Sea urchin and wine
Guilherme Corrêa Dip WSET
THE SEA PROTECTED BY THORNS
Like oysters, sea urchins are not appealing to the eye because of their external appearance, they are difficult to open, their texture is challenging in the mouth, but they also taste superb. And although oysters are also idiosyncratic from a gastronomic point of view, these spiny companions of the rocks are even more of what we call an “acquired taste”. After all, the idea of eating gonads, the organs responsible for the production of sex cells, is not exactly appealing in itself.
And it is precisely the gonads that produce eggs in the case of females and sperm in males that are the edible part of these incredible echinoderms. Most species of sea urchins offer us five “tongues”, or more poetically “corals”, representing 20% of their body, of voluptuously orange gonads, with the appearance of a rich mousse, and an assertive marine taste, slightly salty like the sea, yet intriguingly sweet at the same time. The texture is buttery, creamy, and the aftertaste is intense, it tastes of the sea and lingers in a register of iodine and seaweed, the sea urchins’ main food.
The color, size, flavor and texture of the gonads depend much more on the species of sea urchin, its diet and the time of year it is caught than on whether it is female or male. Of the hundreds of species that live in predominantly rocky habitats, few appear on the international export market, which is completely dominated by the Chilean one. Loxechinus albus and by the various Strongylocentrotus or red sea urchins that live on the coast of Japan, Korea, Russia, Alaska and the United States in general. The Paracentrotus lividus It is abundant on the Portuguese coast and is almost entirely exported to Spain. For now. Luckily for us, this species of sea urchin has gonads with a refined marine flavor, and can now be enjoyed in the seafood restaurants of Ericeira or in the increasingly numerous top-of-the-range restaurants from the south to the north of the country, in those that know how to value our local products.
It is true that sea urchins are enjoying a moment of growing appreciation among gastronomes on all continents, even though the global supply has reduced dramatically, by around 35% in the last 20 years. The growing consumption, which puts pressure on prices, was certainly driven by the Japanese, who absorb almost 90% of the world's production, and through their cuisine, they taught us to fall in love with the sea urchin. uni, when it is not a case of hating it forever. Chile is the world's largest producer of sea urchins, with more than 50% of the world's total, and there is also a traditional culture of consumption in that country. In Europe, Italy, France and Spain lead the market, and the island of Sardinia, curiously, has the highest per capita consumption of sea urchins on the planet, four times that of Japan, more than 1 kilo per person per year.
OBSTACLES IN HARMONIZATION: IODINE, TANNINS, FISH OILS AND IRON
In all the main schools of wine-food pairing, the maxim “iodine clashes with tannins” is considered indisputable. In other words, foods rich in iodine should not be paired with wines that contain more polyphenols in their composition, in this case red wines with an average of 2 grams, compared to the average of 30 milligrams in white wines per liter. The highest natural concentration of iodine is found in fish and seafood, and among them are cod, horse mackerel, haddock, lobster, lobster, shrimp, barnacles and our star, the sea urchin.The chemistry of this disastrous interaction has not yet been fully explained, but its corollary is quite obvious and compelling: both pairing partners become unbearably metallic on the palate and later in the aftertaste. It is therefore completely inadvisable to choose tannic reds or even phenolic whites with sea urchins.
An extensive study conducted by Japanese researchers from the Mercian Corporation, published in 2009 in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry in Germany, proved that another interaction, never before discussed, also hinders the harmony between red wines and fish and seafood, in addition to iodine and tannins: that of iron in wines with some unsaturated fats from the food. Although the fat content of sea urchins is quite low, around 1.75 grams of polyunsaturated fat per 100 grams, less than half that of salmon, it is worth considering that wines with higher iron levels tend to gain and emphasize that pleasant “taste of decaying fish”. We are talking about iron levels above 5 milligrams per liter. And which wines can contain dangerous amounts of iron to break down the polyunsaturated fats in sea urchins and release this repulsive fishy aftertaste? Especially red wines. The iron content in wine depends, of course, on the soil, the grape variety and the winemaking process, including the state of the facilities and equipment used to process the grapes. As red wines are in greater contact with the stems, skins and seeds, and the grapes are crushed, macerated and pressed more aggressively, the iron content can rise to tens of millilitres, and in this case, we can imagine what happens to these pigmented wines when they are paired with wines from the sea - and the fattier the wine, the worse it is -: they taste like fish.
SUCCESSES IN HARMONIZATION: ACIDITY, MINERAL SAPIDITY AND PINENE
The cornerstone of a successful pairing with sea urchins is the buttery texture of the gonads that coat the palate, and their tendency towards sweetness. Since we have already eliminated reds from the equation, we must base ourselves on sparkling wines and whites with excellent acidity, as in contrast to the perceptible sensation of sweetness of our echinoderms, we create a dynamic, stimulating and harmonious pairing. The carbon dioxide in sparkling wines also helps in this sense, as does the mineral flavor of some whites. These three elements: acidity, carbon dioxide and sapidity act to cleanse the palate of the plastering caused by the buttery texture of the gonads.. Very fat and horizontal white wines would further reinforce this sensation of creaminess, and the pairing would become more boring. The ideal, then, is to have sparkling and white wines that rest on the freshness of their acidity and flavor, and that are vertical, that is, tense in the mid-palate and long in the finish, to dialogue with the persistent iodine finish of the sea urchins.
Pinene, in turn, is a monoterpene that occurs naturally in various herbs (lavender, mint, sage and thyme) and spices (juniper, saffron pistils and ginger), and is soluble in alcohol and fat, but not in water. It reveals aromas of pine, fir and juniper resin. In the bold molecular harmonization book Taste Buds and Molecules, author François Chartier states that pinene and especially alpha-pinene have the “ability to sublimate the flavor of iodine” in a positive way. Grape varieties such as Riesling, Alvarinho and Loureiro, rich in alpha-pinene, carry with praise the iodine-rich marine flavors of sea urchins in their persistent retro-olfaction.
EXPERIENCES AT THE TABLE
On my travels around the world of wine, I have been able to enjoy sea urchins in Chile on a few occasions, usually served with lemon juice, chopped onion, parsley and coriander, known as “erizos al matico”.As a rule, the world's largest producer of sea urchins serves them with a very fresh Sauvignon Blanc from the Casablanca, San Antonio or Leyda valleys, with its herbaceous side that dialogues with the herbs in the recipe, a wonderful regional pairing. And respecting the rules discussed above: wines with vibrant acidity, more vertical and with some sapidity.
In Italy, “spaghetti ai ricci di mare” is a traditional “leccornia” from the islands of Sardinia and Sicily, a superb and pure way of enjoying the texture and persistent marine flavour of sea urchins, added raw to spaghetti tossed in garlic-flavoured olive oil, only in the final “mantecatura” of the dish. Served with the mineral Vermentino from the limestone north of Sardinia or with the austere Grillo from the western part of Sicily, they are sublime. However, I once tried these spaghetti with a Zibbibo (or Muscat of Alexandria) from the volcanic soil of the island of Pantelleria, from the producer De Bartoli, a salty and ultra-persistent white, rich in pinene, and the combination was fabulously dramatic.
I'm passionate about (real) Japanese cuisine, so whenever I go to a sushi counter I order a couple of “uni” and let it melt on my palate, with my eyes closed. I feel like I'm in front of the sea, breathing in the sea air. And then I take a big sip of my Riesling - German, Austrian, Alsatian or Australian - which inevitably always accompanies me with the best Japanese dishes. Breathtaking perfection.
HEDGE IN THE OURICEIRA
But it was in Portugal that I had my best wine and sea urchin experiences ever. In that village whose name says it all: land of many sea thorns, Ericeira. Among other more prosaic experiences, I attended two lunches with epicurean friends and great wine connoisseurs, one of those feasts that would be considered one of the most epicurean in life.
In one of the most beautiful and incredible restaurants in the entire region, chef João Paulo Rodrigues' Sul, we enjoyed dishes such as “sea urchin roe with lemon caviar”, “natural sea urchin in its shell”, “sliced sea bass with tiger's milk and sea urchins”, a fabulous “diving in the velvety sea of sea urchins, barnacles and mussels” that still makes me dream about it waking up scared at night, “sea urchin cream with crab gratin”, “sea urchin risotto”, “crème brûlée with chilli and sea urchin crystals”, among others.
On these occasions we test not only the main candidates for the dream wedding with the Paracentrotus lividus from Ericeira, but also some of the best sparkling wines and whites in the world, to name just a few: a Krug Grande Cuvée, champagnes from “petits vignerons” such as Larmandier-Bernier and Benoît Lahaye, Riesling Grand Cru Sommerberg 2001 from Albert Boxler, Riesling Brauneberg Juffer Sonnenuhr Grosses Gewächs 2009 from Fritz Haag, two not fat and very precise Australian Chardonnays, the Art Series 2010 from Leeuwin Estate from Margaret River and the Giaconda 2015 from Victoria, Chablis Grand Cru Valmur 2010 from La Maison Romanée, a mineral Maritávora Reserva 2008 and other champions from the Douro such as Dona Berta Rabigato Garrafeira 2010 and Lacrau Garrafeira Branco 2011, a spectacular Buçaco Branco Reservado 2001, wonders from France such as a Meursault Coche-Dury 2005 and a Coulée de Serrant Savennières 1990 by magician Nicolas Joly, Vouvray Le Haut-Lieu Demi-Sec 1992, Vinha Formal 2009 from Luís Pato, the impressive and limestone Arintos from Vale da Capucha, La Bota de Manzanilla Equipo Navazos and a Colares red 1950 from DJ Silva that will make you cry salty tears like him.
All of these wines presented many attributes for the epic “ouriçada”, although, logically, some worked better with certain dishes than others. Even the Colares red was a huge success with the sea urchin risotto, but this was because its tannins had already been polymerizing for 68 years and the iron content of the wine must have been very low. Speaking of Colares, one of my favorite wines, I think that the Colares white has all the attributes necessary for the perfect match with sea urchins: the alpha-pinene of the Malvasia, the sharp acidity, the saltiness of the sea, the verticality, the structural level of flavor, the fact that it was born near the sea urchins. We always say goodbye to Ericeira after a divine sunset the color of the sea urchins’ gonads, and with the sea air mingling with the aromas of so many unforgettable wines.