Harvesting, Growing and Cooking with Seaweeds in the Bay of Cádiz (Spain)
摘要
The Bay of Cádiz (southern Spain) is a shallow embayment where, due to tidal movement, light, and optimal temperature, some seaweeds such as Ulva spp. or Gracilaria spp. grow abundantly in the earthen ponds. These species are harvested in the wild and sold fresh, dried, powdered, or salted to (mostly) local restaurants. In addition to the wild harvesting, several pilot research projects have been carried out in these earthen ponds to farm the species mentioned above, as well as others with a high culinary potential, such as Gracilariopsis longissima, Chondracanthus tedeei, or Codium taylorii. Probably the most limiting step in the use of seaweeds for culinary purposes in Cádiz (and in Spain as a whole) is not the availability of raw material, but the lack of knowledge about where to buy seaweeds and use them in the kitchen. Some high-end and mid-range restaurants have included local seaweeds in their menus, but the challenge is to get people to use this “blue food” in their home menus. In this sense, outreach activities such as seaweed tastings, show-cookings (demonstrations), television programs, radio interviews, or public talks on phycogastronomy (i.e., the art and science of cooking with seaweeds) are being carried out by the authors to increase the acceptance of seaweeds in home cooking.