Does anyone know how seaweed is made into nori?

[Jan]

It's a strange question I know but there'salways method to my madness. So does anyone know the answer? I found a video on how kosher nori is made. Is all nori just seaweed that is well rinsed and spun until it breaks down and then dried?

Edited December 6, 2012 by Jan's Reef Foods

[Coral Hind]

I saw it on the "How It's Made" show. They feed a certain seaweed into a machine that smashes and presses it to form the sheets.

[Coral Hind]

I found a video you might like, Kosher Nori.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf05bueTYmo

[Jan]

This is the one I found. So it's just spun and shredded in water then molded into nori. There's no using hot water to break it down or make it softer or anything like that.

I found a video you might like, Kosher Nori.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf05bueTYmo

Edited December 6, 2012 by Jan's Reef Foods

[Coral Hind]

The episode I saw on TV had pretty much the same type of machine. It cut the seaweed up and then press formed it into sheets. I would think any heating would break down the cellulose and make the seaweed soft, mushy, and not stable.

[Jan]

The reason I ask is because I have organic seaweed. Unprocessed fresh picked and dried. It's tough. Nori melts in your mouth. It has to be the shredding & drying process that makes nori melt down the way it does in liquid.

 

The episode I saw on TV had pretty much the same type of machine. It cut the seaweed up and then press formed it into sheets. I would think any heating would break down the cellulose and make the seaweed soft, mushy, and not stable.

[Coral Hind]

The difference I think is that you have a different type of seaweed. I think I know what type you have, kind of like a thicker leather feel to it. Nori is made from Porphyra seaweed and it is originally a thin type which is why the sheets are thinner. It is kind of like the smaller "sea lettuce" Ulva we get in out tanks as hitchhikers. Porphyra also grows in a red variety that turns slightly purple when dried but it is harder to find in Nori sheets.

[Jan]

I have 4 different types of seaweed. Of the 4 Kelp is the only one that's very thick, tougher than the other 3. The others are ulva, red and green (atlantic nori) porphyra. In their unprocessed form they are all tough, like thin plastic. They break down eventually but take a long time. They are all edible so I tried them myself. They don't melt in your mouth like nori does. After some chewing they breakdown. It must be the process of soaking, shredding, pressing and drying into thin sheets that makes nori break down so easily.

 

The difference I think is that you have a different type of seaweed. I think I know what type you have, kind of like a thicker leather feel to it. Nori is made from Porphyra seaweed and it is originally a thin type which is why the sheets are thinner. It is kind of like the smaller "sea lettuce" Ulva we get in out tanks as hitchhikers. Porphyra also grows in a red variety that turns slightly purple when dried but it is harder to find in Nori sheets.

[Integral9]

It's a strange question I know but there'salways method to my madness. So does anyone know the answer? I found a video on how kosher nori is made. Is all nori just seaweed that is well rinsed and spun until it breaks down and then dried?

 

not all nori in the grocery store is just rinsed and spun. Some is "toasted" or cooked to help it break down faster in your mouth. If you buy nori in the grocery store for your fish, try to find the stuff that's just nori. Sometimes there is a preservative added.

 

Raw nori is either rinsed and hung to dry or rinsed, spun / shreaded, and hung to dry.

 

I don't think we can get the even more raw / fresh variety here (at least in our area) the seaweed farmers just pull it out of their holds and hang it up to dry on the dock. No machine processing that I could see. The finished product was much more irregular in shape than what you typically get from the bags / boxes in the LFS.

[Jan]

I stay away from the roasted nori. I was using nori that was packaged for marine fish but I stopped buying that too, months ago. It's all made in other countries where the regulations aren't as strict as ours. This is why I only use organic seaweed.

 

not all nori in the grocery store is just rinsed and spun. Some is "toasted" or cooked to help it break down faster in your mouth. If you buy nori in the grocery store for your fish, try to find the stuff that's just nori. Sometimes there is a preservative added.

 

Raw nori is either rinsed and hung to dry or rinsed, spun / shreaded, and hung to dry.

 

I don't think we can get the even more raw / fresh variety here (at least in our area) the seaweed farmers just pull it out of their holds and hang it up to dry on the dock. No machine processing that I could see. The finished product was much more irregular in shape than what you typically get from the bags / boxes in the LFS.

[Coral Hind]

Jan, There might be a difference in the types of porphyra you have whole and what is made into nori but it is probably the shredding and thinness of the sheets as you mentioned.

 

This place looks to carry some nice organic stuff. Not sure how the prices compare.

http://www.seaveg.com/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=24

 

Here is a nice article on the history of nori.

http://www.seaweed.ie/aquaculture/noricultivation.php

[Integral9]

I stay away from the roasted nori. I was using nori that was packaged for marine fish but I stopped buying that too, months ago. It's all made in other countries where the regulations aren't as strict as ours. This is why I only use organic seaweed.

 

FYI: Be careful with the "organic" stuff. My Aunt-in-law used to work at USDA (Director of Fruits and Vegetables for the NorthEast) and she said there is a big probelm with people claiming their food is "organic" when it's not. Apparently, anyone can claim their food is organic just by putting the words on their package (Freedom of Speach or something). However, if it has the USDA logo then it has passed the USDA's quality controls for being "organic".

 

eg: There was a recent issue with a certain milk company on our area that claimed their milk was organic, but wasn't USDA organic. In addition, they labeled the milk fat % on their cartons with an emblem that closely resembled the USDA Organic logo, but instead of saying USDA Organic, it would say "2%" or "Whole", etc. After that marketing coup was made public, they applied for USDA Organic certification and failed the first time. But corrected the issue subesquently (apparently some farmers were letting their organic heards mix with non-organics, so they couldn't be 100% sure the milk was organic.) Here is the USDA Organic logo to look for. http://www.ams.usda....olorsealgif.gif

 

Getting that logo is no small endevor either. eg: iirc, For vegetables to be considered USDA Organic, it has to be grown in the same soil w/ the organic method (what ever that is) for 14 years. So it's good to protect it.

[Jan]

Your aunt is correct. My seaweed is certified organic by the USDA as well as one of their designated certifying agents. The way it goes is that the USDA has agents all over the US that certify different types of foods - meat, vegetables, etc. I've looked into this. I am familiar with the regulations of what can and cannot be called Natural and organic without the USDA certification. Unless you're product has been inspected (the process is lengthy, invovled and costly) by the USDA, usually through their designated agent one cannot claim "USDA" certified anything.

 

FYI: Be careful with the "organic" stuff. My Aunt-in-law used to work at USDA (Director of Fruits and Vegetables for the NorthEast) and she said there is a big probelm with people claiming their food is "organic" when it's not. Apparently, anyone can claim their food is organic just by putting the words on their package (Freedom of Speach or something). However, if it has the USDA logo then it has passed the USDA's quality controls for being "organic".

 

eg: There was a recent issue with a certain milk company on our area that claimed their milk was organic, but wasn't USDA organic. In addition, they labeled the milk fat % on their cartons with an emblem that closely resembled the USDA Organic logo, but instead of saying USDA Organic, it would say "2%" or "Whole", etc. After that marketing coup was made public, they applied for USDA Organic certification and failed the first time. But corrected the issue subesquently (apparently some farmers were letting their organic heards mix with non-organics, so they couldn't be 100% sure the milk was organic.) Here is the USDA Organic logo to look for. http://www.ams.usda....olorsealgif.gif

 

Getting that logo is no small endevor either. eg: iirc, For vegetables to be considered USDA Organic, it has to be grown in the same soil w/ the organic method (what ever that is) for 14 years. So it's good to protect it.

[davelin315]

I found a video you might like, Kosher Nori.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf05bueTYmo

 

So a rabbi and a Japanese man walk into a bar... I got a big kick out of that video!

[Jan]

LOL, so did I. i especially enjoyed the way he said "nori" with his yiddish accent.

So a rabbi and a Japanese man walk into a bar... I got a big kick out of that video!

[smallreef]

I have also seen algae on screens set in the sun to dry out to make nori...(more of a home grown thing in hawaii but I'm usre they got the idea from somehwere)...