favorite recipe. My dear friend Marsha Million “French cut” kelp stems like string beans and canned for winter use. Stuff the kelp bulb with meat or vegetarian stuffing and bake.
HEALTH USE: The blades of bull kelp have a protein content twice that of the bulb and stipe, and appreciable quantities of calcium, potassium, and iron. Small amounts of seaweed daily are far better than large amounts occasionally. Herbalist Ryan Drum points out that in some individuals it may take a person “up to 4 months to produce dedicated enzymes to thoroughly digest dietary seaweeds.” Drum emphasizes the importance of sufficient dietary iodine, the link between low iodine and hypothyroidism and goiter and how “eating 3-5 grams of most dried, unrinsed seaweeds will provide the RDA of 100–150 micrograms.”
OTHER: Campers can soak sore feet in a kelp footbath. Entertain the whole family with a kelp horn—remove the end of the bulb and leave a 2-foot-long handle to blow into. Use kelp as a candle mold; fill kelp bulbs with a candlewick and hot wax; when the wax is set, discard the kelp.
CAUTION : If you experience hyperthyroidism, consult your doctor or clinical herbalist before use.
RIBBON KELP
Alaria species Alariaceae (family) Brown algae (division Phaeophyta)
I’m often asked which plant is my favorite, and the answer varies with place and season. Put me on an Alaskan beach in spring, and I’ll quickly be munching on my “favorite,” ribbon kelp. It’s easy to recognize with its smooth, olive-green to brown blade, 3 to 9 feet long, and its distinctive flattened midrib. At the base, between the holdfast and the main blade, are 2 opposite rows of smaller, wing-like blades.
DERIVATION OF NAME: Alaria is Latin for winged.
OTHER NAMES: winged kelp, wakame.
RANGE: Southeast Alaska to the Bering Sea.
HARVESTING DIRECTIONS: Ribbon kelp is prime from April to June. Clip ribbon kelp above the sporophylls (i.e. wing-like lower blades) to allow the algae to regenerate. The smaller first-year fronds are most tender and tasty. Discard any tattered edges of the main blade. Pick clean of shells. To dry for year-round use, hang across lines or poles. Separate the fronds well for good air ventilation. When fully dry, store in jars in a cool dark place.
FOOD USE: Nibble ribbon kelp fresh. The central midrib has a delightful crunchy texture and mild flavor and can be used as a water chestnut substitute. I love dried ribbon kelp toasted in a skillet with olive oil, sunflower, and pumpkin seeds, and seasonings as a salad topping. Add fresh or dried ribbon kelp to miso soups. My favorite beach salad is blanched ribbon kelp, sliced and sautéed in sesame oil with garlic, carrots, and ginger. The brown seaweed turns a brilliant kelly green when blanched! Add a teaspoon of the powdered dry alga to breads and baked goods to increase nutritional value. Note: the sporophylls are considered a delicacy raw or cooked; harvest selectively to ensure ongoing supply.
HEALTH USE: Ribbon kelp is an ideal snack food—low in calories, high in flavor and nutrients, especially protein, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, and B vitamins. Ribbon kelp contains alginic acid, which binds radioactive strontium in the intestines and aids its excretion from the body. As a tonic tea (or food), it strengthens body systems, including reproductive organs and skin. Clinical studies by Japanese researchers Okai and others indicate that the epidemiologic evidence for seaweed as a chemopreventive food is very compelling. Although daily seaweed consumption is not uniform, even in Japan, people in Okinawa consume more seaweed and have the lowest cancer incidence, mortality, and longest life spans. American researcher Jane Teas notes that a vast number of seaweed studies on animals have been done, all of which confirm the nontoxic effects of seaweed on normal cells and in healthy animals, and cytotoxic effects against cancer cells and tumors.
OTHER: For a home spa treatment, take a ribbon kelp bath. For a facial, blend white cosmetic-grade clay with powdered ribbon kelp and a bit of honey. Ribbon kelp is available for free from Alaskan beaches and can also be bought in natural-food stores as Alaria or wakame. Note that wakame is also a common name for Undaria pinnatifida, a seaweed considered globally invasive.
DULSE
Palmaria species (formerly Rhodymenia) Palmariaceae (family) Red algae (division Rhodophyta)
If you’re sampling sea vegetables for the first time, try dulse. Dulse “potato chips” (directions in Food Use) are popular with kids and adults because of their salty taste and crunchy texture. Look for purple-red blades, 4 to 12 inches in length. Alaska has 3 dulse species: Palmaria hecatensis (formerly Palmaria palmata) whose use has been recorded in Iceland since the year 960, P. mollis (also formerly P. palmata), and the stiffer, narrower, frilly P. callophylloides. All are safe.
DERIVATION OF NAME: Palmaria is from the Latin for “palm of the hand,” referring to the shape of the algae blades.
OTHER NAMES: red ribbon, red kale, dillisk, Nepture’s girdle, waterleaf.
RANGE: Southeast Alaska to Kodiak, and the Gulf of Alaska to the Aleutian Islands.
HARVESTING DIRECTIONS: Clip fronds above the holdfast, pick clean of shells, and rinse in ocean water. Dulse is prime from April to June.
FOOD USE: Nibble dulse fresh from the beach. Raw dulse is somewhat rubbery. For dulse “potato chips,” quickly stir-fry dry dulse in a few drops of olive or sesame oil, stirring constantly until crisp (be careful not to burn the dulse). Try a DLT sandwich: dulse chips (instead of bacon) with lettuce and tomato. Dry and grind dulse as a seasoning for potatoes or rice. If you are cooking beans or lentils, add some dulse to enhance their digestibility.
HEALTH USE: Dulse is highest in protein (21%) when harvested late winter to spring. It contains essential amino acids and omega-3 and omega-6 oils. Those with sensitivity to dairy may be interested to note that compared to milk, 100 g of dulse contains more calcium (148 mg versus 115 mg), more magnesium (97 mg versus 11 mg), and more potassium (1,169 mg versus 140 mg). For vegans, dulse is a source of B12. Dulse has both antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. Add dulse to salves for cold sores, sunburn, and general cuts and scrapes.
OTHER: I enjoy a rejuvenating dulse bath after airline travel; during long journeys, I consider sea vegetables an essential snack. Use of dulse and our subsistence right to harvest was recorded in a 12th-century Iceland law book; this declared it legal to collect and eat dulse when on another man’s property.
CAUTION: Due to iodine content in algae, consult your doctor if on thyroid medicines.
NORI
Porphyra species Bangiaceae (family) Red algae (division Rhodophyta)
If you’ve ever eaten sushi, you’ve eaten nori. Nori ranges globally on rocky shores from Alaska to New Zealand (where it is commonly called “karengo”). In the ocean, nori resembles a long, transparent rubber glove. The linear blades are 1 cell thick and up to 1 foot in length, attached to rocks by a small
