1. Grain of the sea
Yes, you read that right: Just like the expensive, sprawling fields of rice, wheat, chia, quinoa, and rye on land, expanses of wheat grow under water. In a study published in Science in 1973, researchers described how the Seri, an indigenous people living along the Gulf of California in the Mexican state of Sonora, have for generations grown grain made from seaweed ( Zostera marina), a type of plant that flourishes under sea waters. After the harvest, the Seri turn this grain into flour, just as people around the world do with wheat and rice. Once the grass has been dried and threshed, they collect the seeds which are then toasted and pulverized to transform them into flour. They therefore mix the flour in the water and flavor the mixture with honey, with the oily seeds of other plants and, sometimes, with sea turtle oil.
Currently, in Spain, a Michelin-awarded chef, Ángel León has set himself the goal of popularizing Z. marina wheat among city palates. After making a name for himself in the gastronomic universe for highlighting unknown marine foods on the menu of his Cádiz restaurant, Aponiente, León has teamed up in partnership with marine researchers from the University of Cádiz and the government of the region to try to cultivate seaweed in the salt marshes of the city. León's goal, according to Time, is to use seaweed to make bread, oil and even ferment it to make sake. Being able to ensure the water, temperature and salinity conditions necessary for seaweed to grow could have other benefits: it could contribute to the recovery of seaweed beds that are disappearing around the world and which are home to sea turtles, seahorses and other marine animals . Furthermore, since seaweed does not require fresh water to grow, its beds could help support food production in a water-scarce future, while also sequestering excess carbon, Leon told the Guardian .
2. Sea truffles
Truffles, those earthy, pungent expensive mushrooms that are synonymous with fine dining, have an oceanic counterpart. I present to you Vertebrata lanosa , a red seaweed that some chefs have nicknamed sea truffle. These bristly seaweeds, whose taste and smell are said to be very reminiscent of oceanic truffles, notoriously grow primarily on the cold-water seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum on the beaches of the British Isles and in countries such as Iceland, Norway and Canada. People typically grow them by hand in the wild.
3. Vegetarian caviar
Like truffles, another luxury food that has found a substitute in seaweed is caviar: those very expensive salted roe or mounds of fish roe that can cost thousands of dollars a kilo. Typically, caviar comes from large fish such as sturgeon (family Acipenseridae) and paddlefish (family Polyodontidae), many of which are endangered. Although most caviar today is made from farmed fish, the process of removing the eggs raises some ethical questions and research indicates that sturgeon is still passed off as 'wild' caviar.
Introduce vegetarian caviar: jelly-like, salty pearls made from large algae or kelp such as Laminaria hyperborean . Spread kelp caviar on toast or use it as a garnish in the increasingly popular fashion of chefs around the world, and you have the cheapest vegetarian substitute for roe, lumpfish and cod. Kelp caviar also has a longer shelf life: up to three months after opening, according to Caviart, a Danish company that produces kelp caviar, which shelf life is about three times longer than fish caviar once opened. Could kelp caviar prove to be the 'golden egg' of the future, as Caviart claims?
4. Herring roe on kelp
There is another delicacy that involves both kelp and fish roe. It is the kelp coated by the roe of the Pacific herring ( Clupea pallasii ), a highly prized food among the First Nations of British Columbia, Canada, as well as Alaska, Washington state and the United States. For generations, First Nations have sold herring roe to neighboring tribes. Currently, these countries also process and package much of its crispy products for the Japanese market, where they are popular with sushi lovers.
Pacific herring is important not only to the indigenous peoples of BC but also to wildlife such as salmon, wolves, sea lions, otters and seabirds that await the arrival in hordes of this yearly fish. However, things are not looking good for herring. First Nations have issued a warning over the decimation of herring populations on Canada's west coast, ordering a moratorium on commercial fishing of this species until their stock is recovered.
5. Kelp-based alcohol
How about a kelp beer? Or maybe some kelp rum? Or even, to correct your cocktail by flavoring it with a touch of kelp?
From Great Britain to Sweden , the US , Scotland and Canada , distilleries around the world have created kelp-flavored distilled beer; and not just the beer. Spirits producers experiment with kelp-infused rum and gin and seaweed-smoked barrel-aged whiskey. Kelp also begins to be used in cocktails such as martini.
6. Fish jerky
You know those fish fillets so perfect they could have been ordered at the restaurant? The threading process produces a ton of waste, not just the head and bones but also any parts that aren't the desired shape and size. This waste can be used in animal feed or fertilizer, or thrown away. What if you could turn these 'unwanted' but perfectly edible bits into tasty snacks? This is just what Nick Mendoza, a former marine scientist, has managed to do with his series of fish jerky.
After many trials to create a product that has "the taste, texture and aroma of beef jerky", his company, NeptuneSnacks, now sells jerkyderived from white fish that is caught on the west coast of the United States by small artisanal fishermen.
His company uses fish waste from fisheries that have Marine Stewardship Council certification, a voluntary certification tool that sets sustainability standards. Then, they work and manufacture their products in Seattle, which is not very far away. In addition, NeptuneSnacks procures a QR code on the packaging of their jerky through which the consumer can read where the fish contained therein was caught and by whom.
7. Unwanted Treasures
Sparids ( Stenotomus chrysops ), triggerfishes (family Balistidae), silver-bellied fishes ( Gerres spp.), the lizardfishes (family of the Synodontidae), the needlefishes or pipefishes (family of the Belonidae). Often caught by mistake by anglers looking for more popular species, these fish tend to be classified as low value, undesirable or even 'garbage'. Thus, these animals are usually thrown away or used in animal or fish feed. However, just about everywhere in the world, there is a growing trend to diversify our seafood palates to include these undesirable marine animals, many of which are just as good as the more popular fish even though you've never heard of them. Furthermore,
In other parts of the world, chefs lead the way. Chef León, for example, has based his entire menu on fish that would otherwise be thrown away, such as pandora fish, krill, sea bream and mackerel.
8. Eat the invaders
One way to deal with the uncontrollable numbers of invading organisms, those species introduced to new regions by the accidental or deliberate action of man, is to eat them. The lionfish (Pterois volitans and P. miles) is the testimonial of this narrative. If you live in the United States, you may have eaten this punk-headed spiny fish. Native to the Indian and South Pacific oceans, the lionfish is established in the Atlantic, where it has no known predators and devours native fish species. And so, prompted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, chefs have begun serving lionfish in their restaurants, while its fillets fill grocery stores like Whole Foods.
There are those who turn many other marine invaders into culinary delights. Chef Bun Lai , for example, has created his own menu based on the invader species. Miya's, his family restaurant in Connecticut, serves lionfish but also fish species that act as invaders in other areas, such as the Asian riparian crab ( Hemigrapsus sanguineus ) native to the Western Pacific Ocean, the green crab ( Carcinus maenas ) native of Atlantic Europe and North Africa, and the periwinkle ( Littorina littorea ), a snail native to Europe.
9. We eat farmed fish, but what does this in turn eat?
