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To extract the carrageenan from red seaweeds, the seaweeds need to be cooked in water. 

You can put the seaweed in a Victoria’s Secret mesh laundry bag for delicates (or the equivalent, such as jelly bags) for ease in re-steeping and removing more and more gel. 

Another option is to put the seaweed in the pot of water directly and press it through a mesh strainer before use. 

Combine 1/2 ounce of red seaweed (Gigartina/Mastocarpus, Iridaea, Irish Moss) with 1-2 quarts of water in crock pot or pot.

Bring to boil and simmer for ½ to 4 hours on the stove or 8-12 hours on low in a crock pot. 

Occasionally stir or pump the gel out of the seaweed to enhance extraction. 

The same red seaweed used in the first steep can be re-used in 4-5 more batches of water for additional gel extraction.

The nutrients in red seaweeds feed bacteria even at temperatures near freezing, so keep gel refrigerated AND re-sterilize it by bringing it to a boil every day or every other day.

In addition to its own medicinal properties, red seaweed gel is a great medium for medicine making with some of our favorite land plants. I like to extract anti-infective herbs in red seaweed gels for extra potentcy and sticking power for throat and intestinal infections. Traditionally in many countries, a delicious drink is made with red seaweed gel and aromatic spices, such as cinnamon and nutmeg (and whiskey for the Irish!). Red seaweed gel can also be used as an egg replacement in vegan baking, and to add texture to many other culinary delights!

Seaweed mucopolysccharides can be complicated to work with in the kitchen, especially when using whole seaweeds (not isolated hydrocolloids). Kitchen Alchemy has a lot of great blog entries and videos about working with hydrocolloids (carrageenan, alginate, agar) to create gels. They work with isolated mucopolysaccharides, but some of this information can be applied to whole-form seaweed gel extraction and use.

Inspired by Harmonic Arts

1 tbsp Lemon Balm
2 tbsp mint
2 tbsp mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), or our local artemisia, Artemisia suksdorfii
2 tbsp nettles
3 tbsp alfalfa
fennel (optional)
hibiscus (optional)
1/2 tsp bullwhip kelp powder
Lemonade or lemon juice & maple syrup (or stevia leaf as alternative sweetener)

Instructions: Measure land herbs (reserve kelp) into quart ball jar. Pour boiling water over herbs. Fill to brim, stirring herbs to remove air. Top off and cover with lid. Steep for 1 hour or overnight.

Strain herb infusion, squeezing out herbs. Add powdered kelp. Mix with 1 tbsp of lemon juice and 1 tbsp maple syrup (more to taste) or mix with a pint of lemonade. (Kelp powder or pieces can also be added to infusion and strained. Other brown seaweeds can be substituted.)  

Chill and drink. Keep refrigerated.

Add about 1oz of dried kombu or bladderwrack seaweed to a polyester mesh bag to enclose.

Put bag in quart ball jar, add luke-warm water, and seal jar.

Shake jar every so often over the course of 30 minutes to an hour to extract gel or leave standing for 4-8 hours until gel forms.

Massage into hair and scalp. Best to leave the gel in your hair without rinsing, it but can be rinsed out with water if needed.

What you will need to dry seaweeds at home:

If you have two sunny, dry days in a row, most seaweeds will dry outside on a cotton or stainless fishing wire line. 


If drying indoors, you must have a heat source to complete the seaweed drying process, or be able to finish it outdoors in the sun. Unlike land plants, seaweeds are extremely hydrophilic—they attract and reabsorb moisture from the air readily. Wood stoves or other ambient heat sources are recommended for indoor drying. (Note: Do not let seaweed drip on your wood stove--it will leave salt and rust that will need to be removed.)


The surface and medium on which you choose to dry seaweeds is important for a couple of reasons: seaweeds will stick to and be hard to get off certain surfaces and seaweeds absorb metals and other elements from the surfaces on which they are hung. For this reason they can degrade and eat through metal and other organic materials such as cotton over time.


Indoors, they can be hung on non-galvanized nails, spaced at least 4 inches apart. Some new nails may be coated with a finish that comes off on your hand. If this is the case, soak the nails in vinegar for 20-30 minutes and then boil in water for 20-30 minutes to start removing the finish. Rust on the nails is ok.

Fishing wire and cotton or polyester clothes lines can also be used for hanging seaweeds indoors or out. 

Whether drying indoors or outdoors, on nails or a line, you will need clothespins to attach each piece of seaweed you hang.

Some seaweeds, such as nori and gigartina, can dry on racks covered in polyester sheets. Most other seaweeds are best dried hanging.

Whether drying outside on sunny days or insides with or without a heating element, it is super important to make sure your seaweeds are completely dry before storing. You may need to finish your seaweed with heat. We recommend either finishing seaweeds near an ambient heat source, such as a wood stove, or laying the mostly dried seaweed in a thin layer in a metal or ceramic baking tray and putting it in the oven at the lowest setting (warm). Turn the oven on and off from this setting (every 10 minutes or so) to keep the heat minimal. Or finish drying outdoors on a dry, sunny day. Seaweed is completely dry when the pieces crack with a sharp/loud snap.

Generally a dehydrator is not recommended for seaweed drying. The seaweed may stick to the racks. However, some of the plastic, round-rack dehydrators with more open grating can work for drying a small amount of seaweed.

Depending on the seaweed, you may do a freshwater rinse to remove snails and some salt before hanging. If rinsing seaweed, you will need a plastic or metal screen rack (or collander) to drain the seaweeds on before hanging. 

Seaweed should be stored in airtight containment away from sunlight and will last years if well protected. Doubled ziplock bags or a food grade plastic bucket with a good sealing lid are recommended. Though some vitamins degrade in dried foods over time, many of the minerals and micronutrients in seaweeds remained preserved.


Processes for hanging and drying seaweeds will be discussed in additional detail in class.

Learner Limbach 2019

Ingredients (for 12 pint jars)

2 bullwhip kelp whips, cut into small rounds

Brine

6 pints water (12 cups)

3 pints vinegar (6 cups)

½ cup salt

Spices

½ tsp mustard seed

½ tsp black pepper corns

¼ tsp whole coriander

¼ tsp red chili flakes (or sub any hot pepper fresh or dried) *for light spice - omit if you don’t like spicy or increase for extra spicy

¼ tsp turmeric and/or curry

¼ tsp dill weed (or sub fresh dill weed and/or dill umbel)

3-4 cloves of fresh garlic (can sub or add fresh garlic scapes)

A few slices fresh onion

2 small-medium sized grape leaf (this prevents the kelp rings from getting mushy over time)

2 bay leaves

1. Make brine for pickles

Calculate how much brine you will need for your Kelp Pickle batch. You will need about 9 pints of brine for 12 pints of pickles.

In a cooking pot, combine vinegar and water at two parts water and one part vinegar (6 pints water and 3 pints vinegar will cover a 12 pint case of canning jars.) Use distilled white vinegar and clean water.

Mix in salt to taste. It should taste like a pleasant amount of salt. About 1 cup per two gallons of brine. *Note: Use non-iodized pickling/canning salt. (regular table salt can cause discoloring and cloudiness due to the iodine and other additives)

2. Add Spices to jars (Organic if possible)

For the recipe below I have provided measurements as close as I could come up with for a recipe, but the general idea is to not be confined to one recipe, and to experiment to figure out what you like best. I experiment every year to try out different variations. Sometimes I am lacking a spice or I have something new and different available in season.

For 1 pint of Kelp Pickles

½ tsp mustard seed

½ tsp black pepper corns

¼ tsp whole coriander

¼ tsp red chili flakes (or sub any hot pepper fresh or dried) *for light spice - omit if you don’t like spicy or increase for extra spicy

¼ tsp turmeric and/or curry

¼ tsp dill weed (or sub fresh dill weed and/or dill umbel)

3-4 cloves of fresh garlic (can sub or add fresh garlic scapes)

A few slices fresh onion

2 small-medium sized grape leaf (this prevents the kelp rings from getting mushy over time)

2 bay leaves

3. Chop Kelp into rings (3/8 inch) and pack in jars, filling only up to the jar lid threads. Kelp ring thickness needs to be consistent in order to hold chevre well.

4. Bring brine to a rolling boil and keep it boiling while you scoop it into the jars, covering kelp rings.

*Meanwhile, in a small pot of water, sterilize canning lids by boiling for 10 minutes.

*Fill jars quickly! Otherwise the heat will escape and they will not seal

5. Once jars are filled place sterilized lids on jars, set aside and wait for them to seal.

Note: If any jars have not sealed in 2 hours they probably won’t without extra help. Put these unsealed jars in a bath of boiling water for 5-10 minutes and then remove them to get them to seal. They should seal soon after you take them out of the boiling water.

Inspired by Pacific Seaweeds

You will need:

Blotting or herbarium paper

A clean cotton cloth

At least 2 pieces of cardboard

Newspaper to layer

A plant/flower press or weighted set up (heavy books) for pressing

Seaweed pressing process: Plants are arranged on herbarium paper into desired design. Optional: you can float paper and seaweeds in seawater to aid in arranging the seaweeds. Cover your design with a clean cotton cloth. Sandwich cloth and paper with seaweeds between layers of newspaper (to absorb moisture). Sandwich newspaper layers between corrugated cardboard (creates flat surface for pressing and allows airflow) Compress in a plant/flower press or by laying on a flat surface with a weight placed evenly on top (heavy books).

Let set at least one week (until plants are dry). You may need to refresh the newspaper part way through the pressing for thick plants that contain a lot of moisture. When dry, carefully remove layers to reveal your design. Frame or laminate to preserve your art!