Room of the city: Urban Forager - foam of Ireland

AVA Chin for the foam of Ireland New York Times: what is lacking in taste he composed in design. And thickening power.

A friend and I recently took a walk along the rocky coastline of Pelham Bay Park, where, among the treasures of the low tide, we noted cupping clam, oyster shell beds and an effusive fronds of bladderwrack algae culture waving of the shallow depth of the Long Island Sound. Near my boots, near a partially open bivalve, make bubbles in the water, was a tuft of reddish brown of algae on the size of my palm. Flat, cool and smooth to the touch, algae had a distinctly brackish scent.

MOSS (Chondrus crispus) a k a Ireland carrageenan, carrageenan, Ireland and Irisch Moos foam foam, is a seaweed red, flexible ranges from greenish yellow to reddish brown. Sea plant is soft, gelatinous and sculptural, resembling coral branching or a view of the fjords of Norway. Particularly frequent Ireland and Britain, can be found along the European coastline to the Iberian Peninsula. Vegetable of the sea, foam Ireland is high in iodine, sulphur and proteins and produces a gelatinous when boiled.

Essentially flavorless, Chondrus crispus is a source for the carrageenan thickening, a familiar ingredient in ice cream, deli meats, milk, toothpaste, and beer, among other things. While the world Organization of health and the European Commission scientific committees have found limited amounts of carrageenan safe for consumption (other than in infant), some warn that some forms of it could promote gastrointestinal ulcers and some forms of cancer.

This natural side of the Atlantic, foam Ireland can be found in the Canada to the Long Island Sound, including the Bronx. According to Charles Yarish, an expert of algae at the University of Connecticut, due to climate change, sea plant is at risk in the city of New York, where it is slowly decline in our waters. To facilitate conservation efforts (and to avoid possible pollutants), it is not desirable to collect of Chondrus crispus here, so I saw this small patch of floating drift algae away in the tidal Strait, where I hoped it would be long life and prosperity.

In John Wright "edible Seashore", a wonderful book on seaside British of foraging, the author describes foam wild collection of Ireland for a thickener for House panna cotta. I'm dreaming of a time where I can collect of my own samples where the carrageenan is not in danger - perhaps above the Atlantic - and use it as a substitute for possible pectin for jams summer house.

View the original article here