Deep flavor. Essential minerals. Everyday ease. You can call seaweed a superfood. We like to think of seaweed as “nature’s flavor elevator” for its ability to boost the flavors around it. Like salt, but with a mineral, umami-packed savory taste. What’s umami? With a rich and savory “wow” factor, umami is one of the five tastes along with sweet, sour, salty & bitter and the flavor that makes tomatoes, mushrooms, and meat so savory.
Seaweed and kelps have long been prized for their nutritional content, specifically their high levels of healthy minerals, like iodine. Some of these essential nutrients can be challenging to source from a plant-based diet, making seaweed an essential addition to a healthy diet.
We’re sustainability enthusiasts at heart, so we’re drawn to seaweed because of the impact seaweed farming can have on mitigating the impacts of climate change. Seaweed farming absorbs carbon and nitrogen from the ocean, helping to improve aquatic ecosystems that are threatened by ocean acidification (from rising CO2 levels) and excess nutrients (from agricultural runoff). Seaweed farming also produces a crop with minimal input. Seaweed needs just saltwater and sunlight to grow! No added water, fertilizer, arable land, feed, or inputs of any kind. Sounds pretty sustainable, right?
But, seaweed is so much more! A umami-rich food that elevates the flavor of any dish. A nutrient-packed seasoning that provides an excellent source of iodine. An easy-to-use ingredient that brings some brine, zest, and depth of flavor to a simple meal. Need ideas? Check out our Seaweed Recipes.
A Nourishing Green
We cringe to call it a “superfood,” overused as that word is, but the truth is... seaweed is rich! In nutrients, fiber, and protein. Every sprinkle of seaweed flakes is packed with essential vitamins and minerals like iodine, calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, and B vitamins. Seaweeds contain omega-3 fatty acids and compounds, like fucoidan, which has been shown to have anti-oxidative and anti-tumor properties. Seaweed is full of fiber, which helps with digestion. Seaweeds are thought to contain beneficial bioactive peptides that may help reduce high blood pressure and prevent cardiovascular disease.
A Salty Climate Change Solution
Ecologically speaking, seaweed is also a regenerative and healing plant. Seaweed farming is a healthy and sustainable way to lower our carbon footprint and feed humankind, and we’ve chosen it because we’re committed to fighting climate change through transforming the food system. The ocean absorbs 40 percent of the carbon we release into the atmosphere, which acidifies the water and prevents shellfish and corals from growing their shells and skeletons. Absorbing that carbon into seaweed can offset that damage, without the environmental pitfalls of industrialized farming like pesticides, fertilizers, antibiotics, or soil deterioration. It’s a true win-win.
A Sea of Flavor
Over and over again, we fall in love with seaweed’s culinary potential. From the depth it brings to broths and beans, to its savory burst of flavor on avocado toast, to the umami richness of seaweed flakes on a crispy fried egg, seaweed is endlessly versatile and inspiring. It has ancient roots in the kitchen, too, all around the world—from here in California to East Asia to Northern Europe to South America. We continue learning from long standing cooking traditions that know seaweed well, and from contemporary cooks finding creative and profoundly delicious new ways to use it. You’ll find that it lends a savory balance to rich and sweet foods, a punch of seasoning to mild flavors, and a briny backbone to just about anything. Use it anywhere you use salt, and taste the difference.
A Growing Movement
We’re lucky to partner with like-minded regenerative ocean farmers all along the West Coast, and contribute to a growing and resilient network of decentralized, small food producers and advocates. Cultivated in the wild pacific waters, seaweed plays out the ecological principles that regenerative farmers in land and water are working to strengthen—from absorbing carbon to creating habitat without the natural resource use and chemical pitfalls of industrial farming. At every step of our business, from our seaweed to our partners to our packaging, we focus on using Daybreak Seaweed as a force for positive change. Join our email newsletter to learn more!