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4.5
Sea vegetables are an acquired taste. Knowing that most people are not familiar with sea vegetables as food, the author explains what those algae are, how and where they grow, and which ones are edible. She then discusses the nutritional value and provides a misleading chart of nutrients. She claims that some sea vegetables contain 10 times as much calcium as cow's milk, but she compares the values of dried algae to the values of drinkable milk. If she compared edible servings (non-fat milk and rehydrated algae, or non-fat dry milk and dried algae), she would find that milk and wakame (one of the algae highest in calcium) have about the same amount of calcium per serving. Most other algae have lower values.Gusman then goes on to discuss the healing values of algae and claims that they help our bodies fight disease that results form a polluted environment. She does not address the issue of ocean pollution and the fact that algae absorb and therefore contain pollutants, which may or may not be absorbed into our bodies - nobody wants to elaborate on this issue.Her chapter about the individual algae, however, is great. The author describes the algae, shows photographs of the dried products, and tells us how to use them in the kitchen.The major part of the book is dedicated to recipes, many with photographs and additional information about the algae. Some of the recipes have an algae-stranded-on-the-beach flavor. Moreover, when I followed the advice of a Japanese friend to soak, drain and then sauté Hijiki and Arame in olive oil for three minutes before adding any liquid, and to always add a teaspoon each of sugar and rice vinegar, some of Gusman's recipes became more palatable.I also tried her Nori Condiment, which turned my stomach when I read the recipe, but which tasted surprisingly good in the end. The recipe collection includes soups, salads, snacks, main dishes, vegetables and sweets. Some of them, like the condiments, can be made in a few minutes, others take more time. Some of them are pretty good, others are better without the addition of the seaweed (e.g. curried sweet potato soup does not benefit from the wakame). But overall, I think this is an interesting cookbook worth considering.
