Even if you didn't go out for sushi last week, chances are you
ate some seaweed. People have been eating marine algae for centuries,
and it is still extremely popular in Asia. In the West, we are
more likely to encounter it as a food additive: beta carotene,
agar, caragheenan or alginate.
These derivatives of seaweed are found in kitchen staples such as
peanut butter, yogurt, mayonnaise and ice cream. But increasingly,
fresh and dried seaweed is finding its sway into high-end restaurants
and the kitchens of innovative home cooks.
Gourmet food producers have entered the market in a big way. In
Canada, Diane Bernard of Outer Coast Seaweeds provides hand-harvested
seaweeds to top-end restaurants such as Sooke Harbour House on
Vancouver Island...
