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You are here: Home / Vegetables / Seaweed

Seaweed

This page first published: Jun 22, 2004 · Updated: Nov 5, 2020 · by CooksInfo. Copyright © 2021 · This web site may contain affiliate links · This web site generates income via ads · Information on this site is copyrighted. Taking whole pages for your website is theft and will be DCMA'd. See re-use information.

Seaweed is a plant that is a member of the algae family. It can grow in saltwater and in brackish water. Many types of seaweed are harvested as food, and used in various forms.

Contents hide
  • 1 Seaweed overview
  • 2 The use of seaweed in cooking
  • 3 Language Notes
  • 4 Related entries

Seaweed overview

Seaweed mostly grows near the shore or on coral reefs. How deep it grows depends on the variety.

The plant doesn’t have roots, though its anchors (called “holdfasts”) are root-like. Most use these holdfasts to try to anchor themselves to something. In fact, most seaweed won’t survive for long just floating around.

There is red, brown and green seaweed. There are 6,000 species of red seaweed, 2,000 of brown and 1,200 of green. Green ones prefer very shallow water; the brown ones tend to prefer sub-tidal zones further out, and red ones like deeper waters. Browner ones have a stronger taste.

Though none are considered poisonous, some are considered more desirable for eating.

The use of seaweed in cooking

Seaweed is used mostly today in Asian foods.

In Western food, it had some historical importance in Irish, Icelandic and Welsh kitchens. Mostly, though, in the West, it has been harvested for fertilizer for fields, and for livestock feed.

Seaweed can be processed into agar-agar (a thickener used in Asia) or in the West, specifically Ireland, it can be processed into carrageen to be used as a thickener and a clarifier.

Language Notes

In Anglo-Saxon, “Fleotwyrt”, “Flotwyrt”, or “Saewar.”

Related entries

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  • Arame
  • Dulse
  • Ito Wakame
  • Kaipen
  • Kombu
  • Laver
  • Nori
  • Purple Laver
  • Rockweed
  • Wakame
Tagged With: Japanese Food, Seaweed, Vegetables

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