Sea Vegetables

Sea vegetables (for our purpose) consists of edible seaweed and mosses. They have played an important role in the cuisine of traditional societies for thousands of years. Sea vegetables are classified by color into four families: Green Algae, Brown Algae, Red Algae, and Blue/Green Algae. Stretching back to ancient times, these algae have been harvested from oceans, lakes, and rivers for daily consumption. In the Far East, seaweed with names like Kombu, Wakame, Hijiki, Arame, Nori, and several other marine and fresh water varieties are gathered and sold around the world.

In the British Isles, harvested varieties included Tangle, Irish Moss, Sea-Whistle, Dulse, Driftweed, Purple Laver, and Sea Cabbage. Until very recent times, these and other varieties were popular among Celtic and English societies. A similar tradition existed in Scandinavia, Russia, Siberia, the Mediterranean region, the Iberian Peninsula, the African coastline, Southeast Asia, Australia, the Pacific Islands, and both the Atlantic and Pacific coastlines of North and South America.

The daily consumption of sea vegetables, however, has practically disappeared from contemporary life. This is all the more a pity because sea vegetables are generally among the least processed natural foods and the safest. While some species are malodorous, tough, or unpleasant to the taste, most varieties sold are pleasant tasting and satisfying. There are no toxic varieties and none are harmful to people or plants. After harvesting, seaweed should be washed immediately to remove the salt, dried quickly outside in the shade, and stored in dark, dry places. Treated this way, it will keep indefinitely. If gathered from clean shores and ocean beds that are far from industrial areas and toxic materials that may have seeped into the water, sea vegetables provide one of the cleanest sources of multiple (trace) minerals, vitamins, and fiber.

Offered by Ed