Edible Storm Debri; Sugar Kelp Seaweed

I'm often asked;  what seaweed can you eat? What about this stuff (pointing to the piles of spewed up seaweed on the beach that's been turfed up by the powerful, stormy Winter waves). Hmm, no wonder people are put off eating seaweed.

Not all seaweed is good to eat. Perhaps you've heard me say this many a time; pick seaweed that is fresh, cutting it fresh ensures you know how fresh and old it is. The old, decomposing seaweed is good for compost, though not for eating. There is one exception though: After a storm.

Although it is easy to tell decomposing to freshly cut. Personally, I'm still not intimate enough with seaweed to know if seaweed is just freshly broken off by the storm, or has been 2 or 3 days floating at sea. I go by eye, feel and stay on the safe side. In other words, I prefer to harvest seaweed that is attached.

I have many favourite seaweeds (or my favourites keep changing), and one of these is Sugar Kelp (Saccharina latissima), and yes, it is a combination of sweet and salty. I've spent many hours at the lowest tides searching for this seaweed, though mostly, it has alluded me. I know it is there in abundance - plenty times have I seen it washed up on the shore, though often it grows just a little deeper than a low, low tide, and I'm not a diver, not even a snorkeler anymore. Though to my my surprise, it was a storm that brought Sugar Kelp closer and fresher to me.

Can you eat seaweeds that have been washed up after a storm?

Seaweed needs to be attached, through a 'holdfast' (seaweed's equivalent to a root) in order to live. This could be attached to another seaweed, rocks, stones or shells/shellfish. In this case, the storm had thrown up young Sugar Kelp, attached to small stones, so still living - hurray!

Never had foraging Sugar Kelp felt so easy, and the freshness still guaranteed. Walking along the beach, at a medium low tide, I was able to harvest this seaweed and dry it at home for soups and desserts. Below are Apple and Sugar Kelp Turnovers from my Seaweed book . This seaweed has particularly good amounts of magnesium and calcium, and used to be chewed dried by children as salty 'sweeties'.

Related posts:

Three Seaweed Soup with an Inner Kick Take it To the Edge - Seaweeding for Adventurers Drying Dulse Seaweed at Home The Amazing Bushy Rainbow Wrack Seaweed