I have dealt with my all-time favourite seaweeds, dulse (29 April 2020) and laver (3 February 2021), over the past two years in this column, and it is time for more. Of the 600 or so seaweeds that grace our shores, a mere handful are edible. Most are too stringy, chalky, slimy, bitter or rare, though none (save a rare kelp that contains sulphuric acid) is poisonous. I have a mental list of a dozen or so I collect every year. Here are a few more for your delectation.
There are two species — carragheen, Chondrus crispus, and false carragheen, Mastocarpus stellatus — that not only look similar, but can be used in the same way. These seaweeds are not eaten directly. Instead, a gelatine-like substance is extracted to set…