Culinary Information

Recipe brochure available soon

Uses for Sugar Kelp are similar to that  of Kelp/Kombu, but the sweeter taste gives it a wider appeal in sweet dishes.  It is a healthy addition to desserts: traditionally used in biscuits, cakes, tarts & cookies in parts of Europe. Very versatile, Sugar Kelp can be eaten raw, roasted, smoked, simmered, steramed & stir-fried. Soaked & reconstituted, it is delicious cut into salads. It makes a healthy snack when toasted into crisps or crumbled to use as a seasoning/garnish. Large pieces are wonderful to wrap vegetables, meat & fish cooked in a steamer or the oven. Also a great ingredient to pickle or ferment with sauerkraut.

Like Kombu, Sugar Kelp has also been used to make broth in Japan. Simmered on its own or added to any stock or simmering dish, it has a sweeter taste  and is a great way to introduce seaweed in one's diet for people wanting to top up all their minerals and maintain healthy iodine levels naturally.  The flavourful  'Umami' - translated from Japanese as 'deliciousness' - comes to the surface as a white powder as the dried seaweed matures; it is an amino acid that is an integral part of the plant. Umami is the fifth taste but does a lot more for the taste experience by balancing & intensifying all the flavours in a dish. That is why Chefs are so keen on it!

Generally, less salt is required in a dish using any type of Kelp, because the abundance of minerals  released provide a 'salty' taste, with a lot less sodium & a better balance of other minerals we need.