The unstoppable rise of seaweed in the supermarket
A growing number of specialists are now offering sustainably-sourced algae. One of the earliest on the scene was Just Seaweed, run by Iain Mckellar, a former truck driver, on the Isle of Bute since 2007. In the past few years he has been joined by Edinburgh-based Mara Seaweed, which harvests at four locations in East Neuk of Fife and Argyll, The Cornish Seaweed Company, harvesting on behalf of Tesco, and Atlantic Kitchen, which imports seaweed from Ireland, France and Spain. Business, apparently, is booming: Mara Seaweed, whose packs of smoky-flavoured dulse, umami-rich kombu and a salty-sweet “shony” blend are available from Ocado, saw demand increase 73% in the last quarter of 2014. It is hoping to triple sales in 2015.
UK waters hold more than 600 varieties. Broadly speaking, they can be categorised into red, green and brown algae. Dulse is red; the milder sea lettuce and gutweed – often used for Chinese fried seaweed – are green. Kombu and sea spaghetti are brown. It can be used fresh, but unless you’re foraging for your own, this can be harder to come by; Mckellar sells it online, and says the brown varieties last up to three weeks in the fridge, the green and red a week. But it also works well dried, either as is, or rehydrated in fresh water.
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