Anyone For Seaweed?

Fresh seaweed is poised to become a popular ingredient in home kitchens thanks to supermarket and celebrity fans.

16:44 11 April 2016

Fresh seaweed, which you probably know as a rubbery wig-like plant you kick along the beach, looks poised to become a popular ingredient in home kitchens after chef celebrities promote it and supermarkets such as Waitrose has announced that they will sell the nutrient-rich wild sea green. 

 

Noma chef Rene Redzepi said that the seaweed is "one of the few untapped natural resources we've yet to really start eating."

 

"Seaweed is one of this year's biggest trends in veg," says Simona Cohen Vida, a Waitrose product developer. "Our customers like to experiment in the kitchen, so we predict that seaweed will be top of the shopping list this spring." 

 

Meanwhile, Marcu Harrison, who recently published a book entitled Cooking with Seaweed: 101+ Ways, warned: "Be safe. Know which seaweeds are safe to eat, work out what the tide times are like, and wear strong boots or wellingtons – preferably non-slip – since most seaweed grows in low-lying rocky environments on the shoreline. Any seaweed that you want to eat should be attached to a rock. Seaweed washed on to the beach is not fit or safe to eat."