Uni
Echinoidea
Not Kosher
No fins or scales
Fins
No
Scales
No
Description
Uni is the edible part of a sea urchin, served raw as sashimi or in sushi with soy sauce and wasabi, and it's a prized delicacy especially in Japan, which eats about 80% of global production. In the Mediterranean the roe is often eaten raw with lemon or worked into pasta sauces and omelettes.
Sea urchins, the source of uni, live in every ocean and at every depth, from the intertidal zone down to about 5,000 m, in climates from warm seas to polar waters. They sit on the seabed across rocky shores and other bottom habitats.
Also known as
- sea urchin roe
- sea urchin gonad
Uni in foreign languages
| Scientific | Echinoidea |
| Hebrew | קיפודי ים |
| Arabic | قنفذ البحر |
| Spanish | equinoideos |
| Portuguese | Bolacha da praia |
| French | Chataigne de mer |
| Italian | echinoide |
| German | Seeigel |
| Greek | Αχινός |
| Russian | Морские ежи |
| Turkish | Denizkestanesi |
| Chinese | 海膽 |
| Japanese | ウニ |
| Korean | 성게류 |
| Hindi | जलसाही |
| Vietnamese | Cầu gai |
| Thai | เม่นทะเล |
Warnings & Kosher Issues
- Uni is the gonad of a sea urchin, which has no fins or scales, so it is not kosher. Roe and organs from a non-kosher creature are themselves not kosher.
- Sea urchin spines can cause puncture wounds, and some tropical species have venomous spines.