Content can be downloaded for non-commercial purposes, such as for personal use or in educational resources.
For commercial purposes please contact the copyright holder directly.
Read more about the The Creative Archive Licence.
Description
Lede
Laver, or dried seaweed, is a local delicacy and traditional cooking ingredient in coastal Pembrokeshire. Laverbread made with seaweed is a unique and popular dish.
Story
If you’ve ever noticed sheets of what appears to be a translucent brown plastic film covering the rocks and the sand where the surf rolls in, you’ve seen the seaweed known in Wales as laver (or sloke in Ireland).
If you’ve ever enjoyed sushi you will have eaten laver too because it plays a significant role in Japanese cuisine: called nori, it’s used as a wrapper around small parcels of rice.
Sea shore foraging stretches back into prehistory but in recent times has been popularized by innovative restaurants and creative chefs. Relegated to history elsewhere, seaweed consumption survived in Wales where ‘laverbread’ has been a cherished addition to a fried breakfast for generations. Laver pickers, mainly women, would collect quantities of Porphyra seaweed from the beaches where it grew, rinse it thoroughly to remove the sand and boil it for hours in big tubs. The resulting black gloop was sold in local markets and butchers’ shops - where you can still buy it today; it’s also sold in tins, sachets and jars.
To make traditional-style laverbread, simply add oatmeal and pepper (no salt!) form the mixture into rough patties and fry them in the hot bacon fat until lightly browned. The flavour’s subtle but not fishy as some assume. Laver has been dubbed Welshman’s caviar; the tag caught on - an exaggeration perhaps but it remains the stuff of memories for those who grew up with it.
Laver has a place in a meat-free diet too: it can be used in soups and sauces as a nutritious flavouring or as a condiment. It even makes its way into cheese and oatcakes, available in many shops.
In the 21st century there’s been a new interest in seaweed as a sustainable resource with the possibility of using it to capture carbon too. Experiments in growing and harvesting seaweed are under way on the Pembrokeshire coast near St David’s. Local foraging courses and days out offer a chance to collect your own.
Do you have information to add to this item? Please leave a comment
Comments (0)
You must be logged in to leave a comment