Chuyue Zhan

Jellyfish in the Culinary Scene

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Processed Jellyfish with Ethanol -

The earliest practice of eating jellyfish dates back to 300 CE in China. It has been considered a delicacy in some Asian countries and used in medical treatment. The most common edible jellyfish in China is in the Rhizostomae order. They are usually processed with salt and alum in a  20-40 days process. The practice is usually carried out by a “jellyfish master”. Processing makes the jellyfish drier and more acidic, producing a crispy texture. Jellyfish prepared this way retain 7–10% of their original weight, and the processed product consists of approximately 94% water and 6% protein. Jellyfish are also commonly consumed in Japan (the largest consumer of jellyfish today), Korea and southeast Asia. They are made into jellyfish salad, jellyfish noodles, and jellyfish sushi!

 

The potential for processing jellyfish into food is huge and has been experimented in even more creative way! The British company Lick Me I'm Delicious has invented a glow-in-the-dark ice cream with protein extracted from jellyfish. The warm temperature of a tongue increases the pH level in the ice cream and each lick makes the ice cream grow brighter. The University of Southern Denmark has also experimented with processing jellyfish with Ethanol.They exposed the jellyfish to 96% ethanol for 2-3 days and then evaporate the ethanol in room temperature. After this process, the jellyfish turned into a paper-like texture as the picture above shows.