Sea urchin is differentiated by grade and as per above, low quality leads to not-so-good experiences. Yes this is how much I love uni.Д«y and far, it seems to be a love or hate kind of thing when it comes to uni as people tend to fall on either side of the extreme, but IвЂ™m convinced at least half of those who claim to вЂњhateвЂќ uni and find it gross first tried it at a subpar restaurant that was serving out-of-date, low-quality uni. And important to note, good uni is never fishy but instead, has delicate traces of the ocean. ItвЂ™s almost a bit custard-like вЂ“ but lighter. Depending on the variety, diet, and gender, good uni is firm but melts in your mouth with its rich and creamy sweetness, and is just a little bit slimy (a good slimy, I swear!). Umami at its best, I like to think of it as the foie gras вЂ“ or even ice cream вЂ“ of the sea. Those of us who know and love uni know its mind-blowing taste isnвЂ™t the easiest to describe because of its one-of-a-kind flavor profile. Second to what uni is, this is the most common question that I get. Here in the U.S., the most prevalent varieties that you see available hail from Santa Barbara (California), Hokkaido (Japan), and Maine.

How many varieties of sea urchin are there?ДЄccording to Chef Masa (formerly of 15 East) when I asked him several months back before he left, there are hundreds of different varieties found in every ocean around the world, but only 18 (!) are edible.

Yum, right? The same live sea urchin from above, cut open and ready to eat. In reality, thatвЂ™s not far off but theyвЂ™re actually its gonads (aka sexual reproductive organs, of which each sea urchin has 5 total). Live California sea urchin for sale at Quality Seafood in Redondo Beach, CA.Д«ut what are you actually eating? A lot of people, including sushi aficionados themselves, commonly mistake it as being the roe вЂ“ or eggs вЂ“ of the shellfish.

Covered in sharp spines, the real gem of course is whatвЂ™s inside the shell вЂ“ edible pieces that range in color from a light yellow to a rich orange hue depending on variety, and almost resembling a tongue in shape and outer texture. Pronounced oo-nee (aka not you-nee), uni is the Japanese word for sea urchin. SoвЂ¦even though I think itвЂ™s best understood through love at first bite, hereвЂ™s a crash course on the basics of the wonder that is uni. If I had a dollar for every time someoneвЂ™s ever asked me that, itвЂ™d be enough for a nice little splurge at Sushi Nakazawa (top of my NYC bucket list right now!).

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