Squid

Squid (a chambered nautilus class of cephalopods) has been consumed by humans for centuries and is now most widely consumed in Japan. Squid is a fantastic form of protein and compared to other forms of marine life has a high ratio of edible parts to the whole body. The proteins found in squid are similar to those found in fish meat and have similar nutritional value- squid also contains all eight essential amino acids. Although the amount of cholesterol is high the quantity of fat is low making them a great source of lean protein.

I enjoy using squid in my cooking and either toss it into a stir fry with Asian seasoning or grill it and use it in a salad.

Here is the squid post wash, cut and trim. I just rinsed these together in a bowl in cold water. It is important to clean the inside too and they make a little poping sound when you open them underwater. I then stick a knife into the squid and slice it on the most transparent part. With the squiggly's I just make sure there are not bits that are hard or pathetic looking.

Just before placing them on my hot panini grill I tossed some oyster sauce, soy sauce, sea salt and sesame oil onto them and grilled them in small batches. They cook very quickly and don't seem to need to marinate for long.

Squid are known to be a very intelligent animal. They have well developed senses and large brains. They are the most intelligent of all invertebrates. There exist about 375 different species in the world and they are usually caught during their breeding season when millions gather together to spawn. Squid have large heads (to accommodate their large brains) and eight arms with suckers, two longer feeding tentacles, a beak, two large eyes and two hearts. Their eyes are very similar in structure to human eyes. They use gills to breath. Squid propel themselves in water by siphoning water through their mantel (head). As with some species of octopus when suspected danger approaches squid squirt a cloud of dark ink to cause confusion in their enemies and allow time to escape. Squid reproduce by releasing eggs into the water which either free float or attach onto seaweed or the ocean floor. Squid are carnivores and catch their prey with their two feeding tubes then use their parrot like beak to bite their food into small pieces.