Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Wild Food guide to Dabberlocks along with all the Dabberlocks containing recipes presented on this site, with 8 recipes in total.

This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.

These recipes, all contain Dabberlocks as a major wild food ingredient.

Dabberlocks, Alaria esculenta (also known as badderlocks, honeyware, edible fucus, keys, murlins, ribini, Atlantic wakame or winged kelp) is a brown alga (and a member of the Laminariaceae family [kelp]) that represents one of 15 species commonly referred to as 'kelp' that has a North Atlantic distribution. It grows profusely on rock in very exposed places, often forming a band at low water and in the shallow subtidal, though it can also be found in rock pools on the lower shore. They are olive or yellow-brown seaweeds, with elongated, ribbed, fronds that that can grow to 4m in length and 25cm wide. They are attached to the rock by a root-like holdfast at the base from which a distinct narrow flexible stipe arises which then forms the very distinct mid-rib of the leafy part of the plant. The fronds can either be singular, or can be branched at the base, with the reproductive structures (sporangia) being confined to unbranched leafy appendages (leaflets know as sporophylls) borne on the stipe, usually in two club-shaped rows that are up to 20cm long and 5cm broad. The base of the stipe also bears wavy membranous lamina up to 7 cm wide on either side.

The seaweed is edible and used to be commonly served either as a vegetable or a salad leaf in Ireland and Scotland. It is the only kelp-like seaweed in the British Isles that has a distinct midrib and cannot be confused with anything else. It is also the only seaweed with sporophylls.

In Canada and the USA this seaweed is sometimes sold as 'Atlantic wakame' and is presented as an alternative to Japanese wakame Undaria pinnatifida. Indeed, though the colours differ (true wakame is green), dabberlocks can be substituted for any Japanese recipe calling for wakame.

For other edible seaweed (sea vegetables), see the guide to edible seaweed

References:

[1]. David Evans Notes from field observations, tastings and cookery experiments.
[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–8.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms
[12]. Bunker, F.; Brodie, J.A.; Maggs, C.A. & Bunker, A. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia — A Source Book of Edible Plants