Purple sea urchin's delicious explosion -Superabundant S1 E2

Ravenous, brainless and covered with spikes, sea urchins have evolved to not be messed with. Off of the south coast of Oregon, one kind of urchin in particular, the purple sea urchin, is enjoying an unprecedented population boom--up 10,000% percent in recent years. In the waters off of Port Orford alone, there are now thought to be more purple sea urchin than there are humans in the US (350 million vs. 330 million).
While urchin has traditionally been on the menu in Japan and in domestic sushi bars, where it's known as uni, Oregon chefs are finding new ways to serve this newly abundant resource. Fresh uni is often described as tasting of the sea--briny, yet rich and fatty. It's a combo that Erizo's Jacob Harth finds works well on toast, coated in a light soy-egg sauce, served impossibly fresh at his pop up at the Nevør Shellfish Farm in Tillamook. Further south in Port Orford, The Nest Cafe's Christian Gomez is developing an uni carbonara, featuring fresh whole uni, uni sauce and uni foam, a nod to traditional Mediterranean urchin preparations, but with an Oregon coast flare.
But the rise of the purple sea urchin is alarming to coastal researchers like Oregon State's Tom Calvanese. Purple sea urchin eat kelp, and left unchecked, can devour underwater kelp forests, which are essential habitats for fish and other marine species. Before western contact, sea otters and sunflower sea stars kept purple urchin numbers down. But these natural predators are now scarce, leaving humans with the job of protecting kelp forests. According to Calvanese, eating more urchin is definitely helpful, but is only part of a larger coordinated effort to protect and manage the coastal ecosystem.
Chapters:
0:00 Sea Urchin Introduction
0:43 Sea Urchin hunting in South Coast of Oregon
1:14 What are sea urchins and are they special
2:19 Uni is the Japanese name for the edible part of the sea urchin
2:48 Utilizing uni in dishes with coastal Oregon chefs
3:27 Purple sea urchin problem
5:10 A purple sea urchin solution
6:14 Using uni in dishes - Uni toast
7:08 Balance in the coastal ecosystem
This is the second episode of OPB's new video series on food and food systems in the Pacific Northwest, Superabundant. Check out our previous episode on Oregon truffles.
Be sure to subscribe to catch future episodes.
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Up next: Honey.
More at www.opb.org/show/superabundant
Featuring:
Tom Calvanese, Station Manager, Oregon State University Port Orford Field Station
Jacob Harth, Chef and Co-Owner, Erizo / Nevør Shellfish Farm pop-up
Christian Gomez, Chef and Owner, The Nest Cafe
Credits:
Created by Arya Surowidjojo and MacGregor Campbell
Camera: Stephani Gordon
Narrator: Crystal Ligori
Audio: Nalin Silva and Steven Vaughn Kray
Executive Producer: Jan Boyd
Food Advisors: Sarah Masoni and Heather Arndt Anderson
Sponsored by North Coast Food Trail
Supported by Kay Kitagawa and Andy Johnson-Laird
Thank you to the members of OPB. To become a member, visit www.opb.org.
#Superabundant
#OPB
#seaurchins

[@AiRTaCoS]

Their roe taste wonderful. Creamy, salty and sweet. Truly a unique yet desirable flavor for a person with a diverse pallet.

[@notlessgrossman163]

Adding sea urchins to the menu will restore the balance

[@dave9351]

This also means the kelp forest is back & with it abalone ! Awesome. Make sure you wash the urchin roe off with fresh water prior to eating and the taste is so much better !

[@scorpion9014]

I crave these everyday

[@KieranMullen]

Why need a permit for purple urchins then?

[@marydonohoe8200]

Good News! Now let’s concentrate on bringing back the sea otters. I know it has been tried in the recent past, but let’s not give up!

[@user-nf1of7ft1f]

Ne n. k , unun

[@citrasarianggraeni8856]

@@user-nf1of7ft1f 2

[@user-nf1of7ft1f]

@@citrasarianggraeni8856 Hii

[@ETBrenner]

Awww, the out-take at the end was cute, but I was hoping you'd include a shot of the whale that distracted your interviewee 🙂

[@jedisdad2265]

Ate sea urchin one time. NEVER again!

[@wesleybennett6186]

🐋💙

[@mdhelal352]

Good...

[@TheMercilessEye]

Note to vegans: Urchins have a complete lack of a 'face.' K?

[@Chiefqueef91]

Why you hate vegans unprovoked lol get help

[@TheMercilessEye]

@@Chiefqueef91 I don't. It's just a reminder to them that some living creatures lack a face.

[@CornpopWasaBadDude444]

Is there nothing we won’t mess with & eat ? I don’t understand foodies. I eat for sustenance. Not to play with & waste . Best Of Luck ‘Humanity’

[@xFuzzyxPicklesx]

do u think sea urchins are a new thing ppl eat?

[@RadenWA]

Who wastes what? The uni is abundant and even invasive. Humanity survived by eating whatever they can find when food wasn’t available in grocery stores like now. You’re the one who’s wasting the earth with unsustainable industrialized farm and meat productions.

[@larisabaines7397]

Look how ugly my hair grows

[@charlie-km1et]

Wrong. There is zero proof that the system evolved to be balanced. That is just a feel good story. Evolution theory thrives on adaptation. Things don’t need to adapt if they are always on balance.