Seaweed Foraging.

03 Jul, 2020

Seaweed is incredible. There are so many varieties, and endless uses. I have spoken a lot about how its shape inspires my work, but it has so much more to offer than just being beautiful. Eager to find out more about its uses, and learn about how to cook and eat it - I went on one of Rachel Lambert’s seaweed foraging courses here in Cornwall.

I quickly learnt how versatile seaweed is - not only in shape and colour, but also flavour. It is easy to think that seaweed only has the taste and consistency of sushi sheets - or nori, when in fact it has an incredible variety of surprising tastes and textures.

My favourite is ‘pepper dulse’. It is spread all over the sea bed, and looks a bit like little brown ferns. The flavour that you get from it is incredible, peppery and truffle-like. Nothing like what you might expect from seaweed. I always keep a jar of it dried to use in the kitchen.

Toothed wrack is another favourite - it can taste almost like crab, and like all seaweeds can be dried and then rehydrated. Sea spaghetti, also known by some as ‘thong weed’ can be cooked like noodles, and eaten in a stir fry - even kelp can be used to wrap things up as a sort of pasta-substitute. There are so many uses for it, and lots of unexpected health benefits too.

If you would like to be inspired about how you can use seaweed, have a look at Rachel’s website and perhaps have a read of her excellent book. It is a sort of seaweed gathering bible, full of recipes and tips on identifying different varieties when you’re on the beach. If you find yourself on a Cornish holiday I would recommend going on one of her trips - and whilst you’re here, why not organise to come to my studio for a cup of coffee too!

What our customers say...

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