Can You Eat Starfish?

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Can You Eat Starfish

If you are at the beach or planning to go there, you will probably notice starfish in the water. This will make you wonder if you can starfish.

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Can You Eat Starfish?

Yes, you can eat starfish. They taste amazing and have a great texture. They are also extremely healthy—starfish are a great source of iron and vitamin C. While they are usually boiled or steamed, they can also be dried or eaten raw.

Is Starfish Safe To Eat?

It’s actually safe to eat starfish, and it’s served in some fancy restaurants.

Starfish are typically found in oceans around the world, though there are one species that live in freshwater. They’re carnivorous and feed on other marine life like clams, oysters, fish eggs, mussels, snails, and worms. Starfish don’t have brains or blood—their water vascular system serves as their circulatory system.

There are about 2,000 species of starfish, but only a handful of those are safe for consumption. While most starfish are edible, some are toxic and others have sharp spines that can hurt you (not to mention the damage they do to your mouth!). To be safe, only eat these five species:

  • Biscuit sea star (Asterina miniata)
  • Bean star (Astropecten polyacanthus)
  • Bloody Henry (Henricia oculata)
  • Bluelined sea star (Linckia laevigata)
  • Cushion sea star (Odontaster validus)

 Is Starfish Healthy To Eat?

Starfish are actually healthy to eat since they contain several essential nutrients that humans need to survive.

They are rich in Vitamins A and C and have moderate amounts of Vitamin D. They are also high in minerals including phosphorus, iodine, iron, and magnesium. Starfish meat is very high in protein, containing approximately 15g of protein per 100g serving (about the same as a chicken breast).

Iodine is particularly important for thyroid function and proper metabolism. Phosphorus and magnesium are essential to bone health.

What Do Starfish Taste Like?

Starfish meat is yummy! The taste comes from the way that starfish eat—they tear their food using their arms and then digest it with their stomachs which they eject out of their bodies.

Depending on the method of preparation, starfish have a taste that is similar to clams, squid, or shrimp. Some people even say it tastes like crab meat from a blue crab.

How To Cook Starfish

Starfish is one of the easiest seafood to prepare. To prepare starfish for eating, you need to take off the skin and remove its stomach first. Then you can cook it, however, you’d like—grill it over charcoal or bake it in the oven with butter and lemon juice.

However, the easiest method of cooking starfish is to boil them.

Cooking Starfish In Boiling Water

You can cook the starfish in boiling water with a little bit of salt added to the water. The salt helps keep the meat from spoiling before you have time to prepare it for consumption.

This method of preparing starfish is recommended because it is the easiest way to cook starfish without spoiling the meat.

Below are the steps to boil the starfish:

1. Gather the starfish in a bucket and wash them with water.

2. Heat a pot of water on the stove until it boils.

3. Place the starfish in the boiling water, and boil them for approximately twenty minutes.

4. Remove the starfish from the pot and place them in a bowl of cold water to cool down.

5. Discard the boiling water and enjoy your delicious meal!

Conclusion

Yes, you can eat starfish. In fact, starfish are pretty tasty, and are frequently consumed in many parts of the world; in some areas, they’re even considered a delicacy. How you eat one, though, depends on the species of starfish. Some species are too poisonous to eat, others can cause an unpleasant gastrointestinal reaction if not cooked properly, and some are just downright disgusting. So before you go carving up a starfish for dinner (or worse—trying to swallow one whole), make sure that it belongs to the edible variety!