I had uni for the first time a dew months back and its flavor was super delicious. Urchins and squid are a very conscientious food source and we ahould all be eating more of them
“I’ve never had someone try Uni for the first time and not like it” Yeah, I doubt that, the flavor of Uni is like liver of the ocean. It’s intense, irony, salty, buttery, all at the same time. I know a lot of people who would not like that.
Probably farmed kelp, but farmed kelp is not done the same way as the kelp forest biome needs to grow. The kelp forest needs to grow tall anchored to the rocks. I've seen kelp being farmed hanging from ropes in the ocean. It's like the difference between a Christmas tree farm and a conifer forest.
When I was a kid, we would go to my grandma's house beside the sea for summer vacarion. At low tide, we will walk on the beach, head out to the sea and gather the freshest sea urchins Fast forward to 20 years later, over population in the small village caused the uchins to almost disappear from nearby coastlines. I miss those days when the sea was abundant with sustaina be food sources. I also miss my grandma., she passed away a few years ago. ❤
Very cool! We have bene working on our own documentary here in Australia about our own urchin species, the huge numbers of urchins causing barrens, impact on fisheries and culinary potential of them as a sustainable seafood.
The video failed to mention the name and location of the restaurant that served the spotted rawn on tortilla chips topped with uni, along with the uni paella. I'd like to visit it since I live in California.
it's called The Tavern, located in Los Olivos, CA. however it seems like the paella is no longer being served and the uni tostada no longer mentions spot prawn
We have kelp farms in the ocean basically giant descendings nets with buoys on top. One of the ideas was to grow the kelp and since it is not truly buoyant it will sink to the bottom of the ocean and be a carbon capture. If they can sell it to feed animals it's a win/win.
not to mention... have to dive for massive amounts of zombie urchins, bring them back on the boat... Then ship it to this guy to "farm raise", until they get enough roe for human consumption?. But sure, anything to get rid of invasive species.. But that's a lot of work
I didn't like uni first time, but was at a sushi shop pretty far inland. My first time cracking open a purple urchin fresh from the tide pool, though, that was delicious.
Is the kelp being gathered sustainably? The urchins are harvested to help with the kelp populations - but if the kelp for this farm is harvested from the same thinning forests, it might reduce the benefits from collecting the purple critters in the first place
I've always heard that Urchins have a very strong, unique taste that people either love or hate. Honestly, I'm almost afraid to try it. Setting aside that barrier to popularity, though. Obviously it comes from the sea but it's a specialty product that barely even qualifies as what most people think of when they think "seafood." It is certainly a positive when you can take something that is basically an "invasive species" and turn it into a food source, but I don't see it being a game changer.
I think market positioning is going to be key - don't focus on this being 'sustainable', that's not delicious or sought after; focus on the existing consumer sentiment that uni and Abalone are very very expensive delicacies, and this is a more accessible way to source them.
so you have to dive for massive amounts of zombie urchins, bring them back on the boat... Then ship it to this guy to "farm raise", until they get enough roe for human consumption?. But sure, anything to get rid of invasive species.. But that's a lot of work
Flavor to me can be described as ocean-flavored butter. Checkout Outdoor Chef Life for his catch and cooks on how he sustainably harvests uni and seaweed without damaging the environment.
So... The problem is that wild sea urchins ate all the kelp in one region and the solution is to harvest the sea urchins, then feed them the kelp harvested from a different region and suddenly they are a sustainable seafood? Someone explain to me why this isn't just whitewashing the problem.
Most kelp we consume and used in agriculture is farmed. So it makes the problem easier to solve since there's now a way to generate money from trying to solve it. Before, uchin divers would ignore the purple urchins since they didn't have a lot of meat on them. But now, they have incentive to harvest them since farmers buy them, fatten them up, then resell them to restaurants.
Next Headline: Research-Team turns into Culinary Zombies due to developing an only Urchins Food-Diet. Say they won't move on to eating something else, since it makes to sense.
Chilean here. We eat sea urchin roe. It's pretty indescribable 😄 It's unique. It's like a creamy, concentrated shot of ocean, aromatic, both savory and sweet. It's not slimy, it's very intense. I have heard that different species of sea urchin taste different, so, maybe you'll find a milder one, or a stronger one. I prefer it to every other seafood. I hope you can try it one day and come up with your own description.
‘Urchins eat all the seaweed which is really bad for the environment so we need to get rid of them!’ ‘Quick! Put them in a farm to make money and give them all the seaweed!’ This needed more explanation.. I’m not sure how the environment is better off here. The farmers? Sure. The restaurants? Absolutely. But the kelp beds?
@@DiuQuy After searching the web. It appears there are only experimental Kelp farms in Cali. And there are some that just cut areas where kelp naturally occurs. So, it appears we have a conundrum here.
And wealthier countries are consuming too much meat, anyway. Americans eat 3x as much protein as they need. It‘s expensive and unhealthy. You don‘t need to become vegetarian, either.
A little distressing, actually as urchins and abalone are only things otters can eat. Westerners are clueless about using less, not different and leaving food sources for other creatures. Radix malorum est cupiditas.
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Wow, that's awesome! If we can help the reefs while making Uni more affordable for regular people that's awesome.
I had uni for the first time a dew months back and its flavor was super delicious. Urchins and squid are a very conscientious food source and we ahould all be eating more of them
“I’ve never had someone try Uni for the first time and not like it”
Yeah, I doubt that, the flavor of Uni is like liver of the ocean. It’s intense, irony, salty, buttery, all at the same time. I know a lot of people who would not like that.
I like it now, but I definitely did not like it the first time I tried it. An acquired taste for sure
+1 absolutely hated it both times
and those people have children's palates.
I wouldn't describe uni as particularly intense or salty, but then I'm already pretty used to a broad range of flavors anyway.
Wait.... So where are the farmers getting the kelp?
Probably farmed kelp, but farmed kelp is not done the same way as the kelp forest biome needs to grow. The kelp forest needs to grow tall anchored to the rocks. I've seen kelp being farmed hanging from ropes in the ocean. It's like the difference between a Christmas tree farm and a conifer forest.
Kelp is farmed on rope in Asia...not sure how they do it here in the US.
Kelp cutter boat harvest it in local waters! The irony
This will not put a dent in the population, very low percentage of the purple urchins are large enough for harvest
Walking on the beach during low tide, there are sea kelp on the southern California beach
When I was a kid, we would go to my grandma's house beside the sea for summer vacarion. At low tide, we will walk on the beach, head out to the sea and gather the freshest sea urchins Fast forward to 20 years later, over population in the small village caused the uchins to almost disappear from nearby coastlines. I miss those days when the sea was abundant with sustaina be food sources. I also miss my grandma., she passed away a few years ago. ❤
Very cool! We have bene working on our own documentary here in Australia about our own urchin species, the huge numbers of urchins causing barrens, impact on fisheries and culinary potential of them as a sustainable seafood.
The video failed to mention the name and location of the restaurant that served the spotted rawn on tortilla chips topped with uni, along with the uni paella. I'd like to visit it since I live in California.
I've been searching in the comments if anyone knows😂 Does anyone know the restaurant name??
it's called The Tavern, located in Los Olivos, CA. however it seems like the paella is no longer being served and the uni tostada no longer mentions spot prawn
but isnt kelp harvest for feed contradict the effort? unless kelp is also farmed somehow
Kelp Konspiracy 😂
Exactly! There’s a local kelp cutter boat in the Santa Barbara Harbor at harvest from the local kelp patties
We have kelp farms in the ocean basically giant descendings nets with buoys on top. One of the ideas was to grow the kelp and since it is not truly buoyant it will sink to the bottom of the ocean and be a carbon capture. If they can sell it to feed animals it's a win/win.
not to mention... have to dive for massive amounts of zombie urchins, bring them back on the boat... Then ship it to this guy to "farm raise", until they get enough roe for human consumption?. But sure, anything to get rid of invasive species.. But that's a lot of work
Even if kelp is farmed, it's better environmentally to get people to eat the kelp.
I didn't like uni first time, but was at a sushi shop pretty far inland. My first time cracking open a purple urchin fresh from the tide pool, though, that was delicious.
Is there so many sea urchin… how come it’s still so expensive to get 1??? I live in Santa Barbara and it’s like $20 for 1 alive.
Different kind of sea urchin.
The purples in the wild produce very little Uni. Thats why they are farming them...
@@matthewbryan9917 and in order to control the population of all these zombie urchins, how many of these so called farms do you need? thousands?
Sounds like some nice sea butter we got. On a related note, where might some sea cucumber & sea anemone farms be?
Is the kelp being gathered sustainably? The urchins are harvested to help with the kelp populations - but if the kelp for this farm is harvested from the same thinning forests, it might reduce the benefits from collecting the purple critters in the first place
PBS really makes the best shows.
I've always heard that Urchins have a very strong, unique taste that people either love or hate. Honestly, I'm almost afraid to try it. Setting aside that barrier to popularity, though. Obviously it comes from the sea but it's a specialty product that barely even qualifies as what most people think of when they think "seafood." It is certainly a positive when you can take something that is basically an "invasive species" and turn it into a food source, but I don't see it being a game changer.
Where was this filmed? Oregon? Mass? CA?
Rhoda Magbitang! Proudly Pinoy!!! You go Gurl
Where do the kelp come from ???
Love Uni and Abalone 😋
I think market positioning is going to be key - don't focus on this being 'sustainable', that's not delicious or sought after; focus on the existing consumer sentiment that uni and Abalone are very very expensive delicacies, and this is a more accessible way to source them.
More environmental vids with Shailene Woodley, please.
Let's hope more uni farms pop up so we can reduce wild populations and bring the price down. So I can eat more uni...
Is the kelp also farmed? And if so is kelp farming sustainable? I agree with the other comment, y'all needed more info to show why this makes sense :/
Where is that restaurant?
Port Orchard WA
@@onetwocue Do you know the restaurant name? I can't find it on google😓
@@SimpleEatswithXIngredients it's called The Tavern in Los Olivos, CA. but they no longer serve the dishes as shown in the video
@@christopherwang5155 thank you!!!🙏
LOVE me some uni... thanks PBS!
so you have to dive for massive amounts of zombie urchins, bring them back on the boat... Then ship it to this guy to "farm raise", until they get enough roe for human consumption?. But sure, anything to get rid of invasive species.. But that's a lot of work
Its hard work, but they managed to make it a profitable and sustainable venture.
The projects that are rewilding otters for them to hunt and cull the urchin population seem much more sustainable than this.
I had uni dumplings at a chinese restaurant once and it was one of the best things I've ever eaten ngl
Uni, uni, uni. Yes! This would be awesome if they could be developed into a food source
Black bean overpowers the subtle taste of abalone.
Flavor to me can be described as ocean-flavored butter. Checkout Outdoor Chef Life for his catch and cooks on how he sustainably harvests uni and seaweed without damaging the environment.
This is what’s Woodlys future should be, she did such a great job in this documentary
Super tasty!!! I love Uni!!!
can you just mash them all and filter the solids and make an uni extract for sauces?
unfortunate wild urchin dont have enough meat to make it worthwhile harvesting but maybe there's a use for the broken shells
So... The problem is that wild sea urchins ate all the kelp in one region and the solution is to harvest the sea urchins, then feed them the kelp harvested from a different region and suddenly they are a sustainable seafood? Someone explain to me why this isn't just whitewashing the problem.
Most kelp we consume and used in agriculture is farmed. So it makes the problem easier to solve since there's now a way to generate money from trying to solve it. Before, uchin divers would ignore the purple urchins since they didn't have a lot of meat on them. But now, they have incentive to harvest them since farmers buy them, fatten them up, then resell them to restaurants.
I wonder what other invasive species can be harvested as a sustainable food source 🤔
Doesnt this bring forth a conflict of interest? Where the better outcome for the farmer is that the kelp forests dont regenerate?
Next Headline: Research-Team turns into Culinary Zombies due to developing an only Urchins Food-Diet. Say they won't move on to eating something else, since it makes to sense.
is that the girl who got cancer in the fault in out stars and play the main character in divergent series?
Problem with uni is if its not fresh and in good conditions, its really fishy
Uni goes well with Lobster Bisque
I wish abalone was fishable again.
Are they good for dying cottons?
Where are the natural predators of those unchins?
Was it the Crown of thorns starfish? What happened to them?
I was wondering why she looked like the actress in Divergent… 😅
i thought the urchin was stuck in her eye from the thuibnail
Neat.
The host, aside from "really good" never described the flavor....
Chilean here. We eat sea urchin roe. It's pretty indescribable 😄 It's unique. It's like a creamy, concentrated shot of ocean, aromatic, both savory and sweet. It's not slimy, it's very intense. I have heard that different species of sea urchin taste different, so, maybe you'll find a milder one, or a stronger one.
I prefer it to every other seafood. I hope you can try it one day and come up with your own description.
@@MariaMartinez-researcher thank you!
I've tried it twice at a sishi bar... So far, no.
A pound of urchin ain't no where near the price per lbs of pork or chicken. If it ever does, we'll be eating more of it; stop ignoring the obvious.
but your suppose to dispatch them 1s...,
Urchinomics!
‘Urchins eat all the seaweed which is really bad for the environment so we need to get rid of them!’
‘Quick! Put them in a farm to make money and give them all the seaweed!’
This needed more explanation.. I’m not sure how the environment is better off here. The farmers? Sure. The restaurants? Absolutely. But the kelp beds?
I think it's farmed kelp.
@@DiuQuy After searching the web. It appears there are only experimental Kelp farms in Cali. And there are some that just cut areas where kelp naturally occurs.
So, it appears we have a conundrum here.
Trimming kelp is not the same as destroying the plant. The Urchins destroy the kelp.
One word: Otters
Hope for who?! We make enough food for the world but as you have seen showcased here it’s fed to the rich… or those with means. Smfh 😅
And wealthier countries are consuming too much meat, anyway. Americans eat 3x as much protein as they need. It‘s expensive and unhealthy. You don‘t need to become vegetarian, either.
It's funny that we Asians eat those
A little distressing, actually as urchins and abalone are only things otters can eat. Westerners are clueless about using less, not different and leaving food sources for other creatures. Radix malorum est cupiditas.
I tried Uni, it’s revolting. I’ve yet to find any seafood that isn’t absolutely disgusting. Taste, texture…. No. Just no. Gross.
Aren't this creatures full of micro plastics....like anything from the oceans nowadays??
The air is full of microplastics too. Ever empty the lint filter on a dryer?
@@The_Savage_Wombat the lint filter is more from the fact that most clothing is made out of polyester.
@@LeeroyFan101 Polyester is a plastic.
yeah dont eat bacon ham pork sir