LTL It's important not to overdo it with seaweed.
PW You can get into a space where it gets oversimplified and it becomes a solution for everything. Anything humans do, even good things like seaweed, you can do wrong. And that's why we should grow Australian seaweeds. So, pest species and stuffing up ecosystems with new species is a no-no. Don't do that. Each nation has its own amazing species of seaweed, so let's stick with that.
LTL Australia's first commercial kelp farm, Southern Sea Greens, is transforming the invasive wakame species into furikake seasoning, Arnhem Land's South Goulburn Island is experimenting with growing local sea grapes, while native Southern Ocean kombu is turning up in Tasmanian bitters. Also in Tassie, chef Analiese Gregory, whose objects appear in the Culinary Archive, is preserving different kinds of algae with a seaweed press, just like a flower press.
ED I do think that there's a growing acceptance to seaweed. In Italy, where I live for example, it's terrible trying to find Japanese ingredients of any kind, but I can actually find all the different types of seaweed in health food stores. And I think it's because seaweed is really healthy for you. It's just like a sea vegetable, isn't it? But also, the recognition that seaweed has so many medicinal benefits as well, which is how it's always been seen in Japan. It's gaining popularity. It's not really like a household ingredient yet, but I think that people are appreciating it for sure.
LTL Irish moss, Okinawan sea grapes, golden kelp and Neptune's necklace — seaweed appears in so many forms. palawa people fashioned bull kelp into water carriers and Indigenous uses for seaweed include everything from oyster-cut remedies to making baskets.
Kombu is foundational to Japanese cuisine and helped establish umami as the fifth taste we experience after sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Omega 3-rich seaweeds could help reduce aggressive behaviour in prisoners and heal injuries, and the fast-growing algae could be a sustainable nutritious crop, too. So, whether it's carbon absorbing kelp forests, the asparagopsis feed reducing livestock emissions or plastic alternatives shaped from seaweed, one of the oldest life forms on earth could be key to helping us limit the future damage of climate change.
ST Seaweed’s really, really great to pickle and very versatile.
ED One of my favourite ever dishes is temaki. ‘Te’ means hand and ‘maki’ is like a sushi roll. Everything just goes on the table. A little plate of the nori squares, a big bowl of the rice, this beautiful platter with all the different things and everyone makes their own hand roll. The nori stays really nice and crisp. It's great.
