Abstract
Purpose: Two thousands species of seaweed inhabit around the coastal area of Japan and most of them are known to be edible. However, very little species such as “konbu”, “wakame”, “hijiki”, “tengusa”,”amanori” and “mozuku” are available and cooking methods of them are limited. Although seaweeds are expected to be a good resource of minerals and functional elements, amount of consumption has been reduced recently. We searched traditional seafoods in Japanese fishing villages to find unused seaweed foods and exploit them into modern dishes.
Methods: Local seaweed foods and their cooking methods are searched in publications and information of local communities’ web pages or gathering from fishermen’s associations and fisheries experimental stations.
Results: Several seaweed species including “funori”, which was utilized in most areas of Japan before World War II, but is not currently consumed so much, are still used in limited areas, in addition to “akamoru” and “kurome” to which elaborate efforts for utilization have been paid. “Ginnanso” belonging to red algae of Gigartinaceae is utilized in limited areas in Japan and “akahatamochi” is made from “akabaginnanso” by a uncommon cooking method “steaming and pounding” in Hachinohe Sameura of Aomori Prefecture. “Akahatamochi” demonstrates a distinctive textural property from “okyuto” and “ego” that are made from “egonori” by “boiling”. Pickles made from “kajime” belonging to brown algae of Laminariaceae by “pickling in miso or rice-bran paste” are found in Hirado and Tsushima areas in Kyushu district. These traditional seaweed pickles are expected to be applied into modern dishes by using different seaweed species and/or fermenting systems.
