One Jellyfish Pizza, Coming Up!

The chef at a restaurant in Italy opens a cooler and pulls out an ingredient that’s new to his kitchen: a jellyfish. He boils a pot of water and plops the slimy sea creature in—tentacles and all. This cooks the jellyfish and neutralizes its venom so the jellyfish can be safely consumed. After that, the chef chops, seasons, and serves the experimental dish to a group of scientists. They sample the chewy morsels, which taste briny like the sea.

Jellyfish aren’t currently found on European menus. But in recent years, their populations in the Mediterranean Sea have skyrocketed. Some scientists think the surplus of protein-rich jellies could be a potential new food source in the region.

At a restaurant in Italy, a chef boils a pot of water. He opens a cooler and pulls out an ingredient he hasn’t used before. It’s a squishy, slippery jellyfish! He drops the sea creature into the pot—tentacles and all.

Cooking the jellyfish removes its sting so it’s safe to eat. After that, the chef chops, seasons, and serves up the experimental dish. His diners are a group of scientists. They taste the chewy jellies, which are salty like the sea.

Jellyfish aren’t usually on the menu in Europe. But some scientists have started thinking they should be. Jellyfish populations in the Mediterranean Sea have been growing rapidly. That makes them a potential new food source in the region.

While jellyfish have been a staple of some Asian cuisines for thousands of years, they’re an unfamiliar ingredient in Europe. Antonella Leone is working to change that. She’s a food scientist at the Italian National Research Council’s Institute of Sciences of Food Production.

Leone’s research focuses on finding new ways to feed the world’s growing human population. It wasn’t until witnessing giant swarms of jellyfish, called blooms, gathering along the Italian seaside that Leone considered them as a potential food source in Europe.

But would people who have never tried jellyfish before be willing to eat them? After researching the food safety of certain jellyfish species, Leone began working with gourmet chefs to come up with jellyfish dishes that Europeans might be more accustomed to. Some examples include jellyfish that’s been fried, sautéed, or served in soup, salads, and pasta. Leone hopes someday the animals will become just as common on European plates as other seafoods are. Not only would that provide food for people but it might also address growing jellyfish numbers in Europe—and around the world.

Like other seafoods, jellyfish contain a lot of protein. Some Asian cultures have eaten them for thousands of years. But most people in Europe aren’t used to eating jellyfish. Antonella Leone is working to change that.

Leone is a food scientist at the Italian National Research Council. She researches new ways to feed the growing number of people in the world. On a recent trip to the seaside, she saw giant swarms of jellyfish in the water. That made her think they might make a good source of food in Europe.

But would people who hadn’t tried jellyfish before be willing to eat them? First, Leone did research on how to prepare jellyfish safely. Then she started working with professional chefs. They tried preparing jellyfish in ways Europeans might like. For example, jellyfish can be sautéed and served in a classic Italian pasta dish. Fried jellyfish can add crunch to a traditional salad or soup.

Other seafoods are common on European dinner plates. Leone hopes that one day jellyfish will be too. And providing food for people wouldn’t be the only benefit. Eating jellies could help control their numbers in Europe—and around the world.

Although jellyfish have the word “fish” in their name, they aren’t fish at all. The animals are invertebrates, which have no bones. In fact, these extremely simple animals are 95 percent water! The rest of a jellyfish is made up of muscle and collagen—the same protein that provides structure and support for tissues in the human body. These two components give jellyfish a rubbery, chewy texture, similar to that of squid, which is used in dishes like fried calamari.

Once out of water, jellyfish start to decay very quickly. If they are going to be served for human consumption, they must quickly be refrigerated, frozen, or dehydrated. Dehydration is a process that removes water from the jellyfish’s body. Current methods to dehydrate a jellyfish involve treating it with a chemical called alum, which contains the element aluminum. But the European Union has strict laws limiting aluminum in foods, as large amounts could be toxic. For this reason, authorities haven’t approved any jellyfish for consumption.

Recently, Leone and her team came up with a new way to safely preserve jellyfish without using alum. Instead, they dehydrate the animal using salts containing the element calcium. The innovation could help legalize jellyfish as a food in Europe, where big blooms are causing big problems.

Despite their name, jellyfish aren’t fish. They are invertebrates—animals with no bones. T their bodies are 95 percent water! The rest of a jellyfish is made up of muscle and a tough substance called collagen. These give jellyfish a rubbery, chewy texture. It’s similar to squid, which is used in dishes like fried calamari.

Jellyfish rot quickly once they’re out of the water. To stay safe to eat, they need to be refrigerated, frozen, or completely dried out. The most common way to dry jellyfish involves a powder containing the metal aluminum. But large amounts of aluminum can be toxic, so the European Union limits its use. That’s why authorities haven’t approved selling jellyfish as food in Europe. So Leone and her team are trying to find other ways to preserve it.

Recently, they came up with a new way to safely dry out jellyfish. They use substances containing the element calcium instead of aluminum. Many foods naturally contain calcium. Using it could help legalize jellyfish as a food in Europe.

Eating jellies would help with a big problem: jellyfish blooms. Blooms are masses of jellyfish that form when the animals multiply quickly. A bloom can cover thousands of square miles of ocean. In recent years, blooms have formed in waters around Asia, the Middle East, northern Europe, and the United States.

Jellyfish blooms can cover thousands of square miles of ocean. In places like Israel, Japan, the Philippines, Scotland, Sweden, and the United States, these hordes of goopy animals have shut down power plants. The swarms of jellies clog pipes that pull in seawater to cool machinery. Large masses of jellies also frustrate fishers by damaging nets and gumming up boat engines. And since some jellyfish have venomous stingers on their tentacles, they can make waters unsafe for swimmers and summertime beachgoers.

Jellyfish blooms may be growing more common. “There are definitely more reports of jellyfish blooms from more locations,” says Mark Q. Martindale, a marine biologist at the University of Florida. But he and other scientists are unsure whether that’s because blooms are really increasing or because there’s better reporting of the occurrences.

However, Martindale says human activities and changing climate patterns are disrupting ocean ecosystems. And that could be causing jellyfish to appear in places where they haven’t been spotted before.

Blooms of jellyfish can damage fishing nets and clog boat engines. Since some jellyfish sting, they can make beaches unsafe for swimming too. They can even clog pipes that pull in seawater to cool machinery at power plants. Jellyfish blooms have temporarily shut down plants in at least six different countries.

Jellyfish blooms may be growing more common. “There are definitely more reports of jellyfish blooms from more locations,” says Mark Q. Martindale. He’s a marine biologist at the University of Florida. Blooms could actually be increasing, he says, or people could just be reporting them more. What is for sure: human activities and climate change are disrupting the ocean. That could be causing jellyfish to appear in places they haven’t been before.