Seawater and Seaweed

Opportunities, not obstacles

For some people, living on a small island can make you feel isolated, cut off from the rest of the world – especially when the ferry is off due to the weather, or the fog descends and the mainland is hidden from view. I try to see the surrounding water as an opportunity rather than an obstacle: an opportunity to forage for seaweed and shellfish, to catch fish, to make seawater sourdough and sea salt.

I had been baking my own bread using water from the tap and salt from a packet for several years before I had a flash of inspiration: “Hey, why don’t I use that ready-mixed salty water out there?!” It was the same with making my own sea salt – the woodstove is lit pretty much all winter, so why not evaporate a small pot of water on top of it to make salt? (Obviously I only do these things when it is safe to do so, and there are no harmful algal blooms around.)

Seaweed is common on the rocky shores, and piles of it are washed up onto the beaches after winter storms: great for collecting and spreading on the vegetable patch.

Several different species are within easy foraging range around here. Luckily, none of the seaweeds that you can reach by foot in the UK are toxic, so while some may be tastier than others, none are going to kill you! Personal favourites include Gutweed (Ulva intestinalis) that, despite it’s name, is delicious dried and crumble on pizza; Sugar Kelp (Saccharina latissima) is a tasty addition to sourdough crackers; the reproductive bladders of Eggwrack (Ascophyllum nodosum) can be pickled in white wine vinegar to make “Sea Capers”; and Sea Spaghetti (Himanthalia elongata) can be mixed in with “normal” spaghetti. However, the less said about my attempts at Laverbread the better!

A new one for me that I foraged this weekend is Wrack Siphon Weed (Polysiphonia lanosa), also known by such descriptive names as “Sea Muff” or “Mermaid’s Pubes”! A rather more appetising common name is Sea Truffle, due to the fact it is supposed to taste like truffles. I’ve dried some out, but haven’t tried it yet.

And that, I think, is all for now. Thank you for reading.

Cat x

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