Macroalgae or seaweeds are very common staple foods in most of the Asian countries such as Korea, China, Indonesia, Japan, India, Philippines etc. But in most of Europe and North America macro algae as a food, is a very new food trend. These days, when we are talking about macro algae as food, we are not talking about some kind of exotic and expensive food staffs rather we are talking in a way we used to talk about dairy products. In fact macro algae are much more abundant and available for food than dairy products, but many Americans, Europeans, Africans, Asians and Australians have always considered foods related with macroalgae as exotic and expensive. But in reality most of us have consumed food products that contain macroalgae every day without even knowing it. Many food industries use macroalgae in their food products starting from sushi, bakery, beverages, ice creams, salad dressings, meat preservatives, poultry products, desserts, sauces, soy milks, pancake syrup, fruit juice, peanut butter, tomato sauce, pasta products, confectioneries etc. the list is ever expanding. Macroalgae are divided in to three groups these are red macro algae or rhodophyta, green macroalgae or chlorophyta and brown macroalgae or pheophyta. Macroalgae produce a very valuable gelling substances for the food industry, which are used as a gelling agent or thickening agent. These gelling substances are called phycocolloids. Phycocolloids are produced only by the red macroalgae and the brown macroalgae. Red macroalgae produce two types of phycocolloids called agar and carrageenan. And brown macroalgae produces a phycocolloids called alginate. Following are some of the uses of macroalgae in food related staffs.
Norri is the most popular macroalgae used in sushi as wrapping. Nori is a red macroalgae from the species of Porphyra. When you see sushi there is Nori. In addition to its use as sushi wrapping, Nori also uses as a major ingredient in soups, vegetable, salads and health food stores.
Carrageenan is very popular red macroalgae belonging to the species of Chondrus crispus and Gigartina stellata. Carrageenan contains the polysaccharide carrageenan, which is a gelatinous substance or phycocolloid used as a thickening agent in bakery products, ice creams, soups, fruit juices, soy milks, confectioneries, tinned, dairy products, soft drinks, pet foods, brewing etc. So next time if you wonder what makes an ice cream so creamy and attractive the answer is carrageenan.
Agar is another very popular phycocolloids, mainly used as a culture medium in laboratories. But it is also used by food industries as a thickening and gelling agent. Agar is produced mainly by the red macroalgae species such as Gelidium and Gracilaria. Agar is increasingly used in tinned, bakery, confectioneries, icecreams and frozen food products.
Alginate is also another very popular phycocolloids, produced only by brown macroalgae species. Food industries use alginate in various tinned, dairy products, bakery products, glassed foods, salad dressings, frozen foods, non carbonated beverages, brewing etc.
