Edible seaweed

Seaweed with sea urchin soup, Korea

Edible seaweed are algae that can be eaten and used in the preparation of food. It typically contains high amounts of fiber and they contain a complete protein.^[1] They may belong to one of several groups of multicellular algae: the red algae, green algae, and brown algae.

Seaweeds are also harvested or cultivated for the extraction of alginate, agar and carrageenan, gelatinous substances collectively known as hydrocolloids or phycocolloids. Hydrocolloids have attained commercial significance, especially in food production as food additives.^[2] The food industry exploits the gelling, water-retention, emulsifying and other physical properties of these hydrocolloids.

Most edible seaweeds are marine algae whereas most freshwater algae are toxic. Some marine algae contain acids that irritate the digestion canal, while some others can have a laxative and electrolyte-balancing effect.^[3]

The dish often served in western Chinese restaurants as 'Crispy Seaweed' is not seaweed but cabbage that has been dried and then fried.^[4]

Distribution

Seaweeds are used extensively as food in coastal cuisines around the world. Seaweed has been a part of diets in China, Japan, and Korea since prehistoric times.^[5] Seaweed is also consumed in many traditional European societies, in Iceland and western Norway, the Atlantic coast of France, northern and western Ireland, Wales and some coastal parts of South West England,^[6] as well as Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. The Māori people of New Zealand traditionally used a few species of red and green seaweed.^[7]

Nutrition and uses

Seaweed contains high levels of iodine relative to other foods.^[8] In the Philippines, Tiwi, Albay residents discovered a new pancit or noodles made from seaweed, which can be cooked into pancit canton, pancit luglug, spaghetti or carbonara and is claimed to have health benefits such as being rich in calcium, magnesium and iodine.^[9]

Polysaccharides in seaweed may be metabolized in humans through the action of bacterial gut enzymes. Such enzymes are frequently produced in Japanese population due to their consumption of seaweeds but rarer in North-American population.^[10]

In some parts of Asia, nori 海苔 (in Japan), zicai 紫菜 (in China), and gim 김 (in Korea), sheets of the dried red alga Porphyra are used in soups or to wrap sushi or onigiri. Chondrus crispus (commonly known as Irish moss) is another red alga used in producing various food additives, along with Kappaphycus and various gigartinoid seaweeds.

Japanese cuisine has seven types of seaweed identified by name, and thus the term for seaweed in Japanese is used primarily in scientific applications, and not in reference to food.

• 

  Sea grapes (Caulerpa lentillifera) are cultivated in ponds in the Philippines^[1]

• 

  Sea grapes are usually eaten raw with vinegar, as a snack or in a salad^[2]

• 

  Roasted sheets of nori are used to wrap sushi

• 

  Kombu

• 

  Cakes and Food Made of Seaweed by Kubo Shunman, 19th century

1. ^ Dawes, Clinton J. (1998). Marine botany. New York: John Wiley. ISBN 0-471-19208-2. 
2. ^ Lato, the strange sea salad The trade of the Caulerpa lentillifera in Coron, Philippines

Common edible seaweeds

Common edible seaweeds^[11] include:

See also

• Aquaculture of giant kelp
• Seaweed farming
• Specialty foods

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Edible seaweed.

• Seaweeds used as human food an FAO report

Seafood Fish Anchovy Billfish Carp Catfish Cod Eel Flatfish Flounder Herring Mackerel Salmon Sardine Shark Sturgeon Swordfish Tilapia Trout Tuna Whitebait Shellfish Abalone Cockles Crab meat Crayfish Geoduck Krill Lobster Mussels Oysters Scallops Shrimp Sea urchins Crustaceans Molluscs Other seafood Edible seaweed Jellyfish Marine mammals Octopus Sea cucumber Squid Whale meat Sea vegetables Algae List of seafoods more... Processed seafood Caviar Dried fish Canned fish Cod liver oil Cured fish Fermented fish Fish fillet Fish head Fish oil Fish sauce Fish paste Fish steak Fish stock Lutefisk Salted fish Shark liver oil Shrimp paste Smoked fish Stockfish Surimi Roe more... Seafood dishes List of seafood dishes List of crab dishes List of fish dishes Bisque Chowder Fish and chips Fish pie Fish soup Fried fish Raw fish Seafood boil Shark fin soup Sushi more... Health hazards Ciguatera Fish diseases and parasites Mercury in fish Metagonimiasis Scombroid food poisoning Seafood allergy Shellfish poisoning Advisory services Seafood mislabelling Sustainable seafood Sustainable seafood advisory lists and certification Animal welfare Declawing of crabs Eyestalk ablation Eating live seafood Live fish trade Pain in fish Pain in crustaceans Shark finning Related topics Fish preservation Fish processing Gathering seafood by hand History of seafood History of sushi List of seafood companies Raw bar Salmon cannery Seafood restaurant Umami