Kelp is one of the most common types of seaweed and appears all around the coast of Britain, Iceland, south Africa, Australia and most of the west coast of both north and south America, as well as various other small patch’s round the world.
If you live in Britain and have ever been to the beach then this is the most likely the seaweed you’ve seen clinging to rocks and harbour walls. Covered in small pockets of air and having a deep green colour, this type of seaweed is almost never found at UK supermarkets, at least not seaweed gathered from the UK anyway.
What is Kelp?
Kelp is a seaweed made up of around 30 different types which belong to the Laminariales family. It normally grows in huge underwater kelp forests but is known to often grow on the beach when it has some kind of rock to anchor itself to.
The type of Kelp found in the huge underwater forests, such as the 5800 square kilometre forest off the coast of Norway, is normally a different type than the stuff found on beach’s, but fortunately its all edible and there are no poisonous types of this seaweed.
How to gather kelp
This may seem very straight forward but the trick is to not gather any that the leaves have grown considerably bigger than the normal size of the beach. The larger ones grow a big tough and can be chewy when cooked, so treat them the same as vegetables and gather at the right size.
You’ll need a knife or a pair of scissors to cut through the main stem, with the best place to cut being slightly up the stem where the leaves being to start.
How to cook kelp
Treat Kelp like you would any other kind of dark green leaf vegetable, like cabbage for example. There is one main thing to watch out for when cooking kelp, and that’s its sodium alginate content.
This may not mean anything yet but this compound occurs naturally within many types of seaweed in very high quantities, and it make one of the best natural thickeners in the world.
Its safe to eat, but the problem is it thickens things up a little to much. Sometimes when cooking kelp it will cause the water to get so thick that it turns into a running wall paper paste consistency. This means its great to add a little bit to a soup or stew to thicken it up, but adding it larger quantities will see your otherwise tasty dish turn into a goo-fest.
The remove the Sodium Alginate, simply boil the leaves of your seaweed for as long as would cabbage, maybe 15 to 20 minutes, but stir well throughout cooking to release as much as possible. When the water gets to thick, drain off the thicker goo water and add more boiling water and continue to cook as normal, doing another water change if necessary.
You can eat this plant raw, as the thickener is no way poisonous, in fact its often used as a thickener in ice cream and various types of sauce’s. If you do choose to try this plant raw i do warn you, its not nice. Its like eating slimy, chewy, raw salted sprouts.
A warning about kelp
You may have heard this seaweed called a “super food” at some point, as its often used within supplements for its high levels of minerals and vitamins, and even though its completely safe to eat, it contains very high levels of Iodine.
Eating it occasionally will do nothing to harm you, and its even recommended by various health professionals as part of a diet. Iodine is good for the thyroid gland and helps metabolism, but consuming excessive amounts of iodine can overwork the thyroid gland can cause various thyroid conditions, so if you happen to love eating this plant, don’t go over the top.