A starfish is a fairly popular marine creature that you’re likely to come across almost everywhere in the world, especially the Atlantic ocean.
They’re invertebrate creatures that are typically orange or yellow and live up for quite some time.
But have you ever asked yourself “can you eat starfish?”. In today’s article, we’ll tackle the answer to this question along with other information regarding the safety of eating starfish. So without further ado, let’s jump right in!
Are Starfish Safe to Eat?
The answer depends mainly on the type of starfish in question, as there are more than 2,000 species of starfish in the world.
Some starfish species are fairly edible when prepared by an expert, such as the 5-legged ones. On the other hand, other species might be extremely poisonous and can even be fatal if they’re ingested.
The toxicity of starfish comes from the fact that they’re bottom dwellers that filter the oceans from toxins. For that reason, there’s a huge debate to this day on whether starfish are safe to eat or not.
While a lot of people warn against eating one, starfish and sea urchins are considered a delicacy in multiple countries in Southeast Asia, including China and Indonesia.
For example, starfish is considered street food in China that is often deep-fried and served on sticks like corn dogs.
Another way that people eat starfish there is by boiling and cracking their legs open to eat the soft meat on the inside.
What Does a Starfish Taste Like?
Now that we’ve established that starfish species vary significantly depending on their species, we’ll be discussing the ones that are technically safe for eating and are typically enjoyed in some parts of the world.
Since the idea of eating starfish isn’t appealing to many people, people’s reception to the starfish taste is often mixed.
A lot of people who tried various types of seafood claim that starfish taste is fairly close to the taste of sea urchins or the brain area in lobsters and river crabs.
In other words, starfish is pretty mild in flavor and tastes mostly like seawater. The consistency of the starfish meat varies according to where you source the starfish. Some of them are creamy like toothpaste while others feel like eating ground beef or sand.
Do Starfish Have Blood and Body Organs?
The starfish is a fairly primitive marine creature so it lacks multiple body organs. For instance, a starfish doesn’t have a functional brain. Instead, they use senses and stimuli to react to their environment and take action.
In fact, starfish don’t have true eyes. Instead, they have a light sensor that is found at the tip of each of their arms, which allows them to distinguish between light and darkness.
Additionally, starfish don’t have blood inside them, so they don’t bleed when they’re cut open. Instead, they have some sort of hydraulic vascular system that uses osmotic pressure and water to help them move around and consume food.
This system works by pumping the seawater into their body, which delivers them key nutrients. They also feed on small fish, clams, sea plants, and more.
Is It Safe to Eat Raw Starfish?
While some starfish aren’t poisonous, most of them have spikes all over their bodies, which makes them quite dangerous to touch, as they can prick your skin and release toxins.
Starfish also don’t bite, but they have stingers that can also transmit the venomous enzymes to your skin.
If you eat starfish, your stomach will be in danger of rupturing due to the hard shell of the starfish with multiple spikes. This can be fatal and will need to be surgically removed immediately.
Is There Any Nutritional Value from Eating Starfish?
Although some people might think that starfish don’t have any lot of nutritional value, they’re fairly rich in minerals and vitamins, as they typically filter the ocean of these micronutrients.
For example, according to the nutritional fact sheet of NutritionOptimizer, 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of starfish have up to 115 calories that are 22% protein (amino acids) and 4% fatty acids like omega 3.
Starfish are also rich in minerals such as selenium, potassium, calcium, copper, zinc, iron, and manganese. Additionally, starfish contains fair amounts of vitamins, especially B12
Which Types of Starfish are Dangerous to Eat?
There are some popular starfish species that are known for being highly poisonous to humans and should never be consumed. Among these starfish species are leather starfish, the crown of thorns starfish, and sun starfish.
Some of these poisonous starfish species are fairly common in seawater, such as the crown of thorns, which typically have up to 21 arms and can grow up to 1 meter in diameter (3 feet) which is pretty huge for a starfish!
Best Ways to Eat a Starfish
The two most common ways of eating a starfish are either through deep frying or boiling. For deep frying, the starfish is deep-fried as a whole then seasoned with a dash of salt and seasoning.
The other way to enjoy starfish is by adding them to a pot of water and bringing them to a boil, then cook them for 5 to 8 minutes.
After leaving the starfish to cool down, you then open each arm to reveal the cooked flesh. For that, you’ll need lobster crackers to crack the hard shell open. After that, you should take out the flesh of the starfish either with your fingers or with a spoon.
You then dip in hot sauce to add more flavor to it. In both cases, you should avoid eating the skin of the starfish.
Final Thoughts
With that said, you now have a better idea about starfish edibility and whether it’s safe to eat one. As you can see, some starfish are fairly poisonous while other types are perfectly safe to eat when prepared by an expert.
For that reason, you should never try to eat a starfish that you’ve caught out of the sea because their toxicity can be fatal.