9 Incredible Uses For Seaweed (PHOTOS)

Seaweed is a term used to refer to a wide array of marine algae. For ages, human civilizations all across the globe have used seaweed for everything from sustenance to agriculture. With modern science, the uses of seaweed have only multiplied, and is another reminder as to the importance of protecting our oceans and the vast valuable resources they are home to.

Have a look at 9 of the most fascinating uses for seaweed, and vote for your favorite!

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It’s very likely that you eat seaweed on a regular basis without even knowing it! Alginate, carrageenan, and agar are extracted from seaweed and used in a wide variety of food products for many different purposes. Seaweed keeps ice cream smooth and creamy by preventing ice crystals from forming when freezing, and actually slows down the speed at which ice cream melts. It is used in beers for a more stable and lasting foam, and in wines to help clarify the color. It is also used to thicken and stabilize everything from sauces, syrups, and soups to mayonnaise, salad dressings, and yogurt.

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It’s very likely that you eat seaweed on a regular basis without even knowing it! Alginate, carrageenan, and agar are extracted from seaweed and used in a wide variety of food products for many different purposes. Seaweed keeps ice cream smooth and creamy by preventing ice crystals from forming when freezing, and actually slows down the speed at which ice cream melts. It is used in beers for a more stable and lasting foam, and in wines to help clarify the color. It is also used to thicken and stabilize everything from sauces, syrups, and soups to mayonnaise, salad dressings, and yogurt.

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Comments

[mzrecycle]

07:27 AM on 04/15/2010

I like that seaweed can remove pollutants from water, but where do they put the seaweed once it's absorbed the metals and other pollutants?

[City of Evil]

11:43 PM on 04/14/2010

What is that stuff in #3? Is it supposed to be food? It looks disgusting.

[jsarets]

12:35 PM on 04/14/2010

Kelp is sometimes added to chicken feed. That's how they make high omega-3 eggs.

I'm not a big fan of farming in natural aquatic ecosystems. It's almost certain to have negative and unexpected consequences, since water is such an effective solvent and containment is problematic. Algae farming should really be done in man-made inland ponds, and then of course we have to furnish adequate concentrations of inorganic mineral nutrients. The algae would still fix carbon and nitrogen from the atmosphere and synthesize goodies like protein, omega-3, and B vitamins.

Whether such aquaculture could be done more efficiently than organic agriculture (e.g. hemp and flax) or managed grazing (e.g. beef and lamb) is unclear. All of these methods yield protein, omega-3, and B vitamins.

One interesting polyculture might be a freshwater microalgae (e.g. spirulina) feeding freshwater sardines (e.g. kapenta) fertilizing green vegetables (e.g. broccoli) which consume excess nitrogen compounds. The farm could be arranged with water trenches between rows of pebble beds and a pump-fed drip irrigation system to recirculate the water through the beds. The sardines would accumulate the omega-3 from the spirulina and produce a rich hydroponic solution for the vegetables.

[northstar11]

11:41 AM on 04/14/2010

sea--weed good -------------------------c weed bad

[qirin]

11:34 AM on 04/14/2010

But can you smoke it?

[Pavane]

12:03 AM on 04/15/2010

Oh yeah, you kin smoke it. And when you does, it scrubs your lungs shiny klean.

[kopanko]

10:07 AM on 04/14/2010

Mmmm, seaweed...

So long as we don't pollute the oceans or compromise their ecosystems to get it, I'm all for it. The Japanese don't have a great track record in that regard (whaling, etc), so it's something I'd want to have looked into before developing massive new markets for it at least.

[Ledamien]

09:29 AM on 04/14/2010

Codename E407. Has been around for a while. Food chemistry is a really interesting field, which often proves that cleverness trumps genetic engineering & co...

[Robert Nix]

08:56 AM on 04/14/2010

"but was 1000 times more effective against genital HPV" I wonder how it does this. Is it mechanical? If not I wonder if it could be used as some type of treatment.

[Cynth]

01:16 PM on 04/14/2010

Merck and GSK would love that!

[magwildwood]

05:24 PM on 04/14/2010

I would say its probably more mechanical. I see similar things when working with viruses in the lab when using different kinds of agar. I think it might be how they move though the meshwork the gelling ingredients make.