I tried once Pyura chilensis in Santiago
Chile, ... It taste actually not very good, very salty,
The first time I tried it, it was right out of the water with a
squirt of lemon juice. Tasted like an iodine-soaked tennis shoe with a
squirt of lemon juice.
It is usually included with clam, mussel, barnacle, etc in
seafood soups and that cuts the taste. Some eat it like sea urchin in
a sort of a quick ceviche -- with chopped onions, parsley, lemon juice
and whatever else is handy.
I asked my brother-in-law in Puerto Montt, Chile a question about
the species a while back and he allowed (ellipses are his):
PIURE ( Piura molina -
chilensis ) is a tunicade , red color, very unusual to find out
in other countries ( also in Australia is possible), but in
Chile most of the ''seafood tasters'' like to eat it ,
particulary Susanne and me..., most of the weeks..., at least once a
week..., Very high in iodine and good to taste, but must be
eated very clean. ( very well gutted and clean ). You can eat it as a
fresh meat or smoked ( cold smoked), or also canned, but this is not
usual. Recently the consumption is increasing because people know more
about this seafood.., you can find it usually in the supermarkets,
fresh and clean.
--
Don Hockaday
South Padre Island, TX
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