Porphyra umbilicalis
(L.) J. G. Agardh
Purple laver
(c) Gabriele Kothe-Heinrich, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
(c) gsaunders, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by gsaunders
(c) Lou Wagstaffe, some rights reserved (CC BY)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Seaweed, Frond, Algae
It is eaten raw or cooked and fresh or dried. It is pureed and sold as laverbread and used in a range of dishes. Laver sauce is traditionally used with meats, especially mutton.
Known Hazards
Where to Find It
It grows in the intertidal zone of the Atlantic Ocean.
Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Britain, Canada, Europe, France, Iceland, Japan, Mediterranean, New Zealand, North America, Norway, Scandinavia, Spain, USA, West Africa,
How to Identify
A red seaweed. It is fleshy. It spreads 10-30 cm across. It has a soft rubbery texture. The holdfast is thin, small and like a disk.
Nutrition Score: 80/100
| Part | Moisture | kJ | kcal | Protein | Vit A | Vit C | Iron | Zinc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fronds | 8.4 | 724 | 173 | 39.4 | — | 160 | 10.7 | 3.7 |
Wikipedia
Source ↗Porphyra umbilicalis, commonly called "laver", is a species of seaweed in the genus Porphyra. It is smooth in texture and forms delicate, sheetlike thalli, reaching 25 centimetres (10 in) long and often clinging to rocks. Porphyra is classified as red algae; it tends to be a brownish colour, but boils down to a dark green pulp when prepared. It is unusual amongst seaweeds because the fronds are only one cell thick. It is commonly found around the west coast of Great Britain and east coast of Ireland along the Irish Sea, where it is also known as "sleabhac" or "slake". It is edible and used to make laverbread.
Notes
Women in South Wales who regularly ate laver bread were found to develop less breast cancer.
Names & Synonyms
Atlantic nori, Chichima kuro nori, Fjaerehinne, Purple laver, Sloke
References (13)
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- Pereira, L., 2011, A Review of the Nutrient Composition of Selected Edible Seaweeds. In Seaweed. Pomin V. H., (Ed.) Nova Science Publishers, Inc
- Rouxel, C. et al, 2001, Species identification by SDS-PAGE of red algae used as seafood or a food ingredient. Food Chemistry 74 (2001) 349–353
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- Surey-Gent, S. & Morris G., 1987, Seaweed. A User's Guide. Whirret Books. London. p 72, 138
- Zemke-White, W. L. & Ohno, M., 1999, World seaweed utilisation: An end-of-century summary. Journal of Applied Phycology 11: 369-376
