Gracilaria and Geladium species of red algae are used as a food in Japanese, Hawaiian, and Filipino cuisine. In Japanese, Gracilaria is called ogonori or ogo. Fresh Gracilaria spp. is considered as a salad vegetable in many parts of the world. Gracilaria confervoides and Gracilaria eucheumcides are used for preparing salad.
How to Cook Red Seaweeds: Clean and washed agar seaweeds are blanched and mixed with chopped onions, tomatoes and ginger to prepare the salad. Gracilaria eucheumcides is chopped and added as a vegetable in fish preparations.
Gracilaria edulis is used to prepare seaweed porridge in the coastal areas of Southern India. There, these seaweeds are collected from the sea shores and cleaned thoroughly before boiling it in water. They are boiled just like rice boiled with water. Cooked seaweeds are taken out and salt is added to the taste before serving it. Seaweed porridge is considered as a highly nutritious meal in these parts of the world.
While preparing seaweed-based food preparations, care should be taken to ensure that these seaweeds are not contaminated with toxic elements present in the sea water. In clean cultivation practices, seaweed-food related health risks can be minimised to nil. Generally, seaweeds grown under hygienic and controlled environments are considered as safe for human consumption.
Other Uses of Red Seaweeds: Red algae are also used for making jelly, extracting agar, and various other medicinal purposes. They are known to have aphrodisiac properties.
Growing Red Seaweeds: Small scale cultivation of agar seaweeds has been picked up by many countries in recent years. Gracilaria spp. can be cultivated for food purposes by using several methods. It can be grown vegetatively in open waters on the bottom of bays, estuaries or reef flats. Rope farming by using ropes or nets may also be practiced. Pond cultivation and tank cultivation are also possible. Under well-managed tank cultivation system, a Gracilaria crop may produce up to six tons of fresh matter per week.
Nutritional Information: Fresh agar seaweed is rich in minerals such as calcium, potassium and magnesium and also rich in folate vitamins.
Gracilaria and Geladium species of red algae are also known as agar seaweeds because agar, a solidifying component of bacteriological culture media, is mainly extracted from these seaweeds.
Preparation of Agar Powder: Fresh agar seaweeds are collected. They are washed and cleaned before drying in the sun for three consecutive days. The dried seaweed is ground with water by using a stone mortar. The pulp is, then, spread in a tray with water and left at a cool, well-aerated and dry place for 24 hours. After that, the pulp is dried in the sun thoroughly. Dried pulp is then pulverized by using a grinder. Thus agar powder is obtained. Agar powder is used in small quantities for adding into ice-cream mix, tomato soup, jams, jelly and marmalade to improve the consistency of the final product.
Preparation of Agar Jelly: For preparing agar jelly, one liter of water is boiled in a steel vessel and then, 100 grams of agar powder is added into it. Stir this mixture time to time until the mixture thickens. Now it’s time to take the mixture out from the heat and filter it through a strainer or a cloth filter. Add adequate amount of sugar to the filtered jelly to the taste and add other ingredients such as lime juice, essence of your choice and coloring agent. Mix the contents well before filtering the mixture again into a clean tray. Keep the mixture to cool. Agar jelly is now ready to serve. Cut it into small pieces and serve.
Uses of Agar: Gracilaria spp. and Geladium spp. are used to extract a carbohydrate called agar-agar. Agar-agar is extensively used in pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and paint manufacturing industry. Agar-agar is also used a culture medium in microbiology and tissue culture laboratories. In food industry, agar is used in canning meat, fish, and poultry. Agar is an effective clarifying agent in brewing and wine making. It is also used as a thickening and stabilizing agent in ice cream, pastries, desserts, and salad dressings.
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