Seaweeds: The Joys of Coastal Foraging

I imagine most of us were introduced to the delights of the seaside as children, which included many joyous and seemingly timeless hours of innocent fun, exploring rock-pools and coastal caves, racing imaginary horses (unicorns?) along and through the fringes of the incoming and outgoing tides, eating ice-cream and partially burying your favourite, yet annoying sibling and sculpting them into strange creations, adorned with various coastal debris & tucking into fish n chip dinners, complete with the random obligatory grains of sand that somehow find their way in no matter how carefully you attempt to fend off their incursions.

I've always been fascinated by the coast and the majority of my childhood holidays were spent at various coastal locations around the UK: I consider myself very fortunate to have experienced those times. Our coastline, for the majority, is within easy reach and apparently, no-one in the UK lives more than 80 miles from some part of it.

My fascination and love of the coast took to dizzying, new heights when I became aware of the wonderful array of seasonal, wild foods that make their home there: quite frankly, it blew my mind and, if I'm honest, it still does! The coastline of the uk is a treasure trove of delectable and unique treats; seaweeds, succulents, shellfish, berries, herbs, fungi and fish and, all these coupled with the dramatic landscapes and the powerful, natural sensory aspects, bring an extra dimension of pure pleasure into my life.

Seaweeds (Sea Vegetables)
Seaweeds, Marine Algae or Sea Vegetables are quite possibly one of our most misunderstood and neglected wild food sources. Yet, their health giving and nutritional properties are simply staggering, they are powerhouses of nutrition, packed with essential micro-nutrients, minerals and vitamins. Their benefits don't just stop with regards to human health, they play a tremendously important role within global ecology and, as with their nutrition properties, their benefits are simply staggering; carbon storage, wildlife, weather patterns, to name but a few.
If we then add to this mix their medicinal, bio-fuel and other biodegradable eco-material capabilities (the harvesting techniques of these latter two worry me to some extent) we could do far worse as a species than opting to develop a deeper understanding of seaweeds. As far as wild foods go, you really should be tapping into these fantastic sources. A little seaweed goes a long way.

When and Where to Gather Seaweeds

Edible Seaweeds
The best seaweeds to harvest will be found in and around rocky, turbulent and oxygen rich waters: as far away from densely populated towns and cities as you can possibly get. Waters with little to zero action, such as harbours, are to be avoided plus, harbours come with their own unique set of pollutant risks.

There are approx 700 seaweeds to be found in UK waters. I personally harvest approximately 18 of those species, with some receive more attention than others.
I'll list those 18 seaweeds below and place them in their colour groups.

Brown Seaweeds: Phaeophyta

Dumonts Tubular Weed

• Sugar Kelp - Saccharina latissima
• Kelp - Laminaria digitata 
• Sea Spaghetti - Himanthalia elongata
• Winged Kelp - Alaria esculenta
• Serrated Wrack - Fucus serratus
• Bladder Wrack - Fucus vesiculosus
• Egg Wrack - Ascophyllum nodosum
• Spiral Wrack - Fucus spiralis
• Channel Wrack - Pelvetia canaliculata

Red Seaweeds: Rhodophyta

• Porphyra - Porphyra umbilicalis
• Dulse - Palmaria palmata
• Pepper Dulse - Osmundea pinnatifida
• Dumonts Tubular Weed - Dumontia contorta
• Mermaids Pubes - Polysiphonia lanosa



Seaweeds Drying

• Carrageen - Chondrus crispus

Green Seaweeds: Chlorophyta

• Gutweed - Ulva intestinalis 
• Sea Lettuce - Ulva lactuca
• Velvet Horn - Codium tomentosum

Culinary Uses

Seaweeds are fantastic ingredients to have in your kitchen and their versatility is simply astounding. Each species has it's own use or uses, it's not just a case of one size fits all and I'm sure you'll have lots of fun playing and discovering. 

Smoked Laverbread Patties with
Lacto-Fermented Ramson and
Chipotle Chilli 

Over the years I've had success; pickling, dehydrating, smoking, fermenting, infusing, simmering, baking and eating raw. Admittedly, there have been some blunders such as the time I hot pickled a fresh batch of Dumonts Tubular Weed, it didn't turn out well at all: sticky, pink, gelatinous ectoplasm proivides an adequate picture.

Care with the brown seaweeds is important, particularly the Laminarias, as they contain larger quantities of iodine. Iodine is essential for healthy thyroid function however, too much can have adverse effects, so it's worthwhile spending some time researching the compounds and nutrients in seaweeds. The book: Seaweeds by Ole G Mouritsen, possibly my favourite seaweed related book, provides some scientific data regarding some of the 18 seaweeds I mentioned.

Umami

Alaria esculenta biologically identical to
 Japanese Wakame and widely used in
Miso soup

Umami is a word synonymous with seaweeds. Umami is officially regarded as the 5th taste and was discovered or 'scientifically recognised' by Kikunae Ikeda, a Japanese Professor, in 1908. It is a complete taste package unlike the individualistic sweet, sour, salty and bitter tastes. Umami is a word that is bounded around a lot by foodies and chefs, it's become uber-chic and, in some respects, quite rightly so, it's a fascinating and tasty thing. Some seaweeds exhibit better qualities of umami compared to others and process, time and storage are contributing factors in increasing and maximising umami potential. Seaweeds are definitely worth exploring for their umami potential and given the range of seaweeds in uk waters, there really is no need to purchase products from Japan, especially given their carbon footprint. 

All in all, a few hours spent searching for and gathering seaweeds is great fun and leaves ample time to gather other, more land based coastal treats or is a great precursor for essential relaxation time by the sea. There's nothing quite like hopping, wading and dancing between the tides and seasonal rhythms of the sea, the sensation of the salty sea breeze on your skin, the call of gulls as you carefully skip and slide over seaweed encrusted rocks and explore the briny mysteries of calm rock-pools and, at the end of your search, to settle down upon the sands, in good company and create a tasty meal with your finds.  

Link to: https://edible-leeds.blogspot.com/p/coastal-recipes-fish-shellfish-seaweed.html

Seashore Foraging Courses: If you would like to learn more about seaweeds or seashore foraging in general, I host several, coastal themed foraging events, annually. If the idea of coastal foraging tickles your fancy and would like to attend a course or, arrange a private course for a group of friends, family or colleagues, please email: edible.leeds@gmail.com