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Early Europeans ate seaweed for thousands of years

smithsonianmag.com

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Re: Early Europeans ate seaweed for thousands of years

#131

Post by efields »

dpflan wrote: post #8

Just watch survival shows like Alone or Life Below Zero , the fact that people ate things in their environment to survive, and that the things that didn't kill them and helped them survive were continued...is not news, it should actually be considered more an ongoing assumption that they did versus astonishment that they did. Nevertheless, aside from that slight rant, it is good to see scientific techniques and analy…

We have a small specialty cut flower farm and also grow plants for fun. I like to take people around and just start eating all the herbs and leaves and berries and bits, off of all sorts of plants. "That's edible?" "How hungry are you?"

Re: Early Europeans ate seaweed for thousands of years

#132

Post by efields »

JAlexoid wrote: post #86
eftychis wrote: post #54

And still do? It is still eaten in the Mediterranean. (e.g. salad.) Is the article supposed to be surprising or just keeping us updated on the oldest findings? It seems it thinks the former.

It's news for the "modernized" people, that scoff at offal, weird mushrooms and "unusual" foods. Only a few peoples stopped consuming traditional foods, as one might expect.

I've tried tripe a few times and times and I can chew it, swallow it, sure, but its just so foreign to me that I don't seek it out any more.

Re: Early Europeans ate seaweed for thousands of years

#133

Post by telesilla »

pstuart wrote: post #32
HeckFeck wrote: post #17

Some of us still do! In Northern Ireland, we have a lesser-known seaweed dish called Dulce. https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20180522-the-renaissance-... It's tricky to find it fresh, you usually only get it in small greengrocers or at the Auld Lammas fair. Used to be quite cheap for a bag. Very salty but quite edible and said to be nutrient-dense.

Here in Oregon we're farming Dulse and it seems to be taking off: https://www.oregonseaweed.com/ Apparently when prepared right it tastes like bacon.

I buy it dried and use it as a bacon substitute. I'm paying way too much for what I wish I could harvest.

Re: Early Europeans ate seaweed for thousands of years

#134

Post by wlamartin »

AlecSchueler wrote: post #78
HeckFeck wrote: post #17

Some of us still do! In Northern Ireland, we have a lesser-known seaweed dish called Dulce. https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20180522-the-renaissance-... It's tricky to find it fresh, you usually only get it in small greengrocers or at the Auld Lammas fair. Used to be quite cheap for a bag. Very salty but quite edible and said to be nutrient-dense.

Haha, I clicked on comment to be the token Northern Irishman bringing this up, but you beat me to it! I didn't know seaweed wasn't a common food until I moved to the Netherlands and started enquiring about the local seaweed, only to be met with blank looks or people pointing me to the sushi nori at Albert Heijn. I've been here for years and I still don't understand how such a seafaring nation with such an intimate co…

Northern Irish, living in the Netherlands, commenting on hacker news, there must be severals of us!

Re: Early Europeans ate seaweed for thousands of years

#135

Post by JelteF »

AlecSchueler wrote: post #123
riedel wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Typically you get Salicornia in the Netherlands which is not strictly seaweed but I guess somewhat comparible (aquatic plants is I guess what they call it in the article)

Ah yes samphire! Zeekreel. Funny enough it's something I've seen growing at home in Ireland but never thought it was something I could be eating. I'll check that out for sure, thank you.

Zeekraal is really nice in lots of dishes. It goes well with at least pasta, patatoes and salads.

Re: Early Europeans ate seaweed for thousands of years

#137

Post by jna_sh »

AlecSchueler wrote: post #117
TeMPOraL wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Cheese will save us all. Except vegans, of course.

Interestingly the Netherlands is actually one of the biggest markets for vegan cheese altnernatives. Many people here, even if they aren't vegan, try to limit their reliance on animal products for health, climate related or other moral reasons.

Moving here from London was a shock: I thought London was one of the better places for vegetarian food, I wasn’t prepared for the huge selection of vegan alternatives in everyday Dutch supermarkets

Re: Early Europeans ate seaweed for thousands of years

#139

Post by pvaldes »

vanderZwan wrote: post #129
pvaldes wrote: post #118

Is a fact that early Europeans ate sea urchins. We still do the same. Therefore, early Europeans ate also the many different red, brown, and green algae that came in each urchin stomach. This predigested small pieces is what gives the urchins its special flavor. You can't ate one, and not the other. This does not mean that they would eat directly the same algae raw. They are a cocktail of chemicals. not easy to eat i…

First, the article specifically says they do not know how the seaweed was prepared, so I'm not sure where the "eating it raw" is coming from. Second, we also still eat seaweed , as many other comments here point out (most of the comments are from the British Isles, so I'll add one that is also available in the Netherlands, where I'm from: salicorna, or "zeekraal"). I'd also like to note that I have never heard of any…

> I'd also like to note that I have never heard of any dish involving sea urchins. > I'm sure they exist in the cuisine that you are familiar with

You may have heard about a small place called the Mediterranean.

not a place really relevant for European culture if we except three or four empires that shaped the history of the humanity.

Every country touched by the Greeks or Roma knows how sea urchins taste. You could find them easily [1] in coastal areas of Greece, Spain, Morocco, Lybia, Egypt, France, Italy, Portugal, Cyprus... probably also Ireland. I bet that a lot of Asian and American countries have heard of it also by their own means. Japanese pay astronomical prices for them.

[1] If you know where to look for

Guess the reason why so many people eat them.

Re: Early Europeans ate seaweed for thousands of years

#140

Post by bullfightonmars »

riedel wrote: post #111
AlecSchueler wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Haha, I clicked on comment to be the token Northern Irishman bringing this up, but you beat me to it! I didn't know seaweed wasn't a common food until I moved to the Netherlands and started enquiring about the local seaweed, only to be met with blank looks or people pointing me to the sushi nori at Albert Heijn. I've been here for years and I still don't understand how such a seafaring nation with such an intimate co…

Typically you get Salicornia in the Netherlands which is not strictly seaweed but I guess somewhat comparible (aquatic plants is I guess what they call it in the article)

This is something I really miss now that I don’t live in NL. I have found it along the coast in Washington, but almost never for sale.
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