The Other Seafood

Not every food from the sea has tentacles, shells, or fins.  Even vegetarians can benefit from sustainable ocean harvest. Seaweed, or marine alga, is found all over the world, and has fed humankind for millennia.   Of the thousands of species of seaweed that are known to exist, at least 110 of them are edible, and none is known to be poisonous.  Marine algae are one of the richest plant-based sources of calcium, and excellent sources of iodine; different varieties also contain mineral nutrients such as potassium, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, selenium, and others, as well as high levels of protein in some, e.g. spirulina.

Here’s a quick picture quiz – identify these common species!  (Answers at the bottom).

The American diet has received most of its culinary seaweed culture from Japan, Korea, and China, where seaweed cultivation operations are major industries.  While most Americans are familiar with wrapping sushi rolls in brittle sheets of nori, not everyone is aware that many desserts and gels use agar agar as a vegetarian gelatin substitute.  Agars have the advantage of being able to solidify while warm, and don’t require refrigeration in order to set.

If you’re curious about seaweed foods but not quite ready to take the leap to eating a salad of something that looks like it washed up on the beach, try kelp pickles first.  They’re just as zingy and tasty as those made from cucumbers or other more familiar garden vegetables grown in dirt.  They’re also just as simple to make.

Kelp Pickles

You will need:

• 5 quarts bull kelp
• 2 cups onions, thinly sliced
• 5 cups vinegar
• 5 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp celery seeds
• 2 tsps mustard seeds