CATDOLL : CATDOLL: How much does a pound of dried sea cucumber cost?

In fact, the price of dried sea cucumbers is determined according to different types. ① The price of high-quality ready-made edible sea cucumbers can reach 500 to 800 yuan per kilogram, about 6 to 12 yuan per kilogram. If the quality is slightly worse and the size is slightly smaller, the price is around 200 to 400 yuan per kilogram. ② Salt-dried sea cucumbers are mainly pickled with sea salt, and there will be a layer of salt particles or salt bubbles on the surface. The surface of pickled sea cucumbers is white. The salt content of sea cucumbers directly affects the price of sea cucumbers. For example, if 40% salt is added to a light-dried sea cucumber that costs 3,000 yuan per kilogram, the price will be 40% lower, that is, 1,800 yuan. Qiye Salt content is a scale to measure the price of sea cucumbers. In China, as long as the salt content does not exceed 50%, it is legal.

③ According to the statistics of sea cucumber purchase prices in 2021, 30 kilograms of fresh sea cucumbers can be processed into 1 kilogram of dried sea cucumbers, and the prices (cost prices) are listed as follows: Dalian light dried sea cucumbers: 100-150 yuan/kilogram (fresh sea cucumbers) x30=3000-4500 yuan/kilogram. Shandong light dried sea cucumbers: 80-120 yuan/kilogram (fresh sea cucumbers) x30=2400-3600 yuan/kilogram. Fujian light dried sea cucumbers: 60-80 yuan/kilogram (fresh sea cucumbers) x30=1800-2400 yuan/kilogram.

Additional information

①Sea cucumbers are called "tonic". But not everyone is suitable for eating sea cucumbers. For example, children, people with fever, poor kidneys, weak stomachs, diarrhea, allergic constitutions, gout, hyperuricemia, and those who eat foods with high tannin content should not eat sea cucumbers. Because sea cucumbers are rich in protein. When a large amount of protein enters the human body, it will increase the burden on the digestive system and kidney system. Therefore, children with weak spleen and stomach should not eat, and people with poor kidneys or stomachs, diarrhea should not eat, because this is likely to aggravate the original problems of the body. In addition, because protein reacts with acid to produce some indigestible substances, it causes indigestion.

②Sea cucumber has the effect of warming the spleen, benefiting the stomach, and nourishing the kidney. It can improve memory, improve the body's resistance and immunity, prevent a variety of diseases, and when it enters the gastrointestinal tract, it can moisturize the intestines and defecate, facilitate the discharge of toxins and garbage in the intestines, and protect the gastrointestinal mucosa. It contains a large amount of collagen, which can play a role in beauty and anti-aging. However, it should be noted that proper inhalation will increase the burden on the gastrointestinal tract.

In 2019, the price of dried sea cucumbers ranged from 800, 4,000 to 10,000 yuan. Factors affecting the price of sea cucumbers: the sea area where they grow.

my country is divided into the south and the north. The southern part is represented by Fujian sea cucumbers, while the northern part is represented by Dalian sea cucumbers and Yantai sea cucumbers. The best quality and highest medicinal value are Dalian and Yantai sea cucumbers. The best sea cucumbers recognized by the world are 1. Dalian Zhangzidao sea cucumbers 2. Yantai Changqiloudao sea cucumbers. Fujian in the south belongs to the warm water area. Sea cucumbers eat frequently and grow very fast. They can grow up in six or seven months. Therefore, the medicinal value of Fujian sea cucumbers in the south is not as good as that of northern sea cucumbers. The meat is very soft and the price of dried sea cucumbers is also very cheap.

Additional information:

How to choose dried sea cucumber:

1. Cut open: Cut the dried sea cucumber horizontally, and it is clean and free of salt crystals, internal organs, mud and sand, etc. The cross-section wall thickness is uniform, the meat is dark brown, and the luster is bright. The gelatinous layer of inferior dried sea cucumbers in Changpangqing is thin and uneven in thickness or even broken, and the tissue morphology is aging.

2. Taste: The same sea cucumber grown in different seas will have different tastes, so when buying sea cucumbers, you should smell it carefully with your nose. Sea cucumbers that smell of fresh sea water and salt water and have no sweet or medicinal taste are of higher quality.

3. Touch: Dried sea cucumbers are hard, not easy to break apart, light in weight, durable to hold, feel like charcoal when knocked, and elastic when thrown to the ground. Inferior dried sea cucumbers are easy to break and have salt crystals or impurities falling off, feel heavy, and have no elasticity or echo when knocked or thrown to the ground.

How much does a pound of dried sea cucumber cost?

In fact, the price of dried sea cucumbers is determined according to different types:

1. Dried sea cucumber

Light dried sea cucumbers are sugar-free and water-free, and are the best among dried sea cucumbers. Light dried sea cucumbers are made by removing dirt from fresh sea cucumbers, washing, boiling, shrinking, and drying them naturally. During the processing of sea cucumbers, no artificial additives are added. The price per catty is around 4,000-8,000 yuan, and the lowest will not be less than 3,500 yuan per catty. The price of wild light dried sea cucumbers will be higher. [Chaoyang Sea Cucumber Hokkaido Kanto Sea Cucumber]

2. Salt-dried sea cucumber

Salt-dried sea cucumbers are mainly pickled with sea salt, and there will be a layer of salt grains or salt foam on the surface. The surface of the pickled sea cucumber is white. The amount of salt directly affects the price of sea cucumbers. For example, if the price of dried sea cucumbers is 3,000 yuan per catty, and 40% of salt is added, the price will be 40% lower, that is, 1,800 yuan. The salt content is a measure of the price of sea cucumbers. In my country, as long as the salt content does not exceed 50%, it is legal.

3. Sugar-dried sea cucumber

Sugar-dried sea cucumbers are made by replacing a small amount of salt with a large amount of sugar during the production process of salt-dried sea cucumbers. This can increase the weight, so its sales price can be 30% or even 50% lower. It is usually around 1,000-2,000 yuan per pound. Because the preservative mechanism of sugar is different, the sale of sugar-dried sea cucumbers is prohibited in my country. However, unscrupulous vendors in the market still use sugar-dried sea cucumbers to impersonate light-dried sea cucumbers, so be careful to identify them.

4. Ready-to-eat dried sea cucumber

Instant-edible sea cucumbers use a special process to retain the important active nutrients in the sea cucumbers, so they can be eaten directly without foaming. The price of good quality instant-edible dried sea cucumbers can reach 500 to 800 yuan per catty, and there are about six to twelve heads in one catty. The price of slightly lower quality and smaller heads is about 200 to 400 yuan per catty.

In addition, I will tell you how to identify dried sea cucumbers:

1. Look at the appearance

To identify the quality of dried sea cucumbers, you must first look at its appearance. Generally, good quality sea cucumbers have natural skin color and clear cortex. Due to differences in growth environments, they can appear in different colors such as black, gray, and brown, but be careful not to be completely black or white. You can also observe its fleshy spines and the tube feet on the abdomen, which are generally relatively intact.

2. Look at the foaming effect

After being soaked in water, good dried sea cucumbers have a chewy texture and a strong taste. However, poor quality dried sea cucumbers lack elasticity and have a less rich taste.

3. Look at the degree of dryness

When choosing dried sea cucumbers, you must choose dry ones. If there is more water, the price will actually be much higher. Moreover, due to the water content, the sea cucumbers will easily deteriorate.

4. Choose the shriveled ones

Driven by profit, many vendors add sugar, gelatinous substances, etc. to sea cucumbers. Although the sea cucumbers look bright and colorful on the outside, they actually do not meet the product standards.

According to the breeding method of sea cucumbers.

Wild sea cucumbers are the best. The specific price is unclear, but they are definitely rare and expensive. They are mostly supplied to dignitaries in Beijing or high-end hotels, state banquets and other occasions. It can be said that the supply cannot meet the demand. Ordinary consumers cannot afford it, and secondly, the number of them is scarce and cannot be forced.

The second is the bottom-picked sea cucumber, which is the sea cucumber grown in the way that is closest to nature, sea cucumber, commonly known as free-range, this is the best sea cucumber that ordinary people can buy, and it is also not cheap. One reason is that the market premium is in short supply, and the other is that its growth cycle is long, the number is small, the breeding cost is high, etc. Many insiders on Zhihu have revealed that the cost is more than 3,000 yuan, so be cautious when buying cheap bottom-picked sea cucumbers.

Then there are the sea cucumbers raised in shrimp ponds and greenhouses. This type of sea cucumber has a larger output, requires less investment from farmers, is easy to manage, and can be supplied in large quantities all year round. The price is naturally cheaper than that of low-yield sea cucumbers. Most of the sea cucumbers on the market are raised in this way.

Finally, there is the Fujian ginseng that is raised in the north and south. This kind of ginseng is usually called eggplant ginseng. It is not on the same level as the sea cucumber in Dalian, and its nutritional value is far inferior to that of the sea cucumber. This kind of Fujian ginseng is often used as a substitute for good ones in the market, and the market tries to sell the cheap eggplant ginseng at the price of sashimi in order to make huge profits.

Whether it is given as a gift or for family, friends, the elderly, the sick, pregnant women, or children, if possible, try to buy sea cucumbers, also known as northern bottom-peeling sea cucumbers, which have better nutritional value and efficacy.

According to the processing method of sea cucumber

Generally, what we can buy are dried sea cucumbers or ready-to-eat sea cucumbers. It is generally recommended to buy dried sea cucumbers and soak them yourself, or you can buy ready-to-eat sea cucumbers. Different people have different purchasing power and pursue different effects of sea cucumbers. Buy according to your own consumption ability and buy from reliable and authentic channels.

There are usually several traditional ways to process sea cucumbers: light drying, salt drying, and sugar drying.

All of these methods require the sea cucumber to be cleaned and the internal organs removed first. Light drying is the simplest method, which involves boiling, shrinking, baking, sun drying, and no extra processing, and the finished product has relatively few particles.

Salt-dried sea cucumbers have an additional salt-curing process, and are divided into general salt-dried sea cucumbers and heavily salt-dried sea cucumbers according to the degree of curing. Generally, heavily salt-dried sea cucumbers are not recommended.

Finally, there is sugar-dried sea cucumber. Sugar-dried sea cucumber is the worst processing method. The sea cucumber is placed in a sugar solution to increase its weight and color, and to pass off inferior products as good ones. Sea cucumbers processed in this way not only do not have the same efficacy as ordinary sea cucumbers, but are also not worth using. It is a prohibited processing method.