Squid ( Cuttlefish )

English name: Cuttlefish

Local name: Cephalopod, Khassak or enkas

Other names: Calamari, squid

Cuttlefish belong to the Cephalopoda family and just like octopuses, they are one of the strangest and loneliest sea creatures. The characteristic of cephalopods is that their head is divided into 2 branches and symmetrical to each other.

These invertebrates are divided into four categories:

  • Cuttlefish( Squid )
  • Octopuses
  • Scoloids
  • Notillos

It is interesting to know that the arms of squidareplaced around their heads. Squid use these arms for crawling, finding food, and keeping balance in the sea.Squid or Khassak has two big eyes. Squidhave blue blood because they have copper in their blood instead of iron.The black ink-like substance that squidreleases when it is scared of predators is located near their anus.

General characteristics of Squid

The reason this fish is named squid or cuttlefish is that squid releases a black ink-like substance when it is in danger.

  • Squid belong to the octopods family. Squid has 6 short legs and 2 long legs.
  • Squid's body looks like a tube. They have two eyes, a mouth, and two non-jaw teeth.
  • Squid has a wider body than calamari.
  • Cuttlefish or squidare mostly caught in the Persian Gulf, the Indian Ocean, and the sea of Oman.
  • Cuttlefish is processed and exported to different countries.
  • Squid is high in calories, protein, carbohydrate, and fat.
  • Frying and steaming squid is the best and most delicious way to cook squid.

 

iranian fish, squid

 

Nutritional Values of Squid

  • Squid or cuttlefish are high in calories, protein, carbohydrates, and fat.
  • If you have a heart problem, you need to control how much you eat squid.
  • The carbohydrate in squid provides the muscles with the needed energy to function better.
  • Therefore, as metabolism increases, the body uses fats as an energy source and prevents protein loss.

Squid in Iran :

Cuttlefish or squid is one of the invertebrates in the Persian Gulf. Hundreds of tons of cuttlefish are caught by fishermen. This valuable fish is then processed in whole or as fillet in processing companies and then exported to near or far countries.

In Bushehr province, the fishing season of squid starts in February every year and continues until May of the next year. As a non-oil product, processing and exporting squid helps with creating jobs as well as bringing money into the country.

How Squid Feeds:

Squid spend the day at sea floors because they are afraid to be caught and they come back to the surface at night and feed. This is how they feed: they catch fish using their 10 arms. They eat larvae, crabs, oysters, as well as snail and other smaller species. Squidare a source of food for sea lions and sea otters and other bigger species. Now we are going to discuss why this fish is called squid. Because squid releases a black ink-like substance in the water, they are called squid. It's important to know that cuttlefish or squid hide themselves in water and because they have millions of cells on their skin, they can adapt to the color of their surroundings easily.

high quality fish

Different species of cuttlefish( squid )include

:

  • European squid: A type of pencil squid known as Loliginidae with feet up to 40 cm long.
  • Long-finned squid: Another type of pencil squid.
  • Tiger squid: Another squid or cuttlefish species that belongs to the Spidae order.
  • Vampire squid or Vampyroteuthisinfernalis: A type of small cuttlefish that lives in the deepest sea floors.
  • Bottletail squid: This sea creature looks a lot like cephalopods. Bottletailmeans they have a short tail with 8 small arms to suck their prey in.

 

Health Benefits of Squid( Cuttlefish )

Squidare high in fat and also omega-3. Calamari has a hot temperament and affects the kidneys, liver, and digestive system negatively. Of course, if you cook calamari properly, it will have positive effects on the body. Calamari is a type of octopus. But they have different bodies. Calamari has a more elongated body than cuttlefish.

Calamari has a sponge-like body and 8 arms and a whitish bag-like abdomen. Calamari is widelycaughtin the Persian Gulf and The sea of Oman and exported. The cuttlefish fishing season in Bushehr is in February.The inner skeleton of the cuttlefish that forms its body, is made of lime and has a lot of calcium and is known as a cuttlebone. Cuttlebone has a lot of uses in traditional and modern medicine. It's interesting to know that people in ancient china used cuttlebone for writing. Cuttlebone also has high amounts of phosphorus which is very effective for treating backache and uterine illnesses.

Cleaning the Squid

You need to simply take the body in one hand and take out the head with the other so that the black thin part of the head is removed as well. First, remove the black skin and then the arms. Then, wash the squidwith cold water. If you want to cook calamari fillet, after cleaning the abdomen, cut the squid in half and peel off the skin on the middle bone.

How to clean squid or cuttlefish:

Whole squid:

Clean the stomach. Throw away the intestines and ink sac. Remove the scale and the tail. Keep the bone, the head, and the tail.

Waste quantity of cleaned squid: 40 %

How to make squid Fillet:

Empty the stomach, separate the head and the tail. Then, cut the squid in half from top to bottom. Remove the skin and the middle bone.

Waste quantity of squid fillet:  60 %

How to cut squid:

Clean the stomach, cut off the head and the tail. Cut the squid in even portions.

Waste quantity of cut squid: 60%

Squid ( Cuttlefish ) Squid in Iran Health Benefits of Squid

How to make calamari in the most crowd-pleasing way!

Fried Calamari:

This delicious fried calamari is crunchy on the outside yet juicy from the inside. You can serve fried calamari with various sauces but we suggest serving it with tomato sauce. The best thing about calamari is that it is easily prepared and doesn’t take you ages to cook and fry it!

How to make a tasty and crunchy fried calamari

Step 1: Clean the calamari or cuttlefish as mentioned earlier. Cut them in pieces and toss them in a bowl of flour. Cover the entire meat in flour. Then, beat some eggs and coat the calamari in eggs. Now, coat the calamari in bread crumbs. Make sure every piece is completely covered with bread crumbs.

Step2: Heat some oil in a frying pan. Then place the calamari pieces in there and let them fry for 3 to 4 minutes. Put them on a paper towel to remove the excess oil. An important thing to mention here is that it’s best to use coarse bread crumbs. Serve the fried calamari with tomato sauce.

You can also steam the calamari and enjoy it with your favorite sauce.

You can also grill the calamari. Here’s how:

Cut the cleaned calamari fillets in 3 cm cubes. Now for the marinade sauce: Mix some grated lemon zest, 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil, a couple of grated garlic cloves and some fresh lemon juice in a bowl. Add the calamari and coat them with this mixture. Cover the bowl and let it rest for 2 to 3 hours to soak in the spices and the aroma. Then, add salt to the calamari. Heat a grill pan and place the calamari pieces in there and keep them in there until both sides are grilled. Garnish with fresh parsley, tomatoes and lemon juice and enjoy!

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