Species sheet · The Edible Ocean
common cuttlefish
It speaks in colour, and it is colour blind.
- The white seared fast on a plancha
- Slow-cooked in its ink, Sète-style
- In raw slivers when very fresh
- In French
- Seiche commune
- Scientific name
- Sepia officinalis
- In the water
- Benthic; from 0 to 242 m, mostly within 50 m; sandy-muddy coastal bottoms, moving offshore with the seasons.
- Season & buying
- March to July, when it moves inshore to spawn; look for a firm mantle and opaque flesh, never slimy.
- Common length
- ~49 cm
- How to identify it
- Oval body rimmed by one continuous fin
Shifting zebra stripes along the back
White chalky bone under the mantle
On the plate
Thick firm flesh, milder than squid, never rubbery if you cook it fast or slow.
Avoid: The middle ground, five to twenty minutes: that is exactly what toughens it.
It runs waves of colour across its skin to hypnotise a crab before striking, while being unable to see any colour itself.
In Umay recipes
2 Umay recipes call for it.
