Squid, Octopus & Cuttlefish

Squid is the most widely available edible member of the cephalopod family, which includes other tentacled marine animals such as cuttlefish and octopus. There are hundreds of species found worldwide in tropical and warm waters, but only a few are commonly eaten.

Buried in the flesh of some cephalopods (literally, “head with foot”) is the vestige of a skeleton—a long “pen” (squid), an oval “cuttlebone” (cuttlefish) or a hard “beak” (octopus). Squid are considered to be sweeter and more tender than cuttlefish while on the Mediterranean and in Asia, octopus is more highly regarded.