kuchiko (dried sea cucumber ovary)
ingredient / ingredient-kuchiko
くちこ
Kuchiko (dried sea cucumber ovary) is a delicacy made from the gonads of the Japanese sea cucumber, a mixture of ovaries and testes. Sources disagree on production: Ishikawa Prefecture and MAFF describe salting, while Ogushi (1999) describes a dried product made without salt. Like konowata, it comes from sea cucumber, but the part used differs: intestines versus gonads.
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Reading the bitterness
Kuchiko, also called konoko, is a delicacy made from the Japanese sea cucumber, as is konowata, which uses the intestines. The two use different parts. Ishikawa Prefecture’s local-food materials present kuchiko as a separate delicacy made from sea cucumber ovaries. Its raw material is the gonads, a mixture of ovaries and testes, clearly distinct from the intestines used for konowata.
Sources disagree about how kuchiko is prepared. Ishikawa Prefecture describes it as 『なまこの卵巣を塩漬けにしたもの』 (in translation: "sea cucumber ovaries preserved in salt"), whereas a 1999 academic paper describes konoko (kuchiko) as 『ナマコの生殖巣を塩を加えず乾燥させたもの』 (in translation: "sea cucumber gonads dried without adding salt"). Both salting and drying without salt are therefore documented. The currently available sources do not establish which description is accurate.
Raw gonads (sample A) are described as having more ash and less protein than the gonads of other seafood. Extracts of both the raw material and dried konoko contain markedly high free glutamate, relatively high alanine and glycine, and considerable AMP; these are described as the main sources of umami and sweetness. Sun drying greatly changes flavor and texture, but few changes in analytical values other than moisture content have been reported.
Sources for this overview
Checked for this overview: Confirmed how the Ishikawa Prefecture materials position kuchiko and distinguish the part used. / Confirmed the Ishikawa Prefecture description of salting.
ナマコ生殖巣の干物（このこ）と類似海産製品の一般組成およびエキス成分
Checked for this overview: Confirmed the description of drying without salt in Ogushi’s 1999 paper. / Confirmed the compositional analysis of the gonads and the main components attributed to umami.
Other names: このこ (ja)
Follow the connections
konowata (salted sea cucumber entrails) →differs from→ kuchiko (dried sea cucumber ovary)
Structured claims — open a section to read each claim's confidence, evidence and limits
Composition and content (1)
Scope: Ishikawa Prefecture materials on konowata and kuchiko, and an analytical paper on konoko.
Note: The Ishikawa Prefecture material (MAFF) and Ogushi (1999), an academic paper, conflict on the preparation (salting versus drying without salt); which is correct is not decided at this point.
Show data
ingredient-konowata —differs_from→ ingredient-kuchikoHow processing and cooking change it (1)
Scope: Laboratory analysis of raw and sun-dried gonads of Japanese sea cucumber (corresponding to Apostichopus japonicus).
Note: These are analyses of gonads (kuchiko or konoko), not measured values for konowata itself, which uses the intestines.
Show data
ingredient-kuchiko —has_composition→ "Raw gonads (sample A) have more ash and less protein than the gonads of other seafood. Extracts of both the raw material (A) and dried konoko (B) contain markedly high free Glu, relatively high Ala and Gly, and considerable AMP; these are described as the main sources of umami and sweetness. Sun drying greatly changes flavor and texture, but few changes in analytical values other than moisture content have been reported."