Langdon has called the new seaweed “amazing” and explained that “When you fry it, which I have done, it tastes like bacon, not seaweed”.
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The new seaweed is the brainchild of researcher Chris Langdon and his colleagues at Oregon State University (OSU), who created and patented a new strain of dulse (Palmaria sp). Even though the dire warnings about saturated fat and cardiovascular disease have softened somewhat recently (and not all experts agree with it), bacon still packs a serious health punch.
However, the new strain developed by researchers can be farmed and eaten fresh.
This strain, which looks like translucent red lettuce, is an excellent source of minerals, vitamins and antioxidants – and it contains up to 16 percent protein in dry weight, Langdon said. “We were able to grow dulse-fed abalone at rates that exceeded those previously reported in the literature”.
We’re curious to taste the stuff for ourselves, but if it tastes as much like bacon as they say it does, dulse could be a real game-changer. “And it’s a pretty strong bacon flavor”.
The research team received a grant from the Oregon Department of Agriculture to explore dulse as a “specialty crop” – the first time seaweed had made the list, officials said.
Several Portland-area chefs are now testing the sea “vegetable” in its raw or cooked form. However, some MBA students studying under Chuck Toombs, in OSU’s College of Business, are reportedly exploring the potential for this dulse variety as a new aquaculture business, as well as preparing a marketing plan for a new line of specialty foods based on it. No one is commercially growing this type of algae for human consumption in the US yet, but people in northern Europe have been eating it for centuries.
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Researchers started working on this strain at OSU’s food innovation center in Portland, but they grow it in tanks on land in Newport at the Hatfield Marine Science Center. Therefore, the researchers maintained that it was easily possible to create an industry in eastern Oregon that would provide a boost to dulse production. All that is needed for its growth and nourishment is a sufficient amount of seawater and some sunshine.
