Vraiqu’sie: Wild Vegetables of the Ocean walk with Trudie Trox
20 October, Written by Kerry-Jane Warner
A slightly ominous forecast did not put us off our research trip with Trudie on Sunday 20th October. For the first hour we enjoyed dry weather and gentle breezes, we then watched the dark clouds in the distance swell and race towards us, reminding us of the power of nature and the swiftness of changing conditions, particularly at sea. This meant that our walk was a little shorter than planned. Nevertheless, in two hours we encountered a myriad of seaweeds, all of which we learnt from Trudie, were edible. Trudie has a great in-depth knowledge of local seaweed and frequently eats various types both raw and cooked. We tried quite a few on our walk, particularly enjoying the strong taste with a hint of garlic of the slightly chewy Pepper Dulse. We were told when dried and stored it develops an umami flavour.
One of the first varieties we found in abundance clinging to the rocks by their ‘holdfast’ bases, was the brownish in colour, Channelled vraic. It was traditionally locally fed to pigs as a kind of multi-vitamin and mineral food supplement. It can be dried and sprinkled over food in small quantities as it is quite a strong flavour or cooked where it turns bright green. It lives at the middle shore zone of the beach where it is regularly covered and uncovered by the sea. Also in this area of the beach is the Spiralled vraic. It is olive green in colour with yellower swollen pods – the reproductive structures. It is called ‘spiralled’ because of its slightly twisting fronds. It does not have the strong taste of some of the other vraics making it very good in baking and soups.
Trudie took a moment to talk to us further about “zonation”—the different zones of the beach suited to different types of seaweed. She explained that kelps grow further out in the sub-littoral zone, the deeper water. While they can survive at depths of 20 meters, they still need sunlight for photosynthesis. The Forest Kelp has a hairy stem and wide fronds, whereas the Oar Weed has a smooth stem and longer fronds. Both have tough stalks that, when dried, can become as hard as wood. Some old farming tools have kelp ‘wood’ handles. I have previously gleaned kelp fronds, then pressed and dried them successfully to make elements for an art work. Such an interesting material!
Both kelps were gathered and burned to extract iodine. Trudie shared an interesting story about its discovery. During the Napoleonic Wars in the early nineteenth century, saltpetre—a component of gunpowder—was widely manufactured by burning seaweed. A French chemist accidentally added too much sulphuric acid to the seaweed and iodine evaporated off forming crystals. Iodine, known for its infection-fighting properties, was widely used in wartime to treat wounds in both humans and horses. Using seaweed to treat wounds dates back to Roman times and alginate extracted from seaweed is still used in wound dressings for skin grafts, burns and other difficult wounds.
Something else that Trudie shared with us is that seaweeds are a great carbon sink, having absorbed carbon for at least 500 million years. Seaweeds draw CO₂ from the seawater in order to photosynthesise, this causes an imbalance which in turn causes more of the gas to move from the air into the water. Recent studies suggest that the average square kilometre of seaweed can sequester 1,000 metric tonnes of carbon annually. However, delving into this fascinating subject a bit more, it seems that much more research is needed in this area to discover what fraction of buried carbon actually comes from seaweed on the ocean floor and remains trapped for extensive periods of time. The oldest and largest seaweed farms deposit the most carbon but seaweed farming has carbon emissions of its own. Providing fuel, electricity and other materials can be enough to cancel out a great deal of any carbon sequestered.
Back to the walk - we came across some kelp fronds which had patches of bubbles on the surface. This is caused by rain; fresh water reacting with the kelp. We also found some fronds with a lacy, mesh like growth partially covering them. These we found out are known as Sea-mats. These are colonies of tiny individual animals called Zooids, they filter feed on phytoplankton’s. The colonies are also known as Bryozoan. We could see that something had been eating them and Trudie told us that they are a favourite of sea slugs. Then we noticed that the actual frond had been nibbled too – a delicious seaweedy lunch for our local ormers!
Moving on to Egg Vraic, we tried the little “berries”—the reproductive blobs—which were very tasty. Trudie often marinates them and uses them a bit like capers. This is the classic vraic, cut from the rocks and traditionally used as fertilizer in Jersey. Many say that using vraic on the fields enhanced soil quality, which, in turn, gave the Jersey Royal potato its superior flavour. Further research suggests that when dried, ground, and added to dogs’ food, it can even help remove blackening on their teeth! Who knew?
This smorgasbord of edibles next presented us with Red Dulse, a seaweed rich in Vitamin C, much used by sailors to combat scurvy when fresh fruit and vegetables were in short supply. It had quite a strong flavour, and we learnt that in France it is used to make Seaweed Butter. It is reddish purple in colour and has a slightly leathery feel. It can be dried into “crisps”.
Trudie then went on to tell us about Carrageen, another reddish-purple common seaweed. Apparently, it is used as an emulsifier in things such as chocolate milk and ice cream, although it is now artificially made. When I looked into this further, I discovered that it is widely accepted by scientists that it can cause digestive problems and even colon cancer; however, the research is lacking, as experiments have only been carried out in cells and animals.
We saw a lot of widespread Bladder vraic and learned that the pods, when squeezed, produce a “gel” which has an SPF factor of 15 and can also be used to treat mild sunburn, a bit like aloe vera. We also came across some strange trails in the wet sand leading up to small rocks clad in bladder vraic. According to Trudie, the air-filled pods act as flotation devices, lifting the rocks off the seabed and dragging them across the sandy seabed with the flow of the tide.
A small and delicate weed with a big name was next; Polysyphonia. Or as we subsequently came to know it – the beardy one! It can grow on rocks and on other weeds. In the Lofoten Islands it is known as “the truffle of the sea”. Like the pepper dulse it shares a unique flavour with a truffly hint. We then came across Green Sponge Fingers’ or Velvet Horn which is dark green in colour and full of iron. It felt very soft to the touch and had a very intense almost sea-food like taste. Although it was tasty, it was a little tough but apparently it’s good in a tempura batter. Small pieces of Sea Lettuce were scattered across the beach, their bright green iridescence standing out against the sandy terrain. It has a lovely papery texture and although thin, felt pretty tough. Trudie said it was good to eat but as soon as the papery texture turns slimy, it is inedible. It is like “Nori” used in Japanese cuisine.
Something to remember when foraging is that to sustainably harvest seaweed, we should take only the top third. Seaweeds don’t have roots so they need their leaves to take sustenance from the sea, sucking in the minerals and proteins they need to maintain healthy growth.
So despite the slightly inclement weather, we were sufficiently distracted by the fascinating treasure trove of seaweeds and wealth of knowledge shared by Trudie alongside a fascinating tasting menu of intriguing flavours. We retired to the warmth of Seymour Inn for a hot chocolate where we gently steamed away as Trudie showed us her seaweed cookery books and we were all in agreement that at some point, we should have a day of seaweed foraging and feasting on this underused bounty.
Trudie Trox Wild Vegetables of the Ocean walk can be booked through Jersey Walk Adventures here. You can find out more advice about sustainable foraging on their site here.
