BRITS could be living near a goldmine after rare barnacles worth a fortune have been discovered washed up on a UK coast.
Ruth Crofts discovered hundreds of extraordinary white-shelled creatures wrapped across the trunk of a tree whereas on a stroll in Pembrokeshire, Wales.
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The trunk – believed to be from a palm tree or coconut tree – was thought to have come ashore at Newgale after latest storms and moist climate battered the nation.
It meant Ruth stumbled upon her discovery of rare goose barnacles, with the ocean creatures worth a small fortune.
The coveted barnacles are served as a luxurious deal with at high-end seafood eating places and might demand excessive costs of up to £80 a kilo.
Ruth instructed South Wales Argus: “I noticed the unique traveller on Newgale after it had clearly obtained washed up by the excessive winds.
“From the form of it is base I believed it to be both a palm tree or a coconut tree.
“It has very clearly been at sea for a appreciable time.
“It had been colonised by a host of goose barnacles and actually was fairly a sight on the pebble financial institution.”
The rare species of barnacle are loved in international locations corresponding to Portugal and Spain, the place they’re referred to as percebes with costs rising to up to £300 per kilo.
Every alien-like barnacle is claimed to be worth round £2.
Following Ruth’s discovery, seaside explorers are reporting additional sightings of goose barnacles alongside Pembrokeshire’s rocky seashores.
Nevertheless, specialists imagine the Pembrokeshire shellfish might have been too small for eating tables.
Additionally they mentioned the barnacles had been washed up for too lengthy to be edible, so aren’t bringing in excessive costs as a delicacy anymore.
The barnacles are described as having a lengthy fleshy stem that appears like a neck and a chalky white laborious shell that homes the principle physique with their legs.
The creatures are often discovered alongside the shoreline of North America.
And people who have tried the delicacy say it tastes like a cross between lobster and clam, with a texture much like octopus.
British chef Gordon Ramsay has beforehand featured goose barnacles in his Channel 4 collection The F Phrase.
The one technique to harvest the barnacles is to painstakingly pry them off a rock.
And the celeb chef came upon first-hand how harmful the harvesting of goose barnacles is.
Fishermen usually soar from their boats to razor-sharp rocks, the place the winds are the strongest and the tide is the very best.
In his present, Ramsay recommends cooking them in salt water with bay leaf in addition to solely cooking the delicacy for one minute.
He warned that placing them within the scorching pan any longer leads to them tasting like a “mouthful of elastic band”.
The skilled chef additionally revealed his secret to getting the barnacles out of their shells – he says they need to be peeled whereas heat.
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