Edible Tidbits
by Anne Baxter
Originally published: Florida Keys Magazine, July 1985

"Wait, there’s one!" exclaimed Mark, as he almost knocked me off my jagged limestone perch. We were beachcombing along a rocky shore in the Florida Keys. Mark reached down with knife in hand and pried a chiton from its crevice in the rock. Then, turning the chiton on its back in his palm, Mark expertly cut around the oval-shaped, smooth portion of its "foot" and threw the meat into a plastic baggie. Mark continued moving along the shore in the intertidal zone where the waves occasionally break on the rocks. In a few hours, his bucket was filled with limpets, turban shells and teeth snails.

Above the high tide line, I collected sea purslane, sea grapes, and cocoplums. Later we both went snorkeling and gathered sea urchins, a large water hermit crab and some queen conchs. Mark also speared a small grouper.

We planned to prepare a most unusual dinner that night – a meal composed of strange plants and animals that we collected by beachcombing or snorkeling.

For a number of years I have read about edible plants and animals of tropical sea and shore. Surprisingly, many are quite nutritious and have fewer calories than more widely accepted foods.

CHITON (Chiton tuberculatus)

Chitons are delicious – not unlike conch, but tastier. Chitons are shellfish similar to ancient trilobites. They are flat, oval-shaped, mottled gray-brown-black and segmented—from one to four inches long. They live in shallow depressions in the rock at the low tide zone. Although never seen moving, chitons may move short distances during their lifetime. To collect chitons, all you need is a net bag or bucket and a strong, thin-bladed knife. To remove a chiton from his rock, slip the knife blade under either end as far as possible and pry up. Try to take him by surprise or he’ll really hang on! Do not try to keep chitons alive in a bucket of seawater—they’ll drown if they cannot climb out. Instead, clean them as you collect them. Turn the chiton over, cut around the smooth central portion (orange or yellow part), pry up. Wash the foot thoroughly, being careful to remove all attached organs, sand, and small crustaceans. Tenderize each chiton as you do conch. Chitons may be eaten raw or breaded and fried quickly.

TURBANS (Turbinada)

At the low tide line of the rocks, in the same area as chitons, lie the turban or West Indian top shell. The turban shell is white and black and bumpy on the outside, smooth and pearly on the inside. It grows to three inches. When the tide is low, the snail can seal himself inside his shell by withdrawing his round operculum. To prepare, boil the entire snail, then remove the animal from his shell using a straightened fish hook. Remove and discard all soft parts and operculum. Soak the muscle in garlic butter and serve like escargot.

TOOTHED SNAILS (Nerita)

The toothed snail has a textured black and white basketweave design on his shell, a toothed opening, and a small, crescent-shaped operculum. It lives in the mid-tide zone in crevices in the rocks. There are two very common varieties: baby tooth and bleeding tooth snails. Both varieties rarely grow over one inch. To collect, merely pick the snail off the rock. It does not cling as tightly as the chiton. Rince snail thoroughly before boiling. Boil in fresh water for three minutes. When shell cools, using a tiny straightened fish hook, remove the operculum, then the snail. Discard shell and operculum. Serve snail with your favorite sauce or dip in garlic butter.

LIMPITS (Fissurellidae)

On the rocks above the high tide zone live limpets, univalves shaped like a Chinese Coolie’s hat. Since limpets are very small (about one half to one inch), you will need a lot of them to make a bite. Collect limpets the same way you collect chitons. Wash them well. Larger limpets are good broiled in their own shells with a dab of butter.

SEA PURSLANE (Sesuvium portulacastrum)

This creeping vine grows near the shore above the high water zone in pockets of sand among the jagged limestone rocks, in dunes and in mud. It has fleshy spatulate-shaped leaves and thick stems. Its leaves are shaped like green beans. Stems often have a slightly pinkish or reddish hue. If eaten raw, sea purslane is very salty. It can be pickled, but I prefer to boil the young leaves and stems in fresh water with slices of potato and onion and a small piece of unsalted pork fat. The potatoes and onion aid in removing some of their saltiness. Boiled sea purslane tastes similar to green beans. It grows abundantly in the Keys and is widely cultivated as a vegetable in Eastern Asia.

SEA GRAPE (Cocolobo uvifera)

The sea grape tree is a small, squat tree which grows high on the beach and in coastal hammocks. Its leaves are shaped like large, flattened discs, smooth and glossy green on top; rough and lighter underneath—stiff and leathery. The trunk is light brown with mottled gray blotches. In the fall it bears long, compact clusters of small, hard velvety green grapes which soften and turn purple when ripe. Sea grapes are tangy, dry and not very meaty. The grapes are made into jam, jelly, pie and pastry filling.

COCOPLUM (Chrysobalanus icaco)
(pictured at top of page)

The cocoplum bush is small and densely spreading. Leaves are leathery, smooth, glossy, dark green, oval to round. The cocoplum bush bears small round fruit about one to two inches in diameter which can be white, light green, pale yellow, or purple when ripe. The fruit resembles a persimmon in taste and texture, leaving a cottony feeling in one’s mouth. Each plum contains a large seed. Cocoplum bushes grow near the ocean in sandy soil in the same area as sea grape. Cocoplum can be eaten right off the bush or made into marmalade, jam, or jelly.

SEA URCHIN
(Centrechinida)
(sea urchin roe, pictured at left)

A poor man’s caviar can be obtained from the sea urchin. Sea urchins abound in shallow waters where there are rocks and turtle grass. They feed on algae, plankton, or small crustaceans. Several varieties occur in the Keys: the inedible long-spined black urchin, the short-spined gray urchin, and the carrier urchin. Urchins grow up to five inches in diameter. When collecting them, where gloves and, if wading, tennis shoes. The only edible parts are the eggs and gonads which range in color from orange to yellow. To prepare, crack open urchin, remove and wash the roe carefully making sure to remove the intestines and other organs. Urchin roe may be eaten raw as caviar or steamed. Some West Indians mix the caviar with corn meal and spices, stuff the mixture back into the cleaned shell and steam.

SEA HERMIT CRAB (Paguridae)
(pictured at right)

Most crabs are well known for their edibility and prized as fish bait. When traveling through the Bahamas, I was told of the edibility of land hermit crabs. When I captured a large water hermit, I decided to take a chance and prepare him for dinner. I dropped the live hermit crab in boiling water for a few seconds. When he turned red, I removed him from the water and easily pulled him from his shell. The abdomen appeared to contain some water in addition to the tasty white muscle. So I slit the casing and removed the white meat which I rinsed before eating. The white meat in the claws was also very tasty.

These are just a few of the many edible plants and animals that inhabit the shallow offshore waters and the beaches of the Florida Keys. They are there for the taking if you are adventurous enough to try something different – something unusual. But before you try, be sure that you have positively identified the animal or plant as the edible variety. Also be sure to prepare live seafood as soon as possible to prevent its spoilage. Take only what you intend to eat that very night. And return any rocks or boards that you may have overturned in your search to their original position, so as not to disturb or kill the larval sea life that lives there.