For those who hesitate to sample this delicious vegetable, the common wisdom is: if you eat ice cream, you’ve already eaten seaweed. The gelatinous qualities of seaweeds, especially Irish moss and agar varieties, mean they are widely used in foods for thickening and gelling. Seaweeds favor rocky ocean shores and are currently farmed in Asian countries, Australia, and both U.S. coasts. Because of its delicacy, the bulk of edible seaweed is sold in dried form. The most familiar form of dried seaweed to many is the dark green wrappers used in sushi. Seaweeds come in red, brown, and green forms.
What to Look For:
1. Fresh seaweed should look crisp and smell of the ocean.
2. Dried seaweed should have a shiny surface and even color.
3. Dried powdered seaweed products should be free of lumps, suggesting moisture.
Seaweed Storage and Preparation Tips:
1. Refrigerate fresh seaweed in sealed container. Plan to use the day of purchase.
2. Rinse fresh seaweed lightly under cold running water and pick over to remove any possible gravel, shell-fragments, or sand.
3. Dried seaweed products can be shelf-stored or refrigerated. Follow package directions.
Cooking with Seaweed:
East Coast Americans may be familiar with the oceany tang of seaweed from clam, lobster, and other seafood bakes. In New England, seaweed comprises the final layer put into the clambake-pit. As Americans explore Asian cuisines, seaweed appears as a vegetable accompaniment to fish or alone as a salad. Seaweeds have formed a part of Asian cuisines for centuries, steamed with fish, stir-fried with other vegetables, used to wrap sushi and as the main ingredient in miso soup. Seaweed can even be found in candy.
Seaweed also figures in Irish and Welsh cuisines. Irish moss seaweed, simmered in milk and sweetened produces a blancmange, or milk pudding. Called “laver,” seaweed is cooked like spinach and also rolled in oats to make Welsh “laverbread.”
Those exploring the uses of seaweed may wish to begin with a package of dried seasoning flakes, which bring a slightly salty, tangy, something-else-special flavor to rice, pasta, soups and other dishes.
Seaweed Nutrition Highlights:
Although seaweed cannot be described as low-sodium, it contains high levels of potassium, and iodine, which is necessary to thyroid function. It also contains good levels of calcium, iron and magnesium, needed for bone strength and nerve formation.