the body of these mollusks can be smooth or rough (with short and long growths). The color of sea cucumbers is red, green, gray, brown and black. Their size varies from 0.5 cm to 5 m. Holothuria can be found both in deep depressions and in the coastal part of the ocean, and more often near coral reefs.

Lifestyle

The marine animal feeds on plankton or organic remains, which it extracts from the bottom sand and passes through digestive system. Some species of sea cucumbers have tentacles used to filter food they detect. Mollusks lead a sedentary lifestyle, spending most of their time on one side, with their mouth opening raised. Animals crawl very slowly, sometimes contracting, sometimes stretching.

Types of sea cucumbers

Today, the class of holothurians includes about 1,150 species of animals, differing in size, weight, color, body structure, and habitat. Sea urchins and stars are the closest relatives of holothurians. There are more than 100 species of such mollusks in Russia, but the most popular sea cucumbers are Far Eastern sea cucumber and cucumber, which are used in the preparation of tasty and healthy treats.

Useful properties of sea cucumbers

Representatives sea cucumbers have many beneficial properties thanks to dietary sterile meat, devoid of viruses and various diseases, but rich in iodine, calcium, phosphorus, amino acids, iron, copper, nickel, chlorine, vitamins B, C. The calorie content of shellfish is only 35 kcal per 100 g. Scientists note the following points of the therapeutic effect of sea cucumbers on the human body:

decrease in blood pressure;
stimulation of the heart muscle;
acceleration of tissue renewal;
normalization of metabolic processes;
relief from bradycardia, tachycardia;
treatment of arthritis, relief of joint pain;
strengthening immunity;
improving the functioning of the nervous and cardiovascular systems.

Using sea cucumber as food

It is not difficult to prepare sea cucumber; the main thing is to carry out a number of activities to pre-prepare the mollusk. First, it is washed thoroughly until the black powder completely disappears. Next, the carcass is soaked in water, which is changed several times, and then boiled for at least 3 hours. The Japanese prefer to eat the delicious sea cucumber meat raw, since it preserves more useful substances.

Many different things are prepared from sea cucumber delicious snacks, it is fried, boiled, dried, and made into canned shellfish. Shellfish meat is used as the main component of some soups and cutlets. Experienced chefs argue that sea cucumbers must be cooked with other products that have a pronounced aroma and absorb unpleasant odors. Pregnant and lactating women, children, allergy sufferers, and people with hyperthyroidism should not eat sea egg capsule meat.

Sea Cucumber Recipes

Sea pod as a food product is often used in Asian cuisine. Used to prepare seafood different ways heat treatment. You can buy shellfish in large grocery stores and make it into a dish rich a large number useful vitamins and microelements. If you don't know how to cook sea cucumber, use detailed tutorials with photos that will teach you how to properly peel, prepare and cook sea cucumber.

Sea cucumber scraper

Time: 1 hour 15 minutes.
Number of servings: 8 persons.
Calorie content of the dish: 154 kcal per 100 g.
Difficulty: easy.

One of the dishes of Old Russian cuisine that has been forgotten is skoblyanka. It was prepared from potatoes, mushrooms and vegetables, but Far East mushrooms were replaced with sea cucumber meat. This mollusk contains much more vitamins and microminerals than fish, so the beneficial properties of the scallop are very great. If you purchased fresh sea cucumber, you must first gut it, wash it, then boil it twice for half an hour in water. Then change the water again and cook the shellfish for about 2 hours.

Ingredients:

sea cucumber – 6 pcs.;
pork – 0.5 kg;
onions – 3 pcs.;
carrots, tomatoes - 1 pc.;
vegetable oil – 50 ml;
tomato paste – 1 tbsp. l.;
garlic – 2 cloves;
greens – 0.5 bunch;
salt, pepper - to taste.

Cooking method:

Cut the seafood into strips, fry in a cauldron for about 15 minutes, then add pork, chopped in the same way.
While the seafood and meat are fried, chop the onion into half rings and the carrots into thin strips. Add to meat and seafood. Simmer for 10 minutes.
Chop the tomato into small cubes, add to the cauldron, add salt and pepper, and stir.
Pour in ½ tbsp. water, simmer over low heat under the lid for 15 minutes.
Squeeze the garlic, chop and add the herbs, stir, remove from heat.

Sea cucumber with honey

Time: 16 days.
Number of servings: 200 persons.
Calorie content of the dish: 496 kcal per 100 g.
Purpose: medicine.
Difficulty: easy.

Sea cucumber with honey is used as an alternative medicine used for the treatment and prevention of various diseases. The tincture recipe appeared in China, and is famous for the following properties: eliminating inflammation, stimulating tissue regeneration, slowing the development of cancerous tumors, improving the functioning of the endocrine system, restoring vision, removing waste, toxins, removing cholesterol plaques, etc. Take the finished extract, 1 tsp. . half an hour before meals twice a day for a month.

Ingredients:

dried sea cucumber – 100 g;
alcohol (40%) – 1 l;
honey – 1 kg.

Cooking method:

Fill the dried seafood with water so that the liquid completely covers the product, leave for a day, and then grind it (you can put it through a meat grinder).
Mix crushed sea cucumbers with alcohol, leave to infuse for 15 days in a dark, dry, cool place, shaking occasionally.
Combine the prepared tincture with honey and stir thoroughly.

Sea cucumber with rice

Time: 1.5 hours.
Number of servings: 6 persons.
Calorie content of the dish: 171 kcal per 100 g.
Purpose: for breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Difficulty: easy.

Housewives who are looking for options on how to cook sea cucumber should try a recipe with rice and soy sauce. The dish turns out not only tasty, but also satisfying. It is better to peel the tomatoes listed in the product list by first dousing them with boiling water and making an incision in the area of the stalk. In addition to curry spices, you can add others at your discretion.

Ingredients:

sea cucumber – 300 g;
rice – 0.5 kg;
tomatoes – 2 pcs.;
onions – 2 pcs.;
garlic – 3-4 cloves;
curry – 1 pinch;
soy sauce – 1 tbsp. l.

Cooking method:

If the shellfish are raw, boil them in 2 waters, then chop them randomly and fry until cooked.

November 23rd, 2016

Sea capsules, sea cucumbers or sea cucumbers are animals whose body contracts strongly at the slightest touch, after which in many forms it becomes similar to an old capsule or cucumber. About 1,100 species of sea egg-pods are known. The name “sea cucumbers” was given to these animals by Pliny, and the description of some species belongs to Aristotle.

Holothurians are interesting external features, bright colors, an interesting lifestyle and some habits, in addition, they have quite a significant economic importance. Over 30 species and varieties of sea cucumbers are used by humans for food. Edible sea cucumbers, often called sea cucumbers, have long been valued as a very nutritious and medicinal dish, so fishing for these animals has been practiced since ancient times.

The main sea cucumber fisheries are concentrated mainly off the coast of Japan and China, in the waters of the Malay Archipelago, off the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean, and near the Philippine Islands. Smaller sea cucumber fisheries are conducted in Indian Ocean, in the Red Sea, off the coast of America, Africa, Australia and Italy. In the Far Eastern seas, two species of edible sea cucumbers are caught (Stichopus japonicus and Cucumaria japonica), which are used to prepare canned food and dried foods. The musculocutaneous sac of sea cucumbers, which has previously been subjected to long-term processing by boiling, drying, and in some countries, smoking, is most often consumed as food. Broths and stews are prepared from such semi-finished products. In Italy, fishermen eat fried sea cucumbers without subjecting them to complex pre-processing.

In their raw form, edible sea cucumbers are used as food in Japan, where, after removing the entrails, they are cut into slices and seasoned with soy sauce and vinegar. In addition to the skin-muscle sac, residents of Japan and the Pacific Islands use the intestines and gonads of edible sea cucumbers for food, which are more valuable. Some modern European companies produce various canned foods from sea cucumbers, which are in great demand. The world fishery for Stichopus japonicus in 1981 amounted to 8098 million tons. In addition to fishing, holothurian breeding is also practiced, in particular in our Far East.

Holothurians are quite large animals, the average size of which is from 10 to 40 cm. However, among them there are also dwarf species, barely reaching a few millimeters, and real giants, whose body length with a relatively small diameter - about 5 cm - can reach 2 m, and sometimes even 5 m. In body shape, holothurians are very different from representatives of other classes of echinoderms. Most of them rather resemble large worms, but some species have an almost cylindrical or spindle-shaped, and sometimes spherical or somewhat flattened body, bearing various outgrowths on the back.

Despite this body shape, in holothurians it is almost always possible to quite clearly distinguish between the dorsal and ventral sides, although their ventral side does not morphologically correspond to that of other bilaterally symmetrical animals. They actually crawl on their sides, with their mouth end first, so the names “ventral” and “dorsal” sides are arbitrary, but quite justified. In many forms, the ventral side is more or less strongly flattened and adapted for crawling. The ventral side includes 3 radii and 2 interradii, which is why it is often called the trivium, and the dorsal side, or bivium, consists of 2 radii and 3 interradii. The location of the legs on the body of sea egg capsules further enhances the difference between the dorsal and ventral sides, since the strongly contractile legs of the trivium, concentrated on the radii or sometimes found on the interradii, are equipped with suckers and serve for the movement of the animal, while the legs of the bivium often lose motor function and are deprived suckers become thinner and already have sensitive functions. There is no separation of the head in holothurians, although in a number of forms, for example, deep-sea representatives of the order of side-footed holothurians, one can notice some separation of the anterior end from the rest of the body, which is why it is sometimes called the head.

The mouth, devoid of any devices for grinding food and closed by the perioral sphincter, is located at the anterior end of the body or slightly shifted to the ventral side; the anus is placed at the posterior end. In relatively few forms that burrow into mud or attach to rocks, the mouth and anus move to the dorsal side, giving the animal a spherical, flask-shaped or vaulted shape. Very characteristic of all holothurians are the tentacles surrounding the mouth, which are modified ambulacral legs. The number of tentacles ranges from 8 to 30, and their structure among representatives different squads not the same. The tentacles can be tree-like branched and relatively large, covering a large area of water when catching prey, or shorter, shield-shaped, resembling flowers and intended mainly for collecting nutritional material from the surface of the ground, or simple with different numbers finger-like processes, or feathery ones, which help in burying the holothurian in the ground. All of them, like the ambulacral legs, are connected to the canals of the aquifer system and are essential not only for nutrition and movement, but also for touch, and in some cases, for breathing.

Another distinctive feature sea egg pods is the presence of soft skin. Only a few representatives of the orders of tree-tentacled holothurians and dactylochirotids have an exoskeleton visible to the naked eye in the form of plates that fit tightly to each other and form a kind of shell. The skeleton of the skin of other holothurians consists of microscopic calcareous plates of a very bizarre and surprising beautiful shape.

We can find, along with smooth plates containing small quantity holes, openwork “baskets”, “glasses”, “sticks”, “buckles”, “tennis rackets”, “turrets”, “crosses”, “wheels”, “anchors”. In addition to the skin of the body, calcareous plates can be found in the tentacles, perioral membrane, ambulacral legs, and genitals. Only a few species lack calcareous plates, but for most species they are characteristic and play an important role in identification.

The largest skeletal formation is located inside the body of the holothurian and surrounds the pharynx. The pharyngeal calcareous ring of holothurians comes in various shapes: with or without processes, solid or mosaic, etc., but, as a rule, consists of 10 pieces, 5 of which correspond to the radii of the animal, 5 to interradii. In a number of forms, the pharyngeal ring serves as the attachment point for five ribbon-like muscles (retractor muscles), which draw the anterior end of the body inward along with the tentacles.

Straightening the anterior end of the body and extending the tentacles is ensured by the action of the other five ribbon-like muscles (protractor muscles) attached to the pharyngeal ring next to the retractors. The musculature of sea egg capsules is quite developed and enhances the strength of their integument; the musculocutaneous sac consists of a layer of transverse muscles and five pairs of longitudinal muscle bands located along radii.

With the help of such strong muscles, some holothurians move, burrow into the ground and strongly contract their body at the slightest irritation. Internal structure sea egg pods have already been considered when characterizing type A. One should, perhaps, just pay attention to the special protective device- Cuvier's organs present in separate groups holothurians, and on special respiratory organs - aquatic lungs. Cuvier's organs are developed in different representatives order of shield-tentacled holothurians. They are glandular tube-like formations that flow into the extension of the hind intestine - the cloaca.

When an animal is irritated, they are able to be thrown out through the cloaca and stick to the irritating object. Aquatic lungs, which are absent in side-footed and legless holothurians, are also connected to the cloaca by a common duct. They are two highly branched trunks located to the left and right of the cloaca and connected to the body wall and intestinal loops by very thin muscular and connective tissue cords. Water lungs can be brightly colored orange and occupy a significant part of the animal's body cavity.

The terminal lateral branches of the pulmonary trunks form thin-walled ampulla-shaped extensions, and quite often the left aqueous lung is entangled in a network of blood vessels. The walls of the aquatic lungs are equipped with highly developed muscles, the relaxation of which leads to the expansion of the lung cavity and the drawing of sea water inward through the cloaca, and the contraction leads to the expulsion of water from the lung. Thus, thanks to the rhythmic contractions and relaxations of the cloaca and aquatic lungs, sea water fills the smallest branches of the latter, and oxygen dissolved in water penetrates through their thin walls into the fluid of the body cavity and is distributed throughout the body. Very often, substances unnecessary to the body are released through the water lungs. The thin walls of the water lungs are easily torn, and amebocytes, loaded with decay products, are expelled. Almost all holothurians are dioecious; hermaphrodites are very rare among them, and most of them are in the order of legless holothurians.

Typically, in hermaphrodites, the gonads first produce male reproductive cells - sperm, and then female reproductive cells - eggs; but there are species in which both male and female reproductive products develop simultaneously in one gonad. For example, Labidoplax buskii (from the order of legless holothurians), living in northern regions Atlantic Ocean, breeds off the coast of Sweden in autumn, from October to December. At this time of year, its hermaphrodite gonad contains equally mature female and male reproductive cells, but each holothurian releases eggs into the water first, and after a day or two, sperm, or vice versa.

The release of reproductive products into the water can occur at intervals and in small portions. Numerous observations have shown that sea cucumbers sweep out reproductive products in the evening or at night. Apparently, darkness is a stimulus for spawning. Most often, reproduction occurs in spring or summer and is associated with temperature, but there are species in which mature reproductive products can be found throughout the year, but their maximum development, for example in Holothuria tubulosa, is observed in August or September. The timing of spawning is different not only for different types, but also for the same species if it has a large range.

So, very often found in the Barents and Kara Seas The sea cucumber Cucumaria frondosa breeds in these seas in June - July, and off the coast of Great Britain and Norway in February - March. Typically, the reproductive products are released into the water, where the eggs are fertilized and develop. After their crushing, a free-swimming auricularium larva is formed. Many auricularia are relatively large in size - from 4 to 15 mm. In a number of sea cucumbers, the larvae, before becoming similar to the adult organism, go through one more larval barrel-shaped stage, the doliolaria, and then the last larval stage, called the pentactula.

However, not all holothurians develop in this way. Nowadays, over 30 species of sea egg capsules are known that take care of their offspring and bear young. In such species, distributed mainly in cold waters, the free-swimming larval stage is lost and the eggs develop either due to large quantity yolk, or receiving nutrition directly from the mother’s body. In the simplest case, eggs and young develop on the surface of the mother's body, for example, under the protection of overgrown skeletal plates, or in swollen skin folds on the back, or simply attached to the crawling sole. Further changes led to the formation of skin depressions, internal brood chambers protruding into the secondary body cavity, and in a number of branched-tentacled and legless holothurians - to the development of juveniles to late stages directly in the body cavity of the female. In all these cases, the sex of the holothurians is easily distinguishable, whereas usually this is almost impossible to do.

Giant sea cucumber

Half-meter-long sea cucumbers, which lead a predominantly sedentary lifestyle and are even permanent homes for some small inhabitants of the seabed, can pump up to 800 milliliters of water every hour. The body of these animals sifts out oxygen from the remaining components of sea water and saturates its cells with it.

Dr. William Jaeckle from Illinois Wesleyan University and Richard Strathmann from the University of Washington decided to study these amazing creatures in more detail.

They found that the system of blood vessels connecting the respiratory branched sacs with the intestines (the so-called rete mirabile), is not intended to transport oxygen to the intestines. From a scientific point of view, it would be more logical to assume that this structure is needed to transfer food from the anus to the intestines, and not vice versa, as is usually the case in animals. Zoologists decided to test their hypothesis.

To confirm their hypothesis, the researchers fed several giant sea cucumbers radioactive algae that contained iron particles. Using this trick, the team was able to trace the entire path that food takes through the echinoderm's body. In addition, radioactive particles accumulate in the part of the body where the opening through which the creatures consume food is located.

The results of the study demonstrated that sea cucumbers feed primarily through the mouth. But high concentrations of radioactive particles and iron were also observed in the structure of the rete mirabile, which proves that sea cucumbers use the anus as a second mouth. It turns out that the anus of these creatures performs as many as three vital functions. important functions: respiratory, nutritional and excretory.

Scientists say that studying just one type of sea cucumber does not mean that only they use a bipolar method of feeding. Later, zoologists intend to study other species of echinoderms.

The study was published in the March issue of the journal Invertebrate Biology.

Among the numerous species of sea cucumbers, the most valuable for fishing are sea cucumber and cucumber. Sea cucumber and cucumaria are similar in body structure and chemical composition meat. Trepang contains biologically valuable substances (stimulants), for which in Eastern countries it is called the sea root of life (ginseng) and is widely recommended for those suffering from loss of physical strength and increased fatigue. Eating sea cucumber helps strengthen nervous system. Sea cucumber fishing is carried out in spring and autumn only in the Far East. The caught sea cucumbers are cut up at the fishing site - the abdomen is cut and the entrails are removed. Cleaned sea cucumbers are washed and boiled for 2-3 hours until the meat becomes soft, after which it is used for preparing culinary dishes.

Skoblyanka with sea cucumber in tomato sauce.

Cut the boiled sea cucumbers into small pieces and fry in oil along with onion, flour and tomato paste. Mix everything, put it in a saucepan, add a little water and boil for 10-15 minutes over low heat.

400 g sea cucumbers, 3/4 cup oil, 3 heads onions, 4-5 tablespoons of tomato paste, 2 tbsp. spoons of flour, 4 tbsp. spoons of water, salt to taste.

Sea cucumbers fried with onions.
Chop the sea cucumbers and onions and fry them separately, then mix, add spices and serve hot. Sprinkle on top green onions.
400 g sea cucumbers, 2 onions, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon allspice, 100 g green onions, salt to taste.

Stewed sea cucumbers.
Melt the butter in a frying pan and add the boiled sea cucumbers cut into pieces and simmer for 3 minutes. Add milk, salt, pepper and bring almost to a boil. Serve, garnished with red pepper.
250 g sea cucumbers, 4 tbsp. spoons of margarine or vegetable oil, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of milk, black pepper, red pepper, salt to taste.

Sea cucumbers with vegetables.

Cut the boiled sea cucumbers into pieces and fry. Chop fresh cabbage, chop vegetables (potatoes, carrots, zucchini, tomatoes) and mix with sea cucumbers, put in a saucepan and simmer over low heat until the vegetables are ready.
300 g sea cucumber, 1/4 fork fresh white cabbage, 3-4 pcs. potatoes, 1-2 carrots, 1-2 zucchini, 1 glass of oil, 2-3 tomatoes or 2 tbsp. spoons of tomato paste, pepper, sugar, salt to taste.

Trepangs stewed with chicken.

Place the boiled sea cucumbers in a bowl with boiled or fried chicken, season with the prepared sauce and simmer over low heat until cooked.
200-300 g sea cucumbers, 1/2 chicken. For the sauce: 1-2 tbsp. spoons of tomato puree, 1 tbsp. spoon of 3% vinegar, 2 tbsp. spoons of wine (port or Madeira), 2-3 tbsp. spoons butter, 1/2 cup meat broth.

Trepangs with horseradish.

Boiled sea cucumbers are cut into slices. Dilute the vinegar with water, add grated horseradish, salt, sugar and bring to a boil. Then pour in boiled, chopped slices of sea cucumber. The dish is served cold.
Boiled sea cucumbers 70, table vinegar 40, grated horseradish 10, sugar 2, salt

Clean the sea cucumber and pour boiling water over it. After about 1 minute, drain the water and cut the sea cucumber into pieces.
Sauce: soy sauce 2 tbsp, garlic 3 cloves (squeeze), mayonnaise 1 tbsp. Mix everything. Very tasty.

Salad with sea cucumber.
Boiled sea cucumbers are cut into small pieces, boiled potatoes - into cubes, put green peas, chopped egg, add lemon juice, salt. All products are mixed, then seasoned with mayonnaise and decorated green salad and an egg.
Boiled sea cucumber 80, potatoes 80, egg 0.5 pcs., green peas 40, mayonnaise sauce 40, lemon juice, salt.

Sea cucumber, sea cucumber, sea pods - that's all different names one marine echinoderm invertebrate mollusk that looks like a fat caterpillar. There are over a thousand species of this mollusk, the sea cucumber trepang is a number of subspecies that are classified as edible and are used as food. Differences between species relate to the structure of the tentacles, size and internal organs.

These animals live in the depths of salty sea waters, the average depth at which they are found is about 100 m. The oval body of the mollusk can resemble a cucumber, it is covered with thick skin and spines, sometimes very similar to the pimples of a cucumber.

Appearance of holothuria

Holothuria is a unique mollusk that resembles both a worm and a caterpillar at the same time. Its body is soft, in some cases the skin can be smooth, in others it can be rough and have growths. Depending on the type, spines are short and long. The color of the sea cucumber also differs from one species to another, but dark tones predominate: gray, green, black, brown.

The variety of sizes of holothurians is impressive, the smallest representatives do not exceed 0.5 cm, and the largest ones can reach 5 meters! This is how they attract hunters of sea animals.

Sea cucumbers cannot chew or grind food; there are no teeth or other devices for this in the mouth. The mouth is located at the front end of the body. Some species resemble a ball or flask; they are able to attach to rocks or burrow into mud, this is possible due to the location of the mouth closer to the back.

A distinctive feature of holothurians is the presence of tentacles around the mouth, these are modified ambulacral legs. Their structure varies, and the number varies from 10 to 30 pieces. The function of the tentacles is to capture and catch food from the bottom or water space.

The fact that holothuria has such extraordinary look, does not make it difficult to identify the dorsal and abdominal areas by eye. The morphological structure of the sea cucumber's abdomen is strikingly different from other animals. Holothuria always moves on its side, so the names of the dorsal and abdominal regions do not quite coincide with the usual ideas about them.

The head and body of a sea cucumber are in most cases inseparable, but some forms of sea cucumber have noticeable boundaries that separate the head from the rest of the body. This is a very slow animal that moves by squeezing and unclenching. But it spends most of its life just lying on its side, so catching them is quite simple. To a large extent, catching consists of searching for the animal rather than actually catching it.

One of the species of Holothuria is the Giant California Sea Cucumber, an absolutely unique animal. Despite the fact that he has a completely normal mouth, he also uses his anus as a mouth. The respiratory tract of these animals also located in the anus. Therefore, it turns out that their anus performs three vital functions in the body.

There are cases where these animals reproduced asexually. When one organism was divided, both parts grew the missing parts, resulting in two full-fledged organisms.

Sea cucumber sea cucumber

Some of the species of sea cucumbers that are eaten are called sea cucumbers; there are at least 30 such species. They are caught mainly off the coast of Japan and the Malay Archipelago, but this is also possible in the Vladivostok region. This is a very nutritious product that has high a set of vitamins, proteins, amino acids and nutrients. It is worth noting the very low calorie content of sea cucumbers.

The composition of sea cucumbers includes:

Groups of vitamins A, C, E, PP.
Fluorine, iron, magnesium, calcium, cobalt, nickel, potassium and many other elements.

Holothuria is considered a healing and restorative natural substance that allows you to quickly get back on your feet after operations or serious illnesses. In oriental medicine, sea cucumber meat has long been used for metabolic problems, to increase blood pressure, and various heart diseases, as well as for tissue regeneration. It will be useful to take sea cucumber meat for iodine deficiency, endocrine disorders, and problems with the thyroid gland.

Sea cucumber renders positive influence on human health, so by including it in your menu, you can prevent many diseases. Also, sea cucumber will be useful for patients with arthritis, it is different beneficial influence on the joints, some elements from the composition of sea cucumber can eliminate pain and stiffness of the joints.

Not only meat is produced from this mollusk, but also a concentrated extract. Chinese doctors claim that this extract has the same properties as meat. But also, it significantly increases immunity, improves the functioning of cardiovascular system, and helps keep the body in the necessary tone. Special recommendations for the use of hoods apply to pensioners and people suffering from chronic diseases.

But sea cucumber also has contraindications:

Hyperfunction of the thyroid gland.
Hypertension, a substance that increases blood pressure.
Not recommended for children under 15 years of age.
Seafood intolerance.

Cooking sea cucumber

There should be no problems with preparing these shellfish; it is not difficult.

You should start by preparing the dried product, washing it thoroughly until there is no trace of the black powder left. Then it is left to soak in water, the water needs to be changed from time to time. After that he cook for 3 hours. If the sea cucumber is fresh, it is washed and boiled for 2-3 hours until the meat is soft. Various dishes are prepared from boiled meat.

There are a huge variety of dishes that can be prepared from sea cucumber. It can be various soups and salads, you can stew it with vegetables, chicken or horseradish, fry it with onions or tomato sauce. Hot sauces go best with shellfish dishes.

For example, sea cucumber with honey has gained high popularity among lovers of delicacies not only for its taste qualities, but also for unique beneficial properties for the body.

If you come across a product that is too dry, it should be soaked for several days. Readiness for cooking is determined by the purity of the water when rinsing; if the water is completely clean, you can start cooking.

The storage conditions for dry sea cucumber are standard: a dark and cool place, away from sunlight. Cooked or fresh product can be placed in the freezer, but if it spends there for more than 2 months, it will lose its properties. healing properties.

Japanese chefs prepare sea cucumbers raw. Having previously cleaned and washed it, cut it into pieces and pour vinegar or sauce over it.

IN lately, canned sea cucumber has gained popularity; many global companies have already launched conveyor production of canned sea cucumber. For this purpose, they even began to artificially breed it on special farms.

At first glance, it is difficult to imagine that sea cucumber is edible; some may even find it disgusting to look at. But after studying it in more detail, it turns out Very useful product , which will help tone the body and protect against various diseases. Finally, it can simply become a tasty and satisfying dinner, while at the same time being a dietary product.

Holothurians, or sea capsules, or sea cucumbers (lat. Holothuroidea) - this is the name of animals whose body contracts strongly at the slightest touch, after which in many forms it becomes similar to an old capsule or cucumber. About 1,100 species of sea egg-pods are known. The name “sea cucumbers” was given to these animals by Pliny, and the description of some species belongs to Aristotle.

Holothurians are interesting due to their external features, bright colors, interesting lifestyle and some habits; in addition, they have quite a significant economic importance. Over 30 species and varieties of sea cucumbers are used by humans for food. Edible sea cucumbers, often called sea cucumbers, have long been valued as a very nutritious and medicinal dish, so fishing for these animals has been practiced since ancient times.

The main sea cucumber fisheries are concentrated mainly off the coast of Japan and China, in the waters of the Malay Archipelago, off the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean, and near the Philippine Islands. Less significant fisheries for sea cucumbers are conducted in the Indian Ocean, in the Red Sea, off the coast of America, Africa, Australia and Italy. In the Far Eastern seas, two species of edible sea cucumbers are caught (Stichopus japonicus and Cucumaria japonica), which are used to prepare canned food and dried foods. The musculocutaneous sac of sea cucumbers, which has previously been subjected to long-term processing by boiling, drying, and in some countries, smoking, is most often consumed as food. Broths and stews are prepared from such semi-finished products. In Italy, fishermen eat fried sea cucumbers without subjecting them to complex pre-processing.

Despite this body shape, in holothurians it is almost always possible to quite clearly distinguish between the dorsal and ventral sides, although their ventral side does not morphologically correspond to that of other bilaterally symmetrical animals. They actually crawl on their sides, with their mouth end first, so the names “ventral” and “dorsal” sides are arbitrary, but quite justified. In many forms, the ventral side is more or less strongly flattened and adapted for crawling. The ventral side includes 3 radii and 2 interradii, which is why it is often called the trivium, and the dorsal side, or bivium, consists of 2 radii and 3 interradii. The location of the legs on the body of sea egg capsules further enhances the difference between the dorsal and ventral sides, since the strongly contractile legs of the trivium, concentrated on the radii or sometimes found on the interradii, are equipped with suckers and serve for the movement of the animal, while the legs of the bivium often lose motor function and are deprived suckers become thinner and already have sensitive functions. There is no separation of the head in holothurians, although in a number of forms, for example, in deep-sea representatives of the order of side-footed holothurians, one can notice some separation of the anterior end from the rest of the body, which is why it is sometimes called the head.

The mouth, devoid of any devices for grinding food and closed by the perioral sphincter, is located at the anterior end of the body or slightly shifted to the ventral side; the anus is placed at the posterior end. In relatively few forms that burrow into mud or attach to rocks, the mouth and anus move to the dorsal side, giving the animal a spherical, flask-shaped or vaulted shape. Very characteristic of all holothurians are the tentacles surrounding the mouth, which are modified ambulacral legs. The number of tentacles ranges from 8 to 30, and their structure varies among representatives of different orders. The tentacles can be tree-like branched and relatively large, covering a large area of water when catching prey, or shorter, shield-shaped, resembling flowers and intended mainly for collecting nutritional material from the surface of the ground, or simple with a different number of finger-like processes, or feathery, helping with burrowing. holothurians into the ground. All of them, like the ambulacral legs, are connected to the canals of the aquifer system and are essential not only for nutrition and movement, but also for touch, and in some cases, for breathing.

Another distinctive feature of sea egg pods is the presence of soft skin in most forms. Only a few representatives of the orders of tree-tentacled holothurians and dactylochirotids have an exoskeleton visible to the naked eye in the form of plates that fit tightly to each other and form a kind of shell. The skin skeleton of other holothurians consists of microscopic calcareous plates of a very bizarre and surprisingly beautiful shape.

We can find, along with smooth plates containing a small number of holes, openwork “baskets”, “glasses”, “sticks”, “buckles”, “tennis rackets”, “turrets”, “crosses”, “wheels”, “anchors” . In addition to the skin of the body, calcareous plates can be found in the tentacles, perioral membrane, ambulacral legs, and genitals. Only a few species lack calcareous plates, but for most species they are characteristic and play an important role in identification.

With the help of such strong muscles, some holothurians move, burrow into the ground and strongly contract their body at the slightest irritation. The internal structure of sea egg capsules has already been considered when characterizing type A. One should, perhaps, only pay attention to a special protective device - Cuvier's organs, found in certain groups of holothurians, and to special respiratory organs - aquatic lungs. Cuvier's organs are developed in different representatives of the order of thyroid-tentacled holothurians. They are glandular tube-like formations that flow into the extension of the hind intestine - the cloaca.

Typically, in hermaphrodites, the gonads first produce male reproductive cells - sperm, and then female reproductive cells - eggs; but there are species in which both male and female reproductive products develop simultaneously in one gonad. For example, Labidoplax buskii (from the order of legless sea cucumbers), living in the northern regions of the Atlantic Ocean, breeds off the coast of Sweden in the fall, from October to December. At this time of year, its hermaphrodite gonad contains equally mature female and male reproductive cells, but each holothurian releases eggs into the water first, and after a day or two, sperm, or vice versa.

The release of reproductive products into the water can occur at intervals and in small portions. Numerous observations have shown that sea cucumbers sweep out reproductive products in the evening or at night. Apparently, darkness is a stimulus for spawning. Most often, reproduction occurs in spring or summer and is associated with temperature, but there are species in which mature reproductive products can be found throughout the year, but their maximum development, for example in Holothuria tubulosa, is observed in August or September. The timing of spawning varies not only for different species, but also for the same species if it has a large range.

Thus, the sea cucumber Cucumaria frondosa, which is very common in the Barents and Kara Seas, breeds in these seas in June - July, and off the coast of Great Britain and Norway in February - March. Typically, the reproductive products are released into the water, where the eggs are fertilized and develop. After their crushing, a free-swimming auricularium larva is formed. Many auricularia are relatively large in size - from 4 to 15 mm. In a number of sea cucumbers, the larvae, before becoming similar to the adult organism, go through one more larval barrel-shaped stage, the doliolaria, and then the last larval stage, called the pentactula.

However, not all holothurians develop in this way. Nowadays, over 30 species of sea egg capsules are known that take care of their offspring and bear young. In such species, distributed mainly in cold waters, the free-swimming larval stage is lost and the eggs develop either due to a large amount of yolk or receiving nutrition directly from the mother's body. In the simplest case, eggs and young develop on the surface of the mother's body, for example, under the protection of overgrown skeletal plates, or in swollen skin folds on the back, or simply attached to the crawling sole. Further changes led to the formation of skin depressions, internal brood chambers protruding into the secondary body cavity, and in a number of branched-tentacled and legless holothurians - to the development of juveniles to late stages directly in the body cavity of the female. In all these cases, the sex of the holothurians is easily distinguishable, whereas usually this is almost impossible to do.

Dr. William Jaeckle from Illinois Wesleyan University and Richard Strathmann from the University of Washington decided to study these amazing creatures in more detail.

They found that the system of blood vessels connecting the respiratory branched sacs with the intestines (the so-called rete mirabile) is not intended to transport oxygen to the intestines. From a scientific point of view, it would be more logical to assume that this structure is needed to transfer food from the anus to the intestines, and not vice versa, as is usually the case in animals. Zoologists decided to test their hypothesis.

The results of the study demonstrated that sea cucumbers feed primarily through the mouth. But high concentrations of radioactive particles and iron were also observed in the structure of the rete mirabile, which proves that sea cucumbers use the anus as a second mouth. It turns out that the anus of these creatures performs three vital functions: respiratory, nutritional and excretory.

Scientists say that studying just one type of sea cucumber does not mean that only they use a bipolar method of feeding. Later, zoologists intend to study other species of echinoderms.

Among the numerous species of sea cucumbers, the most valuable for fishing are sea cucumber and cucumber. Sea cucumber and cucumber are similar in body structure and the chemical composition of the meat. Trepang contains biologically valuable substances (stimulants), for which in Eastern countries it is called the sea root of life (ginseng) and is widely recommended for those suffering from loss of physical strength and increased fatigue. Eating sea cucumber helps strengthen the nervous system. Sea cucumber fishing is carried out in spring and autumn only in the Far East. The caught sea cucumbers are cut up at the fishing site - the abdomen is cut and the entrails are removed. Cleaned sea cucumbers are washed and boiled for 2-3 hours until the meat becomes soft, after which it is used for preparing culinary dishes.

Scientific classification:
Domain: Eukaryotes
Kingdom: Animals
Type: Echinoderms
Class: Holothurians (lat. Holothuroidea (Blainville, 1834))