Adulterated Sea Cucumbers Lose Nutrients: Experts Offer Tips on How to Choose Them
"After reading the report in the Xin Bao, I finally found the answer to a question that had been bothering me. My elderly family members have always eaten sea cucumbers. A few years ago, they cost several thousand to five thousand yuan per jin. Now, my father bought one jin for over 1,900 yuan. I've always wondered why such an expensive dried sea cucumber is now so cheap. After reading the newspaper, I finally understand the reason." Ms. Zou, a citizen, said to the reporter. With so many adulterated sea cucumbers on the market, how should citizens who want to buy them choose? The reporter consulted experts and industry insiders to teach you how to select and correctly consume sea cucumbers.
A Why are adulterated sea cucumbers bad? Nutrients are lost
After adding so much sugar and salt, how much nutritional value is destroyed in these sea cucumbers? Are they still edible? The reporter consulted Professor Xu from the College of Food Science and Engineering at Ocean University of China, who has studied sea cucumbers for many years. He said—
—The practice of adding substances to sea cucumbers started long ago. In the past, mainly plant ash and salt were added. Now, new methods for increasing weight have been introduced. The method of adding plant ash is gradually being phased out mainly because it has a significant impact on the flavor and quality of the sea cucumber.
People eat sea cucumbers for their nutritional value. The main nutrient in sea cucumbers is collagen, which accounts for about 80% of their content. However, to add weight, adulterated sea cucumbers must be repeatedly boiled and dried. In this process, the collagen content is bound to be partially lost, which reduces the nutritional value of the sea cucumber.
Sea cucumbers also contain a beneficial component for the human body called saponin choline. The sea cucumber with the highest nutritional value containing this substance is the Japanese sea cucumber from the Jiaodong Peninsula. Another substance is called fucoidan, which is not found in terrestrial animals or plants but only exists in a few marine organisms. It is a rare substance in food with many functions, including anti-cancer, enhancing the body's immunity, lowering blood sugar, and reducing blood lipids and blood pressure. Some of these components are on the surface of the sea cucumber, while others are in the internal tissues. During processing, repeated high temperatures can easily destroy some of the nutrients remaining on the surface, thus reducing the sea cucumber's nutritional value.
B What kind of sea cucumber is good? Thick flesh, good rehydration, around 40 per jin
So, what makes a good sea cucumber? The reporter consulted Mr. Yang, the general manager of Binhai Xiaojin, who told him—
—The quality of a sea cucumber is related to its origin, the sea area, the variety, and the time of harvesting. In unpolluted waters, sea cucumbers have a richer food supply. Their size can vary from plump to thin, so it's important to catch them at the right time. Furthermore, the processing environment is also crucial. The processing of sea cucumbers must be done with mature and reasonable techniques to ensure that their nutrients are not lost. Sea cucumber processing requires a certain amount of salt; otherwise, the sea cucumbers can easily self-digest.
The thickness of the flesh of a dried sea cucumber is one criterion; a thicker flesh is better. If one jin of dried sea cucumber can rehydrate to more than 6 jin of wet sea cucumber, it is considered good. The maximum it can rehydrate to is over 8 jin. If it rehydrates to less than 4 jin, it is considered a lower-quality sea cucumber.
In addition, Manager Tang from Zunpin Jin Sea Cucumbers said—
—Sea cucumbers are commonly known as "environmental protectors" and require a completely pollution-free sea area to survive. Sea cucumbers from deep-sea areas are of high quality. Lightly dried sea cucumbers are the best, with a plump flesh, light weight, uniform size, a high rehydration rate, and a firm texture. The surface and abdominal cavity should be free of impurities. A long survival period is also important; sea cucumbers older than five years are considered good. Those around 40 per jin (industry jargon, meaning about 40 per jin) are sea cucumbers that have survived for over eight years, and this type of sea cucumber is the highest quality sea cucumber.
Sea cucumbers with 40 to 60 per jin are recommended for people with weak constitutions, the elderly, or those with weak digestion. Most general consumers choose sea cucumbers with 60 to 100 per jin, which are more economical and suitable for nutritional supplementation and health care.
C Live sea cucumbers carry bacteria and should be consumed with caution
Regarding the phenomenon of the interior of sea cucumbers turning red after sugar is added, Professor Xu from Ocean University of China provided an explanation. He said—
—After years of research on sea cucumbers, our conclusions for different species from different sea areas are that the Japanese sea cucumber from the Jiaodong Peninsula has the highest nutritional value. This type of sea cucumber is generally processed without adding salt or sugar. Adding sugar for weight gain has become a common practice. Normally, adding sugar does not cause a red color, but if a large amount of sugar is added and the air circulation is not smooth during drying, a red phenomenon can also occur.
Citizens don't need to worry too much about this. It's similar to making braised pork with sugar; the meat also turns red, which is not dangerous to the human body. However, diabetics must not eat such over-processed sea cucumbers.
Some citizens also feel that dried sea cucumbers have too many additives added and prefer to eat fresh sea cucumbers. In fact, eating fresh sea cucumbers requires even more caution. Sea cucumbers are not deep-sea animals; if the sea area is polluted, the sea cucumbers can become contaminated. Cooking at 100°C can kill most viruses, but some highly resistant bacteria can still survive. Therefore, I do not agree with the practice of eating live sea cucumbers offered by some restaurants. However, the collagen content in processed live sea cucumbers is still much higher than in processed ones.