Let’s explore some mysteries of the deep.
Yes, an octopus is a shellfish. Shellfish are invertebrates with shells that fall into two groups: crustaceans and mollusks. Octopuses are mollusks, along with other seafood-based mollusks like clams, oysters, scallops, and squid. Mollusks have a highly structured nervous system and a radula for feeding, which is why octopuses are considered shellfish. What the heck is a radula, you may well wonder? The radula is an anatomical structure used by mollusks for feeding, sometimes compared to a tongue. It is a minutely toothed, chitinous ribbon, which is typically used for scraping or cutting food before the food enters the esophagus.
I guess every creature has to have a way to eat, and while we might find this somewhat disturbing, here is how an octopus gains sustenance. Octopuses use a variety of strategies to catch and eat their prey, which can include crabs, clams, snails, fish, and other octopuses. Octopuses (or octopi, if you prefer) are typically nocturnal hunters who pounce on their prey and wrap it in their webbed arms. They have a hardened, fingernail-like beak made of muscle that they use to bite their prey. They can also use their beaks to drill into the shells of clams. All octopuses are venomous and inject toxins into their prey to overpower and kill them. For example, they can paralyze crustaceans with a paralyzing saliva. Octopuses also use enzymes from their salivary glands to dissolve the inside of their prey’s shell. For example, they can turn the inside of a crab into a milkshake. After injecting toxins, octopuses can dismember their prey with their beaks.
If that description is insufficient to stifle your curiosity about Octopi’s dietary habits, here is a short 4-minute video from National Geographic that will seal the deal.
There, do you feel better now? Hungry perhaps? Well, let’s explore that shellfish part again. Many people do enjoy an occasional octopus arm now and then, but these aren’t for everyone.
Shellfish allergies are the most common food allergies in adults and among the most common food allergies in children. Approximately 2% of the U.S. population reports an allergy to shellfish. Shellfish allergies are usually lifelong. To learn more about shellfish allergies, watch this 3-minute video.
When a person with an allergy to a particular shellfish is exposed to that shellfish, proteins in the shellfish bind to specific antibodies made by the person’s immune system. This triggers the person’s immune defenses, leading to reaction symptoms that can be mild or very severe.
As we mentioned earlier, there are two groups of shellfish: crustaceans (such as shrimp, prawns, crab and lobster) and mollusks/bivalves (such as clams, mussels, oysters, scallops, octopus, squid, abalone, snail). Allergy to crustaceans is more common than allergy to mollusks, with shrimp being the most common shellfish allergen for both children and adults.
Finned fish and shellfish are not closely related. Being allergic to one does not always mean that you must avoid both, though care is needed to prevent cross-contact between them.
For the 98% of you who do not have a shellfish allergy, here are four of Food & Wine Magazine’s favorite octopus recipes, including Octopus Turnovers with Spicy Creole Mayonnaise. Yum!
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