This year seaweed is being touted as the next big superfood. Just as Kale hit our shelves in 2015 as the new big thing lots of experts and magazine such as Women’s Health have been talking about about seaweed.
Photo Credit: oatsy40; Creative Commons
Here is what the magazine had to say about Seaweed:
Suddenly, everyone is talking about the not-so-sexy underwater plant, for its nutrient profile, skin-care benefits, and incredible potential for combatting climate change (as recently detailed in The New Yorker, which called it “a miracle food”). “Seaweeds are amongst the most nutrient-dense plants on the planet, and as they have access to all the nutrients in the sea, they are an extremely rich source of minerals,” explains Scotland’s Mara Seaweed CEO and co-founder Fiona Houston. Houston says an array of Michelin-starred chefs are now cooking with her products, and “manufacturers are using seaweed as a healthy option to replacing the salt added to processed foods,” adds Jane McKenzie, Ph.D., a food and nutrition expert at Queen Margaret University.
Repechage founder Lydia Sarfati was one of the first to bring high-quality seaweed harvested off the coasts of France and Maine to skincare in the U.S. and says she’s seen its popularity growing recently, which doesn’t surprise her. “The bioactive substances derived from seaweed provide a beneficial and functional role at the cellular level, contributing to healthy looking skin, hair, and nails,” she says. Sushi joints are going to have to give up their monopoly—soon we’ll all be making both salads and face masks with kombu. (Source)
At Ballymena Today we enjoyed food at the Slemish Market Garden supper club prepared by chef Rob Curley which was all based around a apple theme. Two of the dishes we enjoyed had seaweed as one of their ingredients.
We had Glenariff crab, dulse mayonaisse & Bramley apple and then the main course was Lamb shank baked in dulse seaweed dough, lumper potato, red cabbage, turnip & lamb gravy. We can confirm that both courses were delicious and the dulse added a beautiful fresh taste to both dishes.
If you would like to learn more about Seaweed as an ingredient you could sign up for information about the Seaweed Harvesting Course ran by Broughgammon Farm. At the course you get a quick lesson on how fantastic seaweed can be, learn how to harvest it safely before heading out to pick your own. You then get the opportunity to enjoy a seaweed inspired lunch and learn how Broughgammon Farm process and store their seaweed. Click here for more information.
It seems that in Ballymena we are well ahead of the food trends with our love for dulse and seeing local chefs like Rob and businesses like Broughgammon Farm investing time and energy into this great superfood.
