Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Wild Food guide to Sugar Kelp along with all the Sugar Kelp containing recipes presented on this site, with 17 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 Sugar Kelp as a major wild food ingredient.

Sugar Kelp, Saccharina latissima, [previously known as Laminaria saccharina] (also known as Sea Belt, Poor Man's Weather Glass, Kombu Royale and Marafuto kombu) 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 circumboreal distribution (ie all seas around the North Pole). It grows grows profusely in intertidal pools and occasional in the shallow subtidal, becoming more abundant at low water in sheltered localities with fast-moving water, such as rapids systems. In the subtidal, it is characteristic of intermittently disturbed areas. In terms of relatives, it is closely related to the four other species (Saccharina japonica, Laminaria angustata, Laminaria longissima and Laminaria ochotensis ) typically harvested as 'Kombu' in Japan (but is the only one of these species found in the Atlantic and is frequently harvested and sold as kombu. Indeed, it is much prized for this purpose as the fronds contain the sugar, mannitol and it is considered sweeter and more sought after, hence the common name of 'Kombu Royale'. Indeed, any recipe calling for Kombu can be made with this form of kelp. They are yellow-brown seaweeds, with elongated, unbranched, fronds that that can grow to 3m in length.

Saccharina latissima are attached to anchor stones with a claw-like holdfast attached to a small, smooth, flexible stipe with a round cross-section which extends to a single laminate blade with parallel, ruffled, sides that has an elongated, tongue-like, appearance. Amongst the Kelps it is unique in having only a single frond that is dimpled with regular depressions known as 'bullations' (see image).

Compared with it's more common relative, Laminaria digitata
As an edible seaweed it can be used in any Japanese recipe calling for 'kombu' (and, indeed, is one of the species harvested in Japan for this purpose) and can be shredded and pickled as a condiment. It also dries well for later use. Like all edible kelps, Saccharina latissima is high in glutamic acid, which contributes to the flavour of 'umami' and aids with the mouth feel of foods making them more appetizing. This species can also be peeled, shredded and eaten raw as a salad vegetable.

Kombu (kelp) is a traditional Japanese additive to all kinds of bean-based stews. It is extremely useful in that it provides the umami flavour (making the dish more more-is) as well as speeding-up the cooking time by softening the beans and thickening the stew itself. To use, just add a few strips of dried kombu to the base of the pan, add the beans on top and cook as normal. A 12cm strip of kelp will be enough for a large pot of beans. The seaweed becomes translucent, tender and very tasty after extended boiling.

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