Contrary to
popular belief, seaweeds have many sexy properties
When you think about seaweed, you probably don’t think about
something cool, or funky, or... sexy. But why not? Seaweed is so much more than
the wrap around your sushi. There are at least 2000 (!) different kinds of
seaweeds, some of which have extraordinary properties. So let’s dive a little deeper into this
matter, and sea how seaweed can turn you on:
It’s big
When it comes to size, seaweeds are always bigger than their
friends in the ocean. To estblish whether a marine vegetable is a seaweed or
not, you can use the following rule of thumb: can I grab it with my hands? If so, then it’s
a seaweed. If it slips away, then you’re dealing with micro (=small) algae.
That’s why seaweeds are referred to as macro(=large) algae. There are seaweeds
that can grow over 200 feet in lenght. Now that’s huge!
Dried Undaria
pinnatifida (more commonly known as wakame) can swell up to 10x its original size when
soaked in water.
It can swell
Most seaweeds that are sold in the supermarket, are dried
seaweeds. These vegetables can be kept for 3 years, without loss of nutritional
value. Impressive, huh? But even more impressive is their swelling capacity.
Some dried seaweeds can grow 10 x their own size when you cook them. However,
in order to do that, they first have to get wet: The fibers in the dried
seaweeds will then fill up with water, resulting into a swollen piece of
vegetable. Bon appetite!
It likes to rock
Seaweeds are among the fastest growing plants on this
planet. However, to become world champions in gaining bioamss, they need a few
things: First, the seabottom must be
rocky, so they can hold themselves and stay in place. And second of all, they
need some serious currents or waves every now and then. Why? Because this wild
water will make them ‘dance’ towards the nutrients in the water that they need
for optimal growth. So you can truly say that seaweeds like to rock the ocean
floor!
The seaweed
in this picture is Macrocystis
pyrifera, also known as Giant Kelp. It can grow up to 200 feet, and still it
likes to rock!
So as you can see, there’s a lot about seaweed that actually
makes it quite… well sexy. But the story doesn’t end here. There is so much
more about seaweed thay you probably would like to know. For example, did you know
you can make seaweed taste like bacon? More about that in next week’s
newsletter…
Sea you later!
Toine
Your seaweedman