An overview of the product

  • A pack usually contains 10-30 seashells
  • Salt isn’t necessary when cooking this dish.
  • A total of two main dishes could be prepared from one pack

Goosenecks, also called good barnacles, are commonly collected from hazardous coastlines. At this price, it’s understandable why they are doing it, so pay up and be grateful! Approximately 7 cm is the average length of a large barnacle.

Once you’ve cooked them, it’s only a matter of putting them in boiling water for a couple of minutes, peeling them while they’re still warm, and serving them up. Your pack will contain some actual rock because the barnacles stick firmly to the rock and if removed would ruin the meat.

What are gooseneck barnacles?

It is impossible to miss Goose barnacles. The goose barnacles live attached to rocks, vessels, buoys, or floating debris. Several have appeared on rocks found on the Isles of Scilly, where marine wildlife thrives. As a closely related species, the buoy barnacle (lepas fascicularis) constructs spongy ‘buoys’ rather than attaching to objects.

To identify goose barnacles, have a stem with a long fleshy portion that looks like a black neck and is also known as gooseneck barnacles. The barnacle’s main body is held in place by delicate chalky white shells that protect its fleshy black stalk.

In the same family as crabs and lobsters, barnacles are crustaceans. The goose barnacle shell resembled barnacle goose heads. The goose barnacles filter feed detritus and plankton, which they capture using their unique legs. It had never been seen before, but no one knew what a barnacle goose nest was.

A delicacy in many places around the world, barnacle geese was once a lucrative trade for ships passing through Cornwall carrying goose barnacles. It was customary to scrape goose barnacles off boat hulls and trade them for a meal.

Gooseneck barnacles: where do they come from?

A gooseneck barnacle was once mistaken for goose eggs to harvest these pricey and dangerous barnacles. It costs up to £110 a pound and is among the priciest seafood worldwide. An estimated £430 could be made from a kilogram of gooseneck barnacles in Europe. This delicacy is available in limited quantities, so its price is based on the risk a fisherman must take to obtain it.

Following storms, goose barnacles latch onto flotsam floating on our shores. Most likely, you’ll find this type of seafood off Spanish coasts like Costa da Morte. As its name implies, gooseneck barnacles like existing on extremely sharp rocks, in turbulent waters. A riskier location yields tastier barnacles, which makes gathering them more challenging.

Those who fish gooseneck barnacles are called Percebeiros and separate the shellfish from the rocks by diving and swimming below the surface.

What do gooseneck barnacles taste like?

It is said that gooseneck barnacles have a delicious taste. According to some, the seafood tastes similar to crab, while others think it tastes like scallops. In texture, gooseneck barnacles resemble the insides of soft-shell clams or octopuses.

There is some evidence that the texture of the shellfish is chewy, while others claim it has a briny taste. Despite their unusual appearance, these sea foods taste quite delicious. Try these unique crustaceans for a culinary journey that will blow your tastebuds away.