The edible part is the orange coral or roe. They should really only be eaten live. In Glass, a restaurant in Trastevere in Rome which had recently achieved a Michelin Star, I ate sea urchins in ravioli with tomato and coffee. I expected a fishy, essence of sea flavour, but my jaded palate shot into life as my mouth filled with a divine and luscious flavour.
Seaweed is a general term covering those plants that grow in the sea, including dulse, kelp, all the seaweeds used in Japanese cuisine and others.
Agar agar. A gelatine-like product which is extracted from a brownish-white seaweed with thorny projections called tengusa. It is a useful vegetarian alternative to gelatine. It is dried in the sun and then boiled creating a viscous substance which is sold after processing into thin, transparent, white sheets. When dissolved in water it cools to a jelly. It has a great capacity for absorbing liquid. It is available in other forms, of which the most common are bar and powder. Agar-agar sets quickly and does not melt at room temperature. It is used by the Japanese in soups and confections, by the Chinese in yokan and the food industry in everything. It is represented by E406.
Agar agar. A gelatine-like product which is extracted from a brownish-white seaweed with thorny projections called tengusa. It is a useful vegetarian alternative to gelatine. It is dried in the sun and then boiled creating a viscous substance which is sold after processing into thin, transparent, white sheets. When dissolved in water it cools to a jelly. It has a great capacity for absorbing liquid. It is available in other forms, of which the most common are bar and powder. Agar-agar sets quickly and does not melt at room temperature. It is used by the Japanese in soups and confections, by the Chinese in yokan and the food industry in everything. It is represented by E406.
Fan mussel. A shellfish which grows up to 40 cm (16") long but which otherwise has the appearance of a large, slightly elongated mussel. The adductor muscle is edible.
Wolf-fish. Marine catfish. A fish of northern waters. It is medium oily and white-fleshed. Since it eats shellfish, its own flavour is good. Its jaws are strong and it has a blunt head which lend to its unattractive appearance, which is why it is normally sold filleted or in cutlets. It has few small bones and can be prepared in the same way as monkfish (US: angler fish), in stews or grilled. It is sometimes sold as rock salmon or rock turbot.
Red mullet, surmullet. A high quality fish of a different family from the other (grey) mullets, and which has a far better flavour and lean, firm flesh. Its liver is highly prized. Do not confuse it with gurnard, which has a slightly paler colour. This fish may vary from pinkish-reddish crimson to rosy pink in colour with golden streaks and two long barbels on the chin.There is another smaller variety, Mullus barbatus, but this, Mullus surmuletus, is the most prized variety.
Sebago potatoes are the most commonly used in Australia.
A delicious, very small pear, ripening through green to red speckled with white.