24 replies to this topic

[MiSh]

calamari is the term name for the group that squid and cuttlefish are in.
so they are really one and the same  

[glen]

MIsh. as far as I know, cuttlefish are NOT called calamari and are NOT called squid.

they are related to squid/calamari however and fall within the cephalopod family along with the octopus.

glen     

[pw-squid]

I've seen quite a few people saying that Cuttlefish are even better tasting than Squid. If I catch one I'll certainly be trying it for taste.

[aok47]

In the "Recipes & Cleaning Squid" forum you'll find a number of posts related to cuttlefish

AK

[badluck]

:D I caught a cuttle fish yesterday and It tasted very nice. I cooked it the same as squid.Cleaning was a bit of messy affair with ink every where but I got there.

[Jazman]

I think that the Greek calamari and our Southern Calamari are the same/very similar species.  I have a greek cookbook at home, and all the pictures of squid look identical to the calamari I catch here in Melbourne.  
Can anyone who has fished for squid in both Greece and Australia shed some light on this?

Cheers
Jazman

[aok47]

Hi Jazman,

I haven't fished for calamari/squid in greece but whenever i go for a holiday i always make a point of visiting the main fish-market    

Now greeks have 3 different words for calamari, squid and cuttlefish:

calamari = calamari
squid = thrapsalo
cuttlefish = soopia

our southern calamari is identical to what they call "calamari", our arrow squid is identical to what they call "thrapsalo", and our cuttlefish is identical to what they call "soopia"

so there you go  :blink:

the tastes are no different to the equivalent species in australia however one trick they sometimes use in the fishmarkets there is to immerse squid/calamari in very salty solution to preserve it so it doesnt go off as quick. so if you end up with a really salty bit of cooked squid/calamari on your plate and you havent added salt yourself there is a good chance they have done this "dodge". never come across it here in australia, yet.

AK

[Jazman]

Thanks AK, you are a champ!
Cheers for your very detailed response, you have totally cleared up my question.......  I have never been to Greece, but would love to go one day.

I will keep an eye out for dodgy salty squid!

Good luck on the weekend if you get out on the water (and I hope you don't catch too many thrapsalo!)

Jazman

[Mr_Willy]

Cuttlefish are much harder to clean and have a sweeter taste than calamari, i prefer calamari..........
Cuttlefish will also feel bigger than they appear as they fill themselves up with water, and can push the water out, otherwise they will hold it and become very very heavy, then the captor will cop it once they are on the jetty.........

[scifly]

This tends to be the problem with common names. No, the squid called calamari in Australia are not the same species as the squid in the Northern Hemisphere. Yes, they are very similar and probably in the same family. Basically squid come in 2 broad categories: the inshore or neritic species that form spawning aggregations and lay eggs on the bottom of the ocean (these are the typical broadfin calamari type); secondly you get the ocean squid that often do large scale migrations and are more of a deepwater species (these are the smaller finned arrow squid type). Cuttlefish are different again in that their "backbone" is much larger than in squid and consists of quite calcified material (used often in bird cages). Octopus are different again as are nautilus. The difference in market price may be due to the calamari being jig caught and the arrow squid being trawled. Generally, jig-caught squid is of a higher quality with less physical damage than trawl caught. Additionally unless trawls are of short duration and squid targeted, the squid can become squashed in the bottom of the codend of the net. Hope this clarifies some issues
Len