• General & History -
• Varieties -
• Cleaning, Cutting & Cooking Small Squid -
• Cleaning, Cutting & Cooking Large Squid -
• Health & Nutrition -
• Links -

Squid are Cephalopod mollusks (Cephalopoda) and related to Octopi but only at the Subclass level (Coleoidea) so it's not real close. They became a distinct line from other Cephalopods about 400 million years ago.

Squid is a favored seafood in Italy, Southeast Asia, and other countries with long coastlines, but has never been that popular with Americans. Once scarce, it can now be easily found in markets serving Philippine and other Southeast Asian communities.

Squid contain a sack of black ink which they use to create a screen when escaping from predators. In Italy the ink is used to dye pasta black and it is used as a dye in some recipes. In the U.S. you can only get this ink by buying fresh squid, but in my experience those sold here contain very little ink.

Squid are not marketed by variety, only by size. That limits you to choosing (by size) fresh, dried, or otherwise prepared.

Fresh Squid
Pictured at the top left are small and "jumbo" squid typical of those found in Asian groceries in Southern California. The "jumbo" size can be up to 2-1/2 pounds but averages about 1-3/4 pounds. Bodies (exclusive of head and tentacles) run between 9 and 13 inches long. Fresh raw squid can be ordered in sushi bars as "ika" and is one of my favorites.

Frozen Squid
Frozen squid can be found in two forms: rings (small squid) and calamari steaks (large squid). These have been cleaned, bleached and parboiled so require very little additional cooking. Thaw and treat as fresh squid but with the briefest possible cooking to prevent them from turning to rubber. Calamari steaks should be fried or grilled 1 to 1-1/2 minutes per side.

Dried Squid
Dried squid can be found in practically any market serving an East or Southeast Asian community - it's a popular snack just chewed on as is. Shown in the photo are sizes "XL" (15 inch body) and "M" (7 inch body). Back in the '60s these would be piled in bins and barrels in Chinatown, but today they are mostly in plastic bags and refrigerated.

Cooking instructions will be found at:
Cleaning, Cutting & Cooking Small Squid
Cleaning, Cutting & Cooking Large Squid.

Health & Nutrition

Squid is very high in selenium and high in phosphorus, riboflavin and vitamin B12.

Squid is also very high in cholesterol. That was once a big scare but it is now known the body manufactures its own cholesterol and dietary cholesterol has very little effect. In fact, populations that eat large amounts of high cholesterol shrimp and squid tend to have a low incidence of coronary disease.