Sea cucumber is a marine echinoderm that lives at a depth of 8,000 meters and has a history of more than 600 million years. Sea cucumbers have a strong ability to regenerate, and once they encounter an enemy attack, they will spit out their internal organs for the enemy to eat, so as to escape, and then in a short time, they can regenerate new internal organs. What’s even more interesting is that the sea cucumber is cut into several sections, each of which can survive and grow independently. This regenerative ability gives sea cucumber outstanding medicinal value and numerous tonic effects. According to the “Compendium of Materia Medica”, it is recorded that sea cucumber, sweet and salty, tonifies the kidney, benefits the essence, takes urine, aphrodisiac and cures impotence, its sexual temperature is supplemented, and the enemy ginseng is enough, so it is called sea cucumber. Sea cucumber is as famous as ginseng, bird’s nest, and shark fin, and is one of the eight treasures in the world.

There are more than 1,500 species of sea cucumbers, and only 30 of them are edible. Sea cucumbers are widely distributed in the world’s oceans and feed on
seabed algae and plankton. The water temperature in Hokkaido is low all year round, and the natural and pollution-free environment of microorganisms and
seaweed produces high-quality sea cucumbers that are dark brown and bright black, plump, impurity-free, and salt-free.

Sea cucumbers live at the seabed with relatively low water temperature, and usually feed by filtering impurities in sand.

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Sea cucumbers thrive best in waters with temperatures ranging from approximately 13℃ to 22℃, and their breeding season spans from April to August. There are primarily two ways in which sea cucumbers grow – in the wild and through natural farming practices.

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In Japan, farming facilities nurture sea cucumber seedlings until they reach a certain size, after which they are released into the ocean for free-range growth. Conversely, some nations opt to farm sea cucumbers in cages at sea, thereby restricting their movement to a certain extent.

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During their growth process, sea cucumbers may encounter various conditions. High sea water temperatures, pollution in the sea water, and tsunamis occurring at the seabed all pose serious threats to sea cucumbers, impeding their growth.

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The fisheries association in Japan stipulates that sea cucumbers must be allowed to grow for at least four years before harvesting, ensuring they have sufficient time to mature and playing a protective role in their sustainable development and ecological balance.

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In Fujian and Dalian, there are also sea cucumber farms, though their farming methods differ from those in Japan. In Fujian, sea cucumber seedlings are placed in cages, and farmers regularly feed them with foods like seaweed to ensure they receive sufficient nutrition.

After salvage, it is made by washing, removing intestines, boiling, dehydrating, pickling, washing, and drying

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Hokkaido’s sea cucumbers are harvested in April and May every year. Divers dive to the bottom of the sea and select sea cucumbers with a growth period of 4~7 years one by one.

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Live sea cucumbers are not heat-tolerant and contain an autolytic enzyme that dissolves automatically when left out of the water for too long and at too hot temperatures. Therefore, the sea cucumbers are processed immediately to ensure the freshness of the sea cucumbers

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Workers use a knife to remove internal organs from the abdomen of the sea cucumber, and then wash the sea cucumber with water.

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The dried sea cucumber is boiled in a pot, and in Japan, processing plants that have been doing so for generations have been cooking in a traditional iron pot to ensure an even temperature.

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Japanese sea cucumbers are usually dried naturally so that the water content of sea cucumbers is less than 3%, and dried sea cucumbers are made to preserve the natural seawater flavor of sea
cucumbers.

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In addition to the traditional method of natural air drying, the practice of salting is also more common in the Chinese market. The sea cucumber is marinated and dried with a large amount of salt, but at the same time, a layer of salt frost will form on the surface of the sea cucumber, making it difficult for the core moisture to drain out. Salted sea cucumbers are relatively heavy, and their moisture will be maintained at about 12%.

• Sea cucumber varieties
  There are as many as 1,500 varieties of sea cucumbers, and sea cucumbers from Hokkaido, Japan, have long been grown in low-temperature seawater, allowing them to move for a long time and have relatively thick flesh.
• Crafting process
  The production process of dried sea cucumber is the oldest and most rigorous in Japan, from the material of the pot, the temperature of the water, and the air-drying technique are very precise, so that the nutrition of the sea cucumber can be fully preserved.
• Water content
  It is a science that sea cucumbers should be completely air-dried, and the water content of high-quality sea cucumbers is less than 3%, and the feel is very dry.
• Salt content
  For sea cucumbers with high salt content, salt particles will accumulate on the surface of the sea cucumber, resulting in a relatively high weight and a relatively compact body.
• Soaking multiple
  The multiple of high-quality sea cucumber soaking is generally 10-15 times, that is, the weight of sea cucumber after soaking is 10-15 times the weight of dried sea cucumber.