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a freind and myself and others that join us along the way are going to the beach to collect seaweed for cooking,i have some that was collected in fenit not far away and it thickens my soup and stews,this carragline (ithink its called)was harvested by a friend of a friend so we`re not sure what to look for,in its dryed state it obviously will look different on the beach,anyone collect this?and have you pics of what we should look for?
don`t really want to go the person it came from as they sell it on the market for a good price.

shell wrote:a freind and myself and others that join us along the way are going to the beach to collect seaweed for cooking,i have some that was collected in fenit not far away and it thickens my soup and stews,this carragline (ithink its called)was harvested by a friend of a friend so we`re not sure what to look for,in its dryed state it obviously will look different on the beach,anyone collect this?and have you pics of what we should look for?
don`t really want to go the person it came from as they sell it on the market for a good price.

Be warey if you live near a power station especially a nuke one,lol It glows in the dark ! Also check what you are allowed to take as some species are protected and it has something to do with high tide and low tide levels. Are all species edible ? I'm not sure of the whole details but try doing a search for edible seaweeds and beech foraging to see if it throws up some details or pictures, sorry not to be of more help.

Dear Shell,

Have you tried looking in Richard Maybe "Food for Free"? There's a whole chapter devoted to seaweeds,

Love and Peace
Jim

mollie wrote:You live in Ireland so i would think you should find sea lettuce, laver, Dulse and many others. Surely the hamiltons should know

I can vouch for Sea Lettuce growing round here as it's unmistakable and the only one I can confidently identify.
It's a vivid bright green and really does look like a lettuce leaf

thanks,i expect to go to fenit soon with friends and the kids,i`ll look out for sea lettuce and the carragleen,excuse spelling,if pics are possible then pics will be posted

I saw on River Cottage that all seaweed in the UK is edible - perhaps that goes for Ireland too. I assume the British Isles all get the same seaweed.

Virtually all seaweeds are edible, certainly round these shores, but some are not very tasty!

All your usual ones though, kelp, bladderwrack, sea lettuce etc are both - I pick and dry kelp and also smoke some of it - yummy in soups stews etc.

Carrageen is Irish Moss - Chondrus crispus. It's not confined to Ireland, according to my seaweed book, but I've never found any round here.

Reasonable pic and info here
http://www.irishseaweeds.com/CarrageenI ... dalgae.htm

Hi - in addition to the plants mentioned above, I really recommend Dulse - but to get it you need to get wet - either snorkle or go at lowest Spring tide - red weed often found growing on the Kelp. Worth it.

Introduce these plants gradually into your diet - too much of a good thing can leave you feeling a bit queer