In the latest move in Japan's war on giant jellyfish, high school students in the town of Obama have developed a new type of caramel candy made from the enormous sea creatures -- and they are offering it up as a snack for astronauts in space.
Nomura's jellyfish (Echizen kurage) -- If you can't beat 'em, eat 'em (in space)
The enterprising Obama Fisheries High School students have requested the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to place their chewy treat on the official menu for astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The space agency, which appears to be entertaining the proposal, is reportedly sending a representative to the school tomorrow (September 17) to evaluate the candy.
Described as having a sweet and salty flavor, the caramel's ingredients include sugar, starch syrup, and jellyfish powder, which is obtained by boiling the jellyfish down to a thick paste, drying it, and grinding it into fine particles. The most recent batch of caramel uses powder from Nomura's jellyfish snared last month in fixed fishing nets in nearby Wakasa Bay. The bay is located in Fukui prefecture, which has been among the areas hardest hit by the giant jellyfish swarms in recent years.
The students began cooking with Nomura's jellyfish three years ago, after a NASA-designed food safety management system was installed at the school. In 2006, after the school developed a method for processing giant jellyfish into an edible powder, a local company began using it as an ingredient in their jellyfish cookies.
Since then, the students have been searching for new ways to use their jellyfish powder. They are hoping to benefit from the recent raw caramel craze sweeping Japan.
[Source: Chunichi]
Pyrorian
Don't they have any restraint about food? Who'd eat a jellyfish... HOW can one eat it actually?! But there they go and make candy out of jellyfish fish :)
[]Charles Nguyen
People do eat jellyfish and it's not that rare. I've had it in a Vietnamese restaurant (the actual jellyfish, not powder) and it was pretty good with sauces and had a nice texture.
Also see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jellyfish#Culinary_uses
damn, that jellyfish is huge!
[]SKon
Why do you consider this unusual? Just because you think eating beef or pork is normal doesn't mean others do. In parts of India they hold cows as sacred so they don't eat beef. If you visit there and get milk from the store it would be goat, sheep or even human milk. American's eat lobster but are really squeamish about eating tarantula's. There's not really any difference. They both are eight legged invertebrates with an exoskeleton. AND they both TASTE THE SAME! If your squeamish about trying stuff like this you will miss out on most of the good things in life!
Personally I've only seen Bear Grilis on "Man Vs. Wild" eat only one thing I wouldn't. I love variety it's one of the things that makes life worth living. I've had bear, rattlesnake, squirrel, raccoon, possum, eel (raw), ton's of sushi and sashimi, jellyfish, ants, grasshoppers (to crunchy!), krill, and more.
[]Dan
I take your point about eating customs in different parts of the world, but the lobster to spider comparison... Nope, lobsters are crustacea and have 10 legs, spiders are arachnids (or Araneae if you want to be really accurate) and have 8 legs. The spider I tried didn't taste like lobster, but that's probably because it was coated in chocolate! :-)
[]Patty
they make candy out of cactus, why not jellyfish...
[]Sublight
It seems like the jellyfish would be a good source of collagen for all the various jellies and cookies on the market claiming to improve your skin. Once it's been dried and powdered, though, it's no different from any other food additive. I'd have no qualms about eating this.
Really, though, I just enjoy saying "Obama Jellyfish Space Caramel".
[]Barbarossa
That top picture is fake -- there's no way the jellyfish can dwarf a diver like that!
SKon: I think Pyrorian's surprise may be due to the fact that jellyfish have stinging/poisonous tentacles.
[]Phoenix Psaltery
Why? People eat all sorts of poisonous things. Rattlesnake and fugu, for example.
P2
[]carla
Yeah but.. if for everyone of this creatures, you get a little jellyfish.. how many do they have to kill?? its crazy!
[]The only creature is too much for the earth is human race.
cA!
Punt Speedchunk
1. These are not "little" jellyfish. They can grow up to 2 meters in diameter. Chances are, these jellyfish are bigger than YOU.
2. These are not endangered jellyfish. Do you know how they react to stress? BY HAVING MILLIONS OF BABIES.
[]ben
jellyfish are 99% water.. i dont think they'd be very good eating it would be like eating live jello that doesnt taste good.. in any case this needs to be in the "World News Weekly"
[]Mirin
Why don't they just cut them up, cook them, and then eat them?
I had Chinese Jellyfish Coldcuts as appetizers at Chinese restaurants for dozens of times and they're really really really good.
[]Mirin
Oh and another thing, I hope the Japanese start eating these creatures because it sounds sustainable. I mean, that's better than overfishing tuna and other sea creatures. Maybe they can be eaten like sushi.
[]anotherfoodenthusiast
@Barbarossa: Actually, the variety of jellyfish that many asian cuisines feature don't sting nor do they have stingers. The tentacles are removed when preparing the jellyfish for consumption, and it's the head portion that is typically eaten.
Also, Nomuras are very capable of growing up that size. Jellyfish are powerful and indiscriminate predators armed with potent toxins.
[]rebeca
wow, why eat the porr animals! jerks! how bout we eat some Japanese people then! it's WRONG!
[]ari
rebeca the jellyfish have been clogging up many powerplants in japan causing many power plants to shut down also this has been effecting their political stability. if u have any other way of stopping the jellyfish from clogging the power plants please let me know! otherwise don't call the Japanese jerks cuz they are just trying to solve a problem. and the fact that high school students made a product that will actually benefit their country is amazing. oh before i forget u spelled poor wrong lol.
[]tobes
please god tell me that jellyfish does not exist
[]Tropicalwaters
Rebeca, I ate a japanese....person, last week.. she was delicious.
[]moriahlikesbeer
Haaaaaaaaa!
& I would eat the obama jellyfish caramel candies////
[]morgaine101
rofl...priceless!
[]EternalFrost XD
Wait are there more of that gigantic piece of jello swimming in the pacific having millions of babies!?! Welp im screwed farewell scuba diving
[]mikelnite
Actually, this is an alarming trend that shouldn't be joked about. As other large sea animals' (actual fish and mammal species') numbers are decreasing due to overfishing, climate change, and pollution----jellyfish are filling their voids. They prefer warmer waters and are very resilient to pollution. Their eggs sit dormant on the ocean floor until the water temperatures rise. Millions if not billions of them---causing jellyfish "blooms" when they mature. If these trends do not change, the only sea food that we will have the option of eating will, in fact, be jellyfish.
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