Kelp Wanted: Seaweed doesn't have to taste like the sea

The umami superstar you didn’t know you already love

Seaweed is having a moment. Farming of the aquatic plants has nearly doubled over the last decade, and the ocean veg has begun to pop up on supermarket shelves in the form of everything from chips to dessert bites. This is only really news for us in the U.S. For thousands of years, seaweed has been harvested around the world—most commonly in Japan, China, and Korea—for its nutritional benefits and culinary versatility. 

Though it makes plenty of cameos in Western cuisine, a lot of folks may not realize that they already kinda love the taste of it. Seaweed inspired the invention of MSG. That’s because it’s high in glutamates—the stuff that delivers big umami energy—and so it can add depth to all kinds of sweet and savory dishes. 

Seaweed isn’t a singular thing, but an umbrella term for a vast array of marine plants. The edible varieties fall into three categories (red, brown, and green algae), each with a unique flavor, texture, and nutritional makeup—just like land veggies. A type of red algae called dulse, for example, has about the same protein and way more iron gram-per-gram than 80/20 beef. When most people think of edible seaweed, they jump to the dark green strips used to wrap sushi (that’s nori, by the way), but every edible variety is a pantry powerhouse in its own right. 

We’re diving into some of the more popular kinds you’ll find in the specialty foods aisle—and exploring how you can get more of these supercharged marine greens into mealtime. First stop’s dessert, so be sure to share this one with your favorite cookie monsters.

Part I: Chocolate and seaweed. A love story In cookie form

In Ireland, using seaweed in desserts goes back centuries. Today it’s pretty common in the plant-based pastry world, because of the way it naturally plumps up and acts as a thickener. If you’ve flirted with molecular gastronomy or watched too much Chopped, you’ve probably heard of agar agar, a vegetarian gelatin that helps set up puddings, jellies, gummy candies, and even cheesecake. That’s seaweed. 

But this is more than a chemistry lesson. It’s no great revelation that a pinch of flaky sea salt can take chocolate chip cookies and brownies to new heights, but the natural salinity and umami of seaweed can be like that amplified. Consider, for instance, award-winning baker Zoe Kanan’s black-sesame riff on a classic chocolate chip cookie, which is a perfect canvas for toasted nori to show off its complex sweet-salty kick and keep your palate guessing.

Seaweed and black sesame paste take these cookies into brownie territory. Credit: Gabriella Vigoreaux

Never one for the conventional, Kanan sets her dough apart before she ever reaches for the seaweed. She mixes together a blend of all-purpose and rye flour for dry ingredients, and dramatically streaks the wet ingredients (butter and sugar) with black sesame tahini. Chopped dark chocolate and half-cup of nori strips then create a speckly dough that gets scooped into 22 (big!) cookie balls and rolled in sesame seeds. 

The cookies chill for an agonizing-but-necessary four hours. Cold dough spreads less in the oven, leading to nice chew. After a 12-minute bake, they’re done save for an important last step. Using the bottom of a ladle, Kanan presses the center of each cookie lightly to form a “slightly indented crater,’ a trick that creates gooey middles. 

These cookies are fudgy, rich, and unmistakably earthy thanks to the addition of rye flour. They’re also a good entry point for seaweed newbies, because the nori kind of lurks in the background, lending a savory balance to the sweetness of the treat. It’s like a classic chocolate crinkle cookie, but with more depth than a sprinkle of flaky salt could provide.

A dairy-free swap and a tahini trade-in lean towards a classic choco-chip. Credit: Gabriella Vigoreaux

I made a second batch to see how well a dairy-free riff could replicate that complexity. I used plant-based butter and powdered egg replacer and swapped easier-to-find regular tahini for black sesame paste. They baked up thick and chewy, but with slightly more crunch on the edges than the first batch. Tastewise, the richness of the black sesame version will win more supporters from Team Brownie, while the milder regular tahini one will earn the adoration of Team Chocolate Chip Cookie (🙋🏻‍♀️). Still, both are decadent without being overly sweet. 

The mild, toasty taste of nori is a perfect match for baked goods, but remember it’s only one flavor bomb in the seaweed arsenal. Let’s talk about how to bring these ocean greens out of the background and into the spotlight. Next up: lunch. 

Part II: This packable picnic salad gets better every day