Seaweed-based burgers? Eh, spare me. I’ll take the real deal, sustainability be damned. Seaweed that tastes exactly like bacon, though? COME TO MAMA.
We have researchers at Oregon State University to thank for this miraculous new superfood:
Oregon State University researchers have patented a new strain of a succulent red marine algae called dulse that grows extraordinarily quickly, is packed full of protein and has an unusual trait when it is cooked.
This seaweed tastes like bacon.
Dulse (Palmaria sp.) grows in the wild along the Pacific and Atlantic coastlines. It is harvested and usually sold for up to $90 a pound in dried form as a cooking ingredient or nutritional supplement. But researcher Chris Langdon and colleagues at OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Center have created and patented a new strain of dulse – one he has been growing for the past 15 years.
This strain, which looks like translucent red lettuce, is an excellent source of minerals, vitamins and antioxidants – and it contains up to 16 percent protein in dry weight, Langdon said.
Fish food? Who cares?! Finally, bacon can get stop getting a bum rap for crushing vegetarian dreams. We sure as hell can’t wait for SLT’s — seaweed, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches — to grace every overpriced, all-natural hipster brunch joint across the PNW. Only we’ll take ours on slightly toasted sourdough, with the seaweed on the side, no mayo, and with zebra tomatoes — we only eat heirlooms. <3!
