Lucifer's Fingers: An expensive, precious and dangerous delicacy to achieve.

We'll understand perfectly if you were startled by the title of this story - after all, anyone would be surprised to eat something known as "Lucifer's Fingers." Also called as truffles of the sea, these percepts (species of crustacean) are considered a luxury delicacy in Portugal, being famous precisely for the difficulty in getting them.

The macabre name comes from its appearance: the food actually looks like a finger with nails, briefly reminiscent of a pig's paw. A dish of food can cost up to 100 euros - the equivalent of $ 400, and, according to tradition, should be enjoyed without any seasoning or sauce. The method of preparation is also ritualistic: the fingers should be boiled for one minute, the time necessary to pray the Lord's Prayer.

At mealtime, no cutlery: Lucifer's Fingers should be eaten with their own fingers. First, you remove the scaly skin to reveal your flesh and only then consume it. Nails are actually limestone, so they are not edible.

The salty price of the delicacy is justified by its rarity. It is impossible to plant or raise them in a controlled environment: they only grow and multiply on rocks in the intermareal zone, that is, the region that suffers from strong instability of high and low tides. The plankton that travels along the waves are responsible for feeding and making Lucifer's Fingers what the Portuguese like so much.

Waves of Satan

In an interview with the BBC, scavenger hunters explained how risky their profession is. Due to the unstable sea, many professionals end up being crushed against the rocks by sudden waves or simply drowning. Some prefer to go down the cliffs with a rope, while others use boats to approach the areas to be searched and swim in sync with the waves.

“When you dive to pick up and ignore the unpredictability of the ocean, you will probably be injured or killed. There are many cases of divers who hit their heads and drowned. The lucky ones break an arm or a leg. Not to mention the cuts caused by the stones, ”João Rosário, an experienced hunter, told the British newspaper.

There is even a common saying among such professionals: "Never turn your back on God when you dive for Lucifer's fingers." Both of the above techniques have their strengths and weaknesses, but both are equally dangerous and a seemingly quiet day at work can turn into a tragedy.

This danger has forced the local government to regulate the activity (each collector can only hunt up to 15 kg a day), but this does not prevent some braver people from defying the law and hunting illegally. Divers often pair up to lower their risks and save each other in the event of an accident - so you have to rely completely on your partner.

And what is the taste?

We know what, at this point in the championship, you are wondering what the Fingers of Lucifer taste like. According to BBC Walker Reporter Piet van Niekerk, the taste of the Percepts recalls the feeling of "resting on a sunny day on the beach" with "the wind touching your face and you smelling the sea." It's a pretty poetic description, isn't it? And would you dare to taste this bizarre delicacy known as the fingers of the devil?