Octopus (Octopoda)
Octopus
Selection
Catch octopus in rocky crevices.
Storage
Meat can be frozen for long storage.
Preparation
- Wash octopus well before use.
- Turn inside out, cut the beak, and remove the black ink sack.
- Can remove the skin by rubbing with coarse salt and rinsing with water repeatedly until it tears off.
- Can soften meat before cooking by pounding with a hammer.
- Can be boiled, smoked, stewed, or pickled.
- Avoid overcooking as meat becomes tough.
- Wash hands with soap after handling fresh octopus, as it sometimes causes a rash.
- (Rody, 1982)
Photo Source
Howard Hall (via seedmagazine.com)
Octopus
The octopus has eight arms but can survive with less. It can regenerate an arm that has been lost in a battle or has been cut. Sometimes arms are cut off to eat and leave the animal alive (Rody, 1982).
Traditional Names
- Chamorro – gåmson
- Chuukese – nipach
- Hawaiian – heʻe
- Kosraean – kwet
- Marshallese – kweet
- Palauan – bukitang
- Pohnpeian – kihs
- Samoan – feʻe
- Yapese – giuuse