Sea Urchin

sea urchin the common name for a sea creature (of the class Echinoidea) which provides the least amount of edible material for its volume; but that small part is a great delicacy.

Inside the more or less spherical test there is little edible matter: in fact nothing but the five orange or rose-coloured ovaries, also known as corals. These are revealed by cutting the sea urchin open horizontally, preferably using the French implement designed for the purpose and called coupe-oursin, the French name for sea urchin being oursin. The corals, which need no cooking, make a delicious mouthful, with no accompaniment save a drop of lemon juice. They can, however, be incorporated in certain cooked dishes, for example an omelette or scrambled eggs, and can also be used to make an excellent sauce.