I’m Stressed – Bring on the Sea Urchin Casserole
Sea urchins, so much better for stress than a doughnut.
Here’s an interesting tidbit to end your week. Researchers have found that, contrary to common expectation, we’re most likely to try new things when we’re under stress. Since many of us turn to the easy-to-find comfort foods under stress, such as chocolate, cookies, potato chips – pick your fave – it’s assumed that we’ll only try new things when our lives are relaxed. But researchers at University of South Carolina’s Moore School of Business have found just the opposite is true. When we have time to deliberate and ponder our choices, we go with the familiar. But when our lives are under stress, and our decisions are more impulsive and instinctive, we’re more likely to choose the less familiar items. Researchers concluded that when our lives are in upheaval, the regular cues that trigger habitual choices are removed and we operate under more of a mindset for change.
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4 Responses to “I’m Stressed – Bring on the Sea Urchin Casserole”
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I enjoy sushi from time to time and one ime I decided to try Uni (Sea Urchin). I may not have been stressed before trying it but I was certainly stressed afterwards due to its taste and texture. Sea Urchin is one piece of sushi I probably will never try again. A guest that was with me told me that uni was a acquired taste but I thought isn’t life too short to go around acquiring tastes. After all if you don’t like something why keep eating in the hopes that one day you will. To me sea urchin is nothing but sea otter food.
I would agree that it’s unnecessary to acquire a taste for sea urchins. As long as you nutritionally have a reasonable substitute for the nutrients in the rest of your diet, why torment yourself? Leave it to the sea otters.
Sea urchin is one of my favorite sushi dishes! It took me only about 2 or 3 tries to “acquire” the taste, and it was completely worth it!
Once, off the coast of Naples, I saw a fisherman take an urchin from his net at lunchtime, crack it open against a rock, and then scoop out the creamy goodness inside with his fingers and eat it right then and there. Can’t get more fresh than that! Delicious!
That said, sea urchin was recently used as part of a “food challenge” on CBS’ Survivor, so I “get” that some people might be, um, hesitant about this particular food. Also, I believe that urchin is becoming overfished, so hopefully it won’t become too popular!
So what made you intrigued enough to go for the second or third taste?
I hope those fishing waters in Naples were clean enough! That would be my first thought when eating something straight out of the ocean. But if clean, I could see it being a very sensual experience.