The image, above, shows the full Pepper Dulse (Osmundeapinnatifida) in various colour forms, clockwise from top
left: black; olive green, emerald green and brown. In the image,
bottom-left, are close-ups of the fronds, showing the flotation
bladders on their tips..
| Common Name: Pepper Dulse |
| Scientific Name: Osmundea pinnatifida |
| Other Names: Scottish Pepper |
| Family: Rhodomelaceae |
| Range: Common around Ireland, Great Britain including Shetland and south to Portugal and the Mediterranean |
Physical Characteristics
Osmundea pinnatifida is a red alga, growing to 10cm (4 in) in length. The alga is variable in colour, forms distinctive frond-like structures with flotation bladders on the ends and can typically be harvested year-round.
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| Edible Parts: Fronds |
 Edibility Rating: 3 
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 Known Hazards: Though not toxic reports have been found for pepper dulse, like all sea vegetables (seaweed) they should only be collected where they grow in clean water and far away from effluent pipes and other sources of sewage.
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Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Wild Food guide to Pepper Dulse along with all the Pepper Dulse containing recipes presented on this site, with 11 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 Pepper Dulse as a major wild food ingredient.
Pepper Dulse, Osmundea pinnatifida (also known as Laurencia pinnatifida and Scottish Pepper) is a small red alga (and a member of the Rhodomelaceae family [dulse]). It grows grows profusely on exposed to moderately sheltered rocky shores and is common to the middle and lower rocky shores, often covering large areas with a greenish-yellow turf like growth in pools and on rocks but never subtidal. It is red in colour and typically up to 8cm in length which is tough and cartilaginous with flattened fronds. Branching is alternate and occurs in one plane only, with branches becoming shorter towards their apex and broadly rounded. However, the plant can be highly variable in size and coloration and it's precise form depends upon its location the shore. Higher shore plants are generally dwarfed and yellow-green in colour, owing to exposure to high levels of sunshine while on the lower shore they are reddish-brown. Indeed, the colour varies depending on the overall sunlight available to the plant. It grows purple under shady conditions to green with strong sunlight.
The seaweed is highly aromatic and though the its tough nature tends to make it unpopular as a directly useful edible species it can be used in small quantities, if shredded, to flavour stir-fires where it imparts an interesting peppery taste. Indeed, it used to be collected in large quantities in Scotland where it was dried and used as a pepper substitute (some traditional soups and broths of the Highlands and Islands still require dried pepper dulse as an ingredient).
For other edible seaweed (sea vegetables), see the guide to edible seaweed
[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
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 Pepper Dulse as a major wild food ingredient.
Pepper Dulse, Osmundea pinnatifida (also known as Laurencia pinnatifida and Scottish Pepper) is a small red alga (and a member of the Rhodomelaceae family [dulse]). It grows grows profusely on exposed to moderately sheltered rocky shores and is common to the middle and lower rocky shores, often covering large areas with a greenish-yellow turf like growth in pools and on rocks but never subtidal. It is red in colour and typically up to 8cm in length which is tough and cartilaginous with flattened fronds. Branching is alternate and occurs in one plane only, with branches becoming shorter towards their apex and broadly rounded. However, the plant can be highly variable in size and coloration and it's precise form depends upon its location the shore. Higher shore plants are generally dwarfed and yellow-green in colour, owing to exposure to high levels of sunshine while on the lower shore they are reddish-brown. Indeed, the colour varies depending on the overall sunlight available to the plant. It grows purple under shady conditions to green with strong sunlight.
The seaweed is highly aromatic and though the its tough nature tends to make it unpopular as a directly useful edible species it can be used in small quantities, if shredded, to flavour stir-fires where it imparts an interesting peppery taste. Indeed, it used to be collected in large quantities in Scotland where it was dried and used as a pepper substitute (some traditional soups and broths of the Highlands and Islands still require dried pepper dulse as an ingredient).
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
The alphabetical list of all Pepper Dulse recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 11 recipes in total:
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| Buttered Dulse Origin: Britain | Gutweed Salad with Fennel and Orange Origin: Britain | Scotch Broth with Pepper Dulse Origin: Scotland |
| Buttered Petalonia Origin: Britain | Pesto Gwymon (Seaweed Pesto) Origin: Welsh | Seaweed Seasoning Origin: Britain |
| Dried Pepper Dulse Origin: Scotland | Pork and Wild Food Curry Origin: Britain | Seaweed Vinegar Origin: Canada |
| Goosegrass and Wild Greens Soup Origin: Britain | Salad Gwydrwymon gyda Ffenigl ac Oren (Gutweed Salad with Fennel and Orange) Origin: Welsh |
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