To Prepare Freshly Harvested Kina

Te Ao Hou, September 1965, Page 3

To Prepare Freshly Harvested Kina Crack the shell open by piercing the centre or navel of the kina with a butcher's knife. Hold the kina steady with the left hand and press the knife down firmly with the right hand, at the same time levering the knife to the right then to the left. Since the shell is brittle, it should then open in two. Inside you will find a cone-shaped mass of fine teethlike shell, a colourless salty fluid, Five tongues, a membranous substance purplish in colour, and a quantity of what appears to be fine particles of grit. Use a teaspoon to scoop the tongues from the shell, being careful not to include the membrane or grit. Place the tongues in a jar, and discard the shells and remaining contents. Half a sugarbag of average-sized kina will fill approximately a one quart jar. Kina prepared as above is called kina poha and will keep in the refrigerator from three to four days. Kina poha may be eaten uncooked, and is often spread on slices of buttered bread. Maoris in the early days used a large hollowed-out kina shell as a container for poha, and also sometimes cooked it in this container. They did this by placing the shell on the burning embers of an open fire, and leaving it until the contents were thoroughly heated through. The kinaki or complement to this dish was boiled or steamed kumara.