Name: Sea lettuce (Ulva lactuca and related Ulva species) — a thin, bright green, ruffled seaweed that looks like lettuce leaves and grows on rocks and in tide pools around the world.
Description
Sea lettuce grows in the shallow waters of coastlines around the Atlantic, Pacific and Mediterranean, and has been eaten for centuries in Scotland, Ireland, Scandinavia, Japan, China and the Pacific islands. In Japan it is called aosa and is used in miso soup and tempura, and in Scotland it was eaten in soups and salads.
It has a fresh, mild, slightly salty flavour and a tender, slightly chewy texture. In warm, polluted waters, sea lettuce can grow into huge “green tides,” and is sometimes harvested for food or composting.
Main nutrition value
Sea lettuce provides fibre, iron, magnesium, calcium and vitamin C, and is also a source of iodine, in modest amounts.
How best to be consumed
Sea lettuce is eaten fresh or dried, in small amounts.
- Add fresh leaves to salads, soups and sandwiches.
- Dry and crumble flakes over rice, noodles and eggs, or fry in tempura.
- Simmer in miso soup, as in Japanese aosa no misoshiru.
- Rinse well, since sand and salt cling to the leaves.
- Buy from clean waters, since sea lettuce absorbs pollutants.
Overconsumption could cause…
Sea lettuce is safe in small amounts, with some points to watch.
- Too much iodine, which can disrupt thyroid function, so heavy or regular intake is not advised for people with thyroid conditions, and in pregnancy a limit applies.
- Heavy metals such as cadmium, lead and arsenic, which seaweed can absorb from seawater, so buy from reputable sources and do not eat large amounts every day.
- Contamination if gathered from polluted waters.
- Digestive upset from large amounts.
Wikipedia — Ulva lactuca, used for origin, naming and history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulva_lactuca
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