Hey, it's Francis, and have you ever wondered who was the first person to eat a sea urchin?

Like, yes, this living rock with teeth and moving spikes, please give it to me for lunch.

Anyway, I always enjoy any chance to imagine the rest of that person's life choices,

but I hope you enjoy it too, because this week, we're bringing back an episode featuring

one of the most fascinating conversations I have ever had about sea urchins.

Have a listen.

I'm Frances Lamb, and this is The Splendid Table from APM American Public Media.

It might sound odd for a food show to be saying this, but deliciousness can be a real problem.

You should think of them as a wonderful hybrid between an artichoke and an egg, or an avocado in an egg.

Now imagine tasting that, or something they could be described that way.

That's Ali Buzari talking about uni, sea urchins, which if you've never tried them,

are incredible and weird in a great way.

But when something tastes new to you and is delicious, you want it, and your friends want it,

and more and more people want it and seemingly only it,

until we get to the point where the good earth has no more of whatever it is to give.

And in a lot of places, sea urchins are super overfished,

but I'm not here to bum you out today, because Ali's got a different take on this story.

Now, before we get to him, Ali is one of the most interesting dudes in the world. He is a biochemist and an author and a trained chef, and who happens to spearfish and free dive in his spare time. So, hey, Ali, it's great to talk with you today. Thanks, Francis. It's good to talk to you. I want to talk to you about sea urchins.

Let's do it.

You know, they are like the most terrifying-looking animals on earth. Like, they look like headless ghosts of porcupines but are alive and live in the sea. And they, like, kind of move around, their spines move. And then you eat them. and it's like, oh my God, that is the most amazing flavor. Like Ruth Reichel, actually, I read recently, she calls them her single

favorite flavor in the world. And I first actually want to ask you, because you're a scientist,

what makes a sea urchin delicious?

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