Sea Kelp

What is Sea Kelp and how is it used?

Sea kelp are large seaweeds (algae), belonging to the brown algae and classified in the order Laminariales. Despite their appearance they are not grouped with the normal aquatic or land plants (kingdom Plantae), but instead are included in either kingdom Protista or Chromista. There are about 30 different genera. Kelp grows in underwater forests (kelp forests) in clear, shallow oceans, requiring nutrient-rich water below about 20 °C. It offers protection to some sea creatures, or food for others. It is known for its high growth rate — the genus Macrocystis and Nereocystis luetkeana grow as fast as half a metre a day.

Through the 19th Century, the word "kelp" was closely associated with seaweeds that could be burned to obtain soda ash (primarily sodium carbonate). The seaweeds used included species from both the orders Laminariales and Fucales. The word "kelp" was also used directly to refer to these processed ashes.

There are many positive signs that highlight health benefits of sea kelp from it’s ability to regulate the thyroid, to it’s ability to help stave off the common cold or even the influenza virus. There are also many topical benefits of kelp when it is extracted and made available in its liquid form.

Digitata Laminaria is renowned as the most prized sea kelp on the planet. Growing wild in the pristine waters of Nova Scotia, this species of kelp contains the highest levels of vitamins and minerals to provide an optimal Sea kelp Health Benefit. The availability of kelp health products is becoming more and more common, as studies and reports emerge extolling the virtues of this amazing and abundant plant. Kelp can be eaten raw, you can find it now in pill and capsule form, however the latest technology which provides the greatest kelp health benefit due to it’s greater bio-availability, is liquid kelp.

Certification of these Sea kelp Health Benefits are derived from:

1- Journal of Nutrition February 2005

2- Greatest Bio-availability - Liquid Sea Kelp is assimilated far quicker than pills or capsules

Breast Cancer: The Connection of Iodine, Thyroid Problems altered by Kelp Health Benefits Breast cancer is one of the most familiar health risks women face, that can see a kelp health benefit. Mortality rates have not changed significantly since records started to be kept in the 1920s.  Surgery, chemotherapy, mammography, and radiation have not altered the mortality rate. Eighty five percent of women who develop breast cancer will die of causes directly related to breast cancer. (Source: Dr. David Derry)

Dr. Derry’s hypotheses of sea kelp health benefits, are founded on extended studies of published medical papers in conjunction with his experience as a clinician, and are not just his opinions. Studies are currently underway involving the effects of organic iodine from kelp on cancer prevention and reduction - several studies are exhibiting very positive Kelp Health Benefits of natural kelp products. Because breast cancer rates worldwide carry on to increasing, more people are interested in early intervention or prevention.

Dr. Derry advises maintaining our natural immune system with small-scale daily dosages of naturally occurring iodine from sea kelp, and improving metabolising wellness by renormalising suitable thyroid levels, capitalising on natures Kelp Health Benefits.

Realizing that a diet rich in sea kelp might lessen the danger of estrogen-dependent diseases like Breast Cancer, health researchers at UCLA Berkeley, demanded a significant increase in scientific research into sea kelp health benefits.

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Eating Kelp

This food additive is the dehydrated and ground product prepared from different species of kelp; Macrocystis pyrifera, Laminaria digitata, Laminaria saccharina, and Laminaria cloustoni. Giant kelp is one of the fastest growing plants in the world. When conditions are good, kelp can grow two feet per day! Giant kelp prefers water temperature in the 50-65 degree (F) range. Kelp occur at and below low-tide level in cool temperate regions throughout the world. They are a group of large brown seaweeds that live on the rocky sea bed as far down as sunlight penetration will allow. The plants often grow together in large numbers to form dense forests, usually composed of a single kelp species. A giant kelp plant can live up to six years. The plant is continuously pushing up new fronds to the surface, while the older fronds break off. Reaching lengths of more than 100 feet / 30 meters, it is the largest marine algae.

The rainforest of the ocean
The kelp forest has a high production and very high biological diversity. Kelp forests are among the most productive and species-rich ecosystems in the world. Kelp plants create a structural complexity throughout the water column that provides habitat for many kinds of fish, invertebrates, and other algae. This makes the kelp forest an amazing place to scuba dive. If coral reefs are said to be the cities of the ocean, the kelp forests have to be the rain forest of the ocean. In the shadows within the kelp forest hundreds of species of fishes and invertebrates ply their trades. The kelp forest also offers a great place to grow offspring. Many vulnerable larvae of fish are spending their formative months in the kelp forest instead of having to face the dangers of the open ocean. Just as in the rain forest on land, the kelp forest houses different species at different levels. While some fish thrive under the canopy, other animals make their lives further down in the aquatic forest. Various predatory snails and gaily coloured nudibranchs graze on the stem and the kelp leaves. Within the labyrinth of the kelp forest many shrimp, crabs, sea stars and anemones also find their food and housing. Scientists have counted up to 100.000 life forms on a single kelp.

Kelp harvesting
Kelp harvesting takes place in several countries around the world. The harvesting of kelp for manufacture of food additives and agrochemical products is a significant business in Asia, Europe and parts of North America. Giant kelp has been harvested off the southern California coast for more than 90 years. In the 1970's, yearly harvests of more than 170,000 tons supported a California kelp industry worth $40 million. Also Norway is harvesting kelp on a large-scale base. 170,000 tons are harvested on the Norwegian west-coast every year. Kelp harvesting is undertaken by tug-sized custom-built vessels with open holds the size of large caravans. Kelp harvesting is managed on a rotational basis, ensuring that each area is harvested only once every 4 years to allow regrowth of the plants. The kelp dredge itself resembles a huge, iron garden rake, 3m wide and with elongated spiked teeth, which is carried along the sea bed on raised skis. The weight of the dredge as it is pulled forward rips dozens of kelp plants from the rock, holdfast and all, which are then caught between the teeth. At the end of a harvesting run, the dredge may have been drawn 50-250m along the sea bed, and have over a tonne of plants hanging in a compact mass from its teeth. The process at the factory begins with the harvested seaweed being thoroughly washed in sea-water to remove sand, silt, shells and small stones. Rotary drum dryers are used to dry the seaweed, to be processed into seaweed meal.

Resource management
Kelp harvesting is not without criticism. There has been and is in progress several studies to reveal the impact of commercial harvesting. Kelp harvesting impacts on invertebrate, sea bird and other marine mammal populations has not been satisfactorily investigated. Invertebrates, of all the groups of species that rely on kelp forests for their habitat, may be the most affected by kelp harvesting. In Norway the Institute of Marine Research (IMR) started a long term project in 2003 to investigate the effect of kelp harvesting. According to IMR only about 0,3 % of Norway's kelp are harvested, but up to 40 % are eaten by sea urchins. Nevertheless, disappearing kelp forests may contribute to the depletion of fish stocks, as the kelp forest is a nursery for juvenile fish, and also major feeding grounds for blue water species. Less fish also could mean fewer sea birds. It will take some time before this study and others around the world can give satisfactory answer on weather commercial kelp harvesting is sustainable or not.

To read more of Arnold Weisz's articles about travel, scuba diving, environment and food, see Water Ventures.

Flavors from the deep, and they're good for you

Seaweeds have nutrients that rival those of their earthbound counterparts. They cook up easy, too.

A vegetarian restaurant on the Mendocino coast has begun serving a six-course "sea vegetable dinner," featuring sea palm, nori, dulse and wakame -- different forms of seaweed.

Though they're not your typical fare in the U.S., fresh sea vegetables are eaten all over the world by those who live close to the source.

Asian cuisines feature the most seaweed, but it's also found on the menu in Scandinavia, Scotland and Peru. In Nova Scotia, they dine on sea parsley, or dulse; in northeast Siberia they eat kelp harvested from the Bering Sea.

It's a bit of a misnomer to call them vegetables -- seaweeds are algae, and most are not considered members of the plant kingdom. Nonetheless, the nutrients found in seaweeds rival those of their terrestrial counterparts.

Seaweeds thrive in a mineral-rich environment -- and absorb an impressive array of these nutrients, including calcium, iron, magnesium, copper, iodine and zinc. Sea vegetables also contain small amounts of fat with a healthful ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids, particularly in the case of dulse. Seaweeds are also one of the few vegetable sources of vitamin B12 -- a boon for strict vegetarians who have difficulty taking in enough of it.

Because they're exposed every day to potentially damaging ultraviolet light, seaweeds also produce a host of antioxidants in the form of protective carotenoid pigments and the vitamins C and E.

One unusual pigment in seaweed -- fucoxanthin, a carotenoid found in kelp -- was found in a 2005 study to help reduce body fat in rodents. Researchers at Hokkaido University in Japan fed mice and rats a fucoxanthin-supplemented diet for four weeks, resulting in significant drops in body weight and body fat compared with control animals that were fed the same amount of chow but no supplement. The scientists determined that fucoxanthin leads to an increase in the production of a protein called UCP-1 in fat tissue, which causes the body to burn extra calories by generating heat.

Unlike land plants, which are rich in starch and cellulose, seaweeds store their carbohydrates as less-familiar polysaccharides -- carrageenan and agar (in red seaweed), alginate, laminarin and fucoidan (in the brown) and xylans and ulvans (in the green). As well as providing fiber, some of these polysaccharides may offer other benefits as well. Fucoidan has been particularly well-studied in cell culture and animals, and has been shown to have anti-tumor, anticoagulant, antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties.

Chances are you consume more seaweed compounds than you realize, even if sushi isn't part of your daily diet. Because of their water-holding properties, many of the unusual carbohydrates (particularly carrageenan, agar and alginate) are extracted from seaweeds and used to thicken a variety of foods, including soy milk, chocolate milk, ice cream, yogurt, soups, salad dressings and jellies. These natural thickeners can contribute soluble fiber to the diet.

If you're interested in adding more seaweed to your diet, Asian restaurants are probably your best place to find fresh and dried varieties. The familiar dark sushi wrappers are made from dried red algae, and dried seaweed flakes are used to season many dishes.

Read full story [LA Times]

The Many Unknown Benefits Of Kelp

For those of you who take vitamins, you're probably familiar with the common vitamins contained in your standard "take one for the day and you're done" pill. You may even be familiar with some of the minerals as well. But very few people are aware of, or even know, that your better variety of vitamin comes with a mostly disrespected mineral by the name of kelp. Oh, if only people knew how important kelp is to our daily lives. Yes, this mostly misunderstood mineral, is more important to our bodies than the average person knows.

But why? What's in it? After all, isn't kelp just some sea weed? Well, kelp is a lot more than that. But the reasons that kelp is so beneficial to us comes down to two elements that are found in kelp.

The first is iodine. Yeah, that same iodine that mom used to put on your cuts when you were a kid. That same iodine that burned like the devil. But guess what? It healed your cut pretty quick, didn't it? Well, kelp has a great deal of iodine in it. And no, you don't have to bust open your vitamin pill and spread the contents all over that nasty scratch you got in the backyard while weeding. Iodine works wonders from inside your body as well.

Without getting too technical, iodine is important for thyroid hormone, which absorbs iodide ions from your blood to make and release hormones back into the blood. Why is this important? Because without these iodide ions, thyroid hormone deficiency can reduce your metabolic rate as much as 50%. In English, what this means is that your metabolism slows down considerably, which is a major contributor to obesity. Now do you see why iodine is so important in your diet?

But iodine isn't the only reason that kelp is so important for us. Aside from iodine, kelp also contains alkali. The benefits of alkali may not be as readily recognizable as iodine as nobody ever rubbed alkali on our cuts and scrapes. But alkali does play an important part in our diet and our bodies chemistry.

Our bodies must maintain a proper pH balance in order to function properly. What usually happens when we become ill is that our bodies become acidic. That's when we start to suffer from things like acid indigestion because our bodies have too much acid and not enough alkaline. Yes, alkali is what brings our bodies back into balance when they get too acidic. By taking a regular dose of kelp daily, you're basically keeping your body's pH in balance.

When I was very young, my mother used to buy actual kelp tablets from the health food store. They were really ugly looking and didn't go down all that easy. But guess what? I never had indigestion as a kid, regardless of what I ate. And trust me, I ate some nasty things.

Kelp may be misunderstood, but a daily dose of it can be just the ticket to get your body pH back in balance and maybe even lose a few pounds if you're overweight.

The many unknown benefits of kelp. At least now, they're known to you.

To find out more benefits of other vitamins and minerals and learn of some natural treatments for a number of ailments, please visit our website at natures-healing-remedies.com/ where you can get your free report on how the drug companies are killing us as well as get a 52 week series of tips on a number of natural cures and remedies.

Discover worldly beauty

Women all over the world have used natural remedies for thousands of years to help them look beautiful and keep them feeling young. With modern transport now meaning you can travel the Globe in just a matter of days, foreign beauty secrets are being discovered and shared around the world. The 8th of March marks International Women’s Day, a chance for women around the world to get together and celebrate and inspire one another. 

Europe – Sea Kelp
It is said that the women of Scotland have been forever tied to the sea and the secret of the deep, perhaps helping explain a unique beauty trick that is now being used across the Globe.

Large kelp forests exist in the ocean that are home to huge eco systems; providing a unique three-dimensional habitat for marine organisms, but the seaweed is also seen to help keep hair in tip-top condition. Kelp has been found to be high in vitamins A, B, C, and E, which when applied to hair fortifies follicles and creates shine. Wild sea kelp is also a naturally rich marine source of iodine. Iodine is an essential constituent of thyroid hormones, which help to control the metabolic rate of the body, and therefore sea kelp, when taken as a supplement, is also thought to help with weight loss.

Read full story [Easier.com]

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Sea Kelp - 660 Mg 180 Caps

Nature's Way kelp is collected from deep in the ocean because kelp close to shore may absorb many heavy metals and toxins. Kelp has a long history of use as a food and as a source of assimilable iodine. It contains many nutrients absorbed from the sea.

A nutrient-rich, brown sea vegetable rich in iodine
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Sea Kelp - What is it?

A group of large, brown seaweeds with the scientific name Laminaria. Kelp is used for human food, especially by the coastal populations of China and Japan. It is very rich in iodine, consequently it is sometimes prescribed to treat deficiencies of that trace element. Some manufacturers of dietary products containing kelp claim that their high levels of iodine act as a weight-reducing agent by increasing the production of thyroid hormones (of which iodine is an essential component) and raising metabolic rate. This would result in excess fat being consumed as an energy source. The claim is unlikely to be true for people who are not iodine deficient. An excessively high iodine intake can be toxic.

Sea kelp
A generic name for any of the edible, brown seaweeds of the family Laminariaceae. See also kombu.

Kelp (Fucus vesiculosus) is a type of brown seaweed, moderate in size, that grows in regions with cold coastlines, including those of the northwestern United States and northern Europe. There are several varieties of sea kelp: true kelp, which thrives in cool seas; giant sea kelp, and bladder kelp, which grow in the North Pacific. Giant kelp is so named because it grows to 213 ft (65 m). Kelp anchors itself to rocky surfaces via tentacle-like roots. From these roots grows a slender stalk with long, leaf-like blades.

Kelp belongs to the Fucaceae family. Other names for Fucus vesiculosus are kelpware, black-tang, bladderfucus, cutweed, and bladderwrack. The main constituents of kelp include phenolic compounds, mucopolysaccharides, algin, polar lipids, and glycosyl ester diglycerides. Kelp also contains protein, carbohydrates, and essential fatty acids.

Kelp contains approximately 30 minerals. It is a rich source of iodine, calcium, sulfur, and silicon. Other minerals include phosphorus, iron, sodium, potassium, magnesium, chloride, copper, zinc, manganese, barium, boron, chromium, lithium, nickel, silver, titanium, vanadium, aluminum, strontium, bismuth, chlorine, cobalt, gallium, tin, and zirconium. Kelp also contains vitamins C, E, D, K, and B complex. The highest concentrations of these vitamins and minerals are found in the tissues of kelp. Since sea kelp is such a valuable source of nutrients, it is often recommended as a dietary supplement, particularly for people with mineral deficiencies.

Origins

Different kinds of kelp have been eaten for nutritional value for over a thousand years. The Chinese used sea kelp and other types of seaweed as medicine as far back as 3,000 B.C. The Greeks used kelp to feed their cattle around the first century B.C. Kelp has been a staple food of Icelanders for centuries, and ancient Hawaiian nobles grew gardens of edible seaweed. Kelp was also used in Europe and Great Britain as fertilizer to nourish soil and assist plant growth.

The largest consumer of kelp, however, has been Japan. The Japanese have incorporated kelp and seaweed into their diets for 1,500 years. During the seventh to ninth centuries, only the Japanese nobility consumed seaweed. In the seventeenth century, Japan began farming seaweed. The Japanese and other Asian cultures used kelp to treat uterine problems, genital tract disorders, and kidney, bladder, and prostate ailments.

Sea kelp is still an integral part of the Japanese diet. The Japanese include kelp in almost every meal, using it in salads or as a garnish, or cooking it in soups, sauces, and cakes. Noodles made from kelp are a staple of the Japanese diet. Until recently, kelp was eaten almost exclusively by the Japanese. Now the Western population is beginning to take note of this nutrient-rich seaweed. However, Fucus vesiculosus is not the kind of kelp that is eaten.

Eating dietary kelp may be responsible for the low rate of breast cancer among Japanese women, and also for the low rate of heart disease, respiratory disease, rheumatism, arthritis, high blood pressure, and gastrointestinal ailments. The occurrence of thyroid disease is also low in Japan.

General Use

Many herbalist and naturopathic physicians recommend Fucus vesiculosus to treat thyroid disorders, arthritis, rheumatism, constipation, colds, high blood pressure, colitis, eczema, goiter, obesity, low vitality, poor digestion, nervous disorders, menstrual irregularities, glandular disorders, and water retention.

Fucus vesiculosus has a therapeutic effect on many systems of the body. It strengthens immune system function and increases resistance to infection and fever. Kelp is also beneficial to the nervous and endocrine systems. It enhances the function of the adrenal, thyroid, and pituitary glands, and supports brain health and function.

One of the main therapeutic uses of Fucus vesiculosus is for thyroid conditions such as hypothyroidism and goiter. Partly due to its high iodine content, this kind of kelp assists in the production of thyroid hormones, which help regulate the thyroid gland. People who don't eat dairy products, seafood, and salt may develop an iodine deficiency, which may result in low thyroid function. Kelp is a good source of iodine for those who may be deficient.

Thyroid hormones are also necessary to maintain a normal metabolism. Fucus vesiculosus helps boost metabolism, which helps to sustain normal weight (especially in people who are overweight because of a thyroid condition).

This type of sea kelp is also used to rid the body of and keep it from absorbing harmful chemicals, toxins, carcinogens, and such heavy metal pollutants as barium and cadmium. Algin, a fiber-like extract of kelp, helps prevent the body from assimilating these elements. Algin is used industrially in the production of tires and as an agent that prevents ice cream from crystallizing. Kelp also helps to prevent the body from absorbing radioactive elements such as strontium 90, a dangerous radioactive substance created by nuclear power plants. However, since Fucus vesiculosus absorbs toxic chemicals, it must be harvested from clean waters or it may contain toxins.

Kelp also reduces cholesterol levels by inhibiting bile acid absorption. The diuretic effect of sea kelp is beneficial to an irritated or infected bladder since it helps to flush out harmful bacteria. Kelp helps reduce inflammation in injured tissues and ease painful joints in rheumatism and rheumatoid arthritis. Kelp may also reduce an enlarged prostate in men, and is also used to strengthen fingernails, prevent hair loss, and regenerate hair if the follicle is still alive.

In addition to its medicinal uses, sea kelp contains natural antioxidants that make it useful to the food industry in retarding spoilage. The cosmetics industry is also studying the effects of a gel derived from kelp in improving the elasticity of human skin.

Preparations

The kelp used medicinally in modern times is generally harvested in kelp farms. These farms help preserve the natural balance of the sea, which is disrupted when large amounts of naturally growing seaweed are removed. Farming kelp also helps to ensure that the kelp retains its nutritional value. Kelp loses valuable nutrients when it is washed ashore. When kelp is harvested, it is cut, dried, then ground into powder. It is this powder that is encapsulated or pressed into tablets.

Kelp is available in bulk form either dried or as a ground powder. It is also sold as granules, capsules, tablets, or tinctures. Granulated or powdered sea kelp can be added to food as a salt substitute.

The recommended daily dose for adults is 10–15 mg. Kelp can also be made into a tea. To create an infusion, 1 cup of boiling water is poured over 2-3 tsp of dried or powdered kelp. The tea is steeped for 10 minutes, and can be drunk three times daily.

Chondrus crispus

Common name - Irish moss

Description - Chondrus crispus, known under the common name Irish moss, or carrageen moss (Irish carraigín, "moss of the rock"), is a species of red alga which grows abundantly along the rocky parts of the Atlantic coast of Europe and North America. In its fresh condition the plant is soft and cartilaginous, varying in colour from a greenish-yellow, through red, to a dark purple or purplish-brown. The principal constituent of Irish moss is a mucilaginous body, made of the polysaccharide carrageenan of which it contains about 55%; the plant also has nearly 10% of protein and about 15% of mineral matter, and is rich in iodine and sulphur. When softened in water it has a sea-like odour, and because of the abundant cell wall polysaccharides it will form a jelly when boiled, containing from 20 to 100 times its weight of water. This red alga has large clumps of fan-like fronds, 3 to 7 inches tall. The fronds are flattened and may be narrow, branched, curled, or twisted. Several blades arise from a single holdfast and the tips of the blades are rounded. The color varies with locality and season, ranging from white, when washed ashore on beaches, to green and dark purple-red.

Habitat - Chondrus crispus occurs abun-dantly on rocks or horizontal ledges at or below the low tide mark and-in the shallow subtidal zone. It grows in sheltered, open coastal, and estuarine sites with strong tidal currents. It has also been found in water as deep as 60 feet.

Foraging - Irish moss is a perennial and is at peak for harvest in spring and summer. Harvesting in the summer is best for high vitamin A content. This seaweed is raked by hand at low tide from small boats or cut with sickles by wading out in shallow water. Storm-cast seaweed is often harvested from beaches.

Uses - As a source of the valuable carrag-eenan, this alga is of great commercial importance. When Chondrus is dried and boiled in water, carrageenan is extracted. Carrageenan is a gummy substance made of very large molecules that remain dispersed and suspended in liquids without settling to the bottom. It is used primarily as a thickener, stabilizer, and gelling agent in food and food products (jello, ice cream, salad dressings, chocolate and evaporated milk, pudding, frozen desserts, etc.), pharmaceuticals, toothpaste, cosmetics, paints, and textile sizings.

Red Algae AKA Nori

Common names - Laver, nori

Description - There are at least four species of Porphyra in northern New England waters: P. umbilicalis, P. miniata, P. Ieucosticta, and P. Iinearis. They are red algae, with color ranging from dark brown and nearly black to reddish-purple.

P. umbilicalis is most prominent with broad, very thin, papery, translucent blades, which are one cell thick. Its species name umbilicalis (meaning 'of the navel") comes from the fact that the small holdfast is usually centrally located and the membrane tends to have a pinched appearance where it joins the holdfast.

Nori is the Japanese name for various edible seaweed species of the red alga Porphyra including most notably P. yezoensis and P. tenera. The term nori is also commonly used to refer to the food products created from these so-called "sea vegetables". Finished products are made by a shredding and rack-drying process that resembles papermaking. Japan, Korea, and China are the current major producers of nori, with total production valued at up to US $2 billion per year.

Habitat - P. umbilicalis is found in the upper and mid-intertidal zone on rocks and mooring balls in protected waters. P. miniata, a bright rose-colored species, is found at or below the low tide mark. P. Ieucostkta is smaller and usually grows on kelp fronds and rocks in the shallow subtidal zone. P. Iinearis is also small, has a narrow blade, and grows to be 2 to 3 inches long. It is found in turbulent, coastal waters in the upper intertidal zone.

Foraging - The peak harvest for Porphyra is early to mid-spring. Fronds are tough by summer. It is harvested by plucking the seaweed from rocks at low tide.

Preparation - Porphyra may be air-dried or pressed into thin sheets. To air dry, seaweed is washed quickly in cold, fresh water and hung on a clothesline or spread on screens to dry in the sun. Porphyra can also be toasted over a charcoal fire, broken up, and added to soups and sauces. For use in Japanese cuisine (especially for "sushi"), certain species of Porphyra are pressed and dried into paper-like, 3-gram (.11 ounce) sheets, 18 x 21 centimeters

Uses - P. umbilicalis and P. miniata are air-dried and used in soups, in lever bread, and as a seasoning for many dishes. Some Porphyra species (such as P. Iinearis,

which has a taste very similar to the Japanese species P. tenera) are commonly used as a wrapping for sushi, a Japanese dish. Nori has antiscorbutic properties (prevents and cures scurvy), is used as an antibiotic, and reduces blood cholesterol.

Alaria esculenta

Common names - Edible kelp, winged kelp

Description - Alaria esculenta is an edible seaweed, also known as dabberlocks or badderlocks, or winged kelp. It is a traditional food along the coasts of the far north Atlantic Ocean. It may be eaten fresh or cooked in Greenland, Iceland, Scotland and Ireland. It is the only one of twelve species of Alaria to occur in the British Isles. This single-bladed kelp is olive brown, about 6 inches wide, and 6 to 12 feet long with a distinct flattened midrib, thin ruffled edges, and small, spatula-shaped leaflets (reproductive blades called "sporophylls") growing near the base of the stipe. The blade is usually frayed or split toward the tip. Grows to a maximum length of 2 m. The frond consists of a distinct midrib with wavy membranous lamina up to 7 cm wide on either side. The frond is unbranched [1]and tapers towards the end. The base has a short stipe arising from a rhizoidal holdfast. The stipe may bear several sporophylls, club-shaped and up to 20 cm long and 5 cm broad. The whole frond is brown.

Habitat - Alaria is often found attached to rocks just below low tide out to 25 feet in areas exposed to strong tidal currents and waves.

Foraging - Alaria is a biennial (lives for two years) with a peak haNest in May and June. It is harvested from boats with long-handled hooks or hooks attached to long ropes. It is also collected by wading out in hip boots at very low tides and cutting the algae from rocks using a sickle. Regeneration is ensured when the main blade is cut 2 to 3 inches above the stipe and the sporophylls are retained. Leaving some of the blade allows the plant to regrow for another haNest while the sporophylls will produce spores, allowing the plant to reproduce sexually.

Uses - The scientific name esculenta means "edible" and describes its primary use as food. Alaria is often sold in health food stores as "wakame."

Preparation - Before using, soak fronds (and/or midribs) in fresh water for two days. Reproductive "leaflet" blades may also be eaten. Alaria is eaten fresh-chopped and added to a salad-or it may be sun-dried, crumbled, and used as a salty seasoning. It is best to store dried Alaria in sealed plastic bags to retain freshness.