If you’re a fan of foraging food and finding edible treats in the wild, this series is for you.
For those who’ve been following this blog they may have noticed that I have a love for zombies and post-apocalyptic scenarios and so, this is how the survival series was born!
This week we’re looking at the delight that is:
Laver/Nori
This popular sea vegetable is used in many Asian countries and people may be most familiar with it from sushi where it’s often seen wrapped around the sushi rice.
A red algae, it’s also known as purple laver or black butter. It’s the most widely consumed seaweed in the world.
It grows in thin layers and sticks to rocks on the upper shore where it resembles black plastic sheets – easy to overlook if you’re not careful. You can lift the seaweed directly from the rocks in sheets or ribbons.
It’s a wild food that’s rich in vitamins A, B1, B2, B12 and E and even contains more vitamin C than oranges – a handy snack if you’re jumping from rock to rock.
(Dried Laver via Wikimedia Commons/SecretLondon)
Apart from using processed nori in wrapping sushi, I’ll happily nibble away at it as a snack. Forget crisps, this is a real treat.
To dry the nori out so you can rehydrate it later, simply leave it out in the sun or as I learned recently from Darach Ó Murchú, you can leave it out on your car dashboard.
As always, happy foraging and only take as much as you need. Nature will love you for it!
(Lead image “Porphyra yezoensis” by Anonymous Powered. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 Wikimedia Commons)
