Algae is your friend,algae is the super food,seaweed is high in fiber,kelp is used in many different ways.

Contents

• Basic Botanical Info:Algae,Kelp.
• Frequently asked questions and differances:Algae,Kelp.
• Plant Description of Kelp.
• Kelp Origins and Classes.
• Algae,Kelp General use and Medicinal Uses.
• Phytochemicals,Constituents and Nutritional values of Algae,Kelp.
• Algae,Kelp Applications and Combinations.
• Administrations and Suggestions:Algae,Kelp.
• Modern Researches update:Algae,Kelp.

Frequently asked questions and differances:Algae,Kelp.:

What is seaweed?

 The great bulk of marine life, to include seaweed, is made of algae (singular alga). Algae is a diverse group of non-vascular plants. This means that they do not have roots, stems, leaves or flowers, although they have similar looking structures.

 Seaweeds are algae that liven in the sea or in brackish water. Scientists generally call them "benthic marine algae", which just means "attached algae that live in the sea". Seaweeds come in three basic colours: red, brown and green. Red and brown algae are almost exclusively marine, whilst green algae are also common in freshwater and in terrestrial situations.
 


 What are algae?

 Pond scums, terrestrial algae, snow algae, seaweeds, freshwater and marine phytoplankton etc. Plant body relatively undifferentiated, no true roots, leaves, etc.

 Algae are very simple chlorophyll-containing organisms: some say that they are plants; other say that the are not, calling them Protists. We use the term "algae" very loosely because defining them is very difficult. In general, we can say that they are simple organisms composed of one cell, or grouped together in colonies, or as organisms with many cells, sometimes collaborating together as simple tissues.

 Most algae form some sort of spore, which is a cell that is often motile and serves to reproduce the organism. Algae also have sex, often a very simple kind of sex where the algae themselves act as gametes, but sometimes very complicated with egg and sperm-like cells.

 Some of the larger kelps have translocation but most do not. No need for water-conducting tissues as they are, at some stage, surrounded by water. Reproduce by spores of some kind. No seeds. Spores may be motile or non-motile; varies from phylum to phylum, e.g., the red and blue-green algae are non-flagellated.

 Algae of one kind or another have been around for more than 2 billion years. We are still discovering new algae, sometimes whole groups of them at a time.

 Algae of other groups usually have two flagella (singular: flagellum). Reproduction may be isogamous, anisogamous, or oogamous. Female gametangia are not enclosed by a wall of sterile cells as in higher cryptogams. Mostly autotrophic (photosynthetic), pigments very variable and are the basis of classification; all have chlorophyll a; some have b, others c; all have accessory pigments of some kind e.g. phycocyanin (blueish), phycoerythrin (reddish), carotenes (yellow-brown), xanthophylls (brown).

 Some are heterotrophic (get energy from non-photosynthetic sources also). Great variation in size - unicellular and 3-10 um (microns) to giant kelps up to 70 meters long and growing at up to 50 cm per day. Found in mostly aquatic situations (need water to reproduce and, generally, to photosynthesise).

 Where are algae found? Algae are found just about everywhere on earth: in the sea, in our rivers and lakes, on soils and walls, in animals and plants (as symbionts - partners collaborating together); in fact just about everywhere where there is light with which to photosynthesise.

 

 What is Kelp?

 A gray or dark brown sea vegetable, commonly referred to as kombu (or konbu) that is sun dried to form hard dark green to almost black in color, sheets that are processed into a variety of different products including foods, cosmetics, health items, and other products. After being dried, a fine powder forms over the surface of the dried black sheet or strip of kombu. Often considered to be a natural form of MSG since it contains a significant amount of glutamic acid, kombu is strong in flavor and used as both a food flavoring and a food tenderizer. It is commonly used in Chinese cooking to flavor the soup stock dashi, or used as a flavor enhancer in sushi rice dishes, stews and marinades. Kombu can be added to dried beans cooking in boiling water to decrease the cooking time, soften the beans, make them easier to digest, and thicken the bean broth. It is a vegetable that is rich in protein, calcium, iodine, magnesium, iron, and folate.

 Sold in in health food stores and some Asian stores, kombu is typically available in either dried sheets, strips or the shredded form referred to as nalto kombu. The sheets can be thick or thin and delicate. When buying kombu, avoid the sheets that are thin and wrinkled. In addition to sheets, strips and shredded forms, kombu is available as shaved pieces that are seasoned in vinegar (tororo kombu), brine cured and pickeled (kombu-zuke), as flavored kombu boiled in a seasoning such as soy sauce (shio-kombu), and in a powdered form (kombu-ko)for use as a food seasoning or topping to be added to rice and grains.


 To prepare the kombu, wipe the surface with a damp cloth to remove the powder. Avoid washing the sheets or strips excessively, as the repeated use of water to cleanse the vegetable will diminish the flavor. Some recipes require soaking the kombu before preparing, in which case it should be soaked only until it softens and opens. Thicker sheets or strips of kombu will require more time to soak than thin sheets or strips. When preparing dried kombu, place the amount desired in the liquid (generally 1 oz of kombu to 6 cups of water) and allow it to boil for 30 minutes before removing the kombu. The broth can then be used either to be served without additional ingredients or as a broth for use to be added with other foods. If the kombu is to be consumed, it is best to cut it into smaller pieces prior to or after boiling. Similarly, when used as a flavor enhancer, allow a strip or two of kombu to simmer in the liquid for 10 to 20 minutes before using the water as a base for soups, stews or sauces. Kombu can also be served as a food wrap for appetizers, first soaking the kombu and then wrapping it around seasoned pieces of fish or various vegetables. Store dried kombu in an airtight container placed in a dark, dry area. Cooked kombu should kept in airtight containers that are stored in refrigerated areas.

 Kelp is common to many New England and Eastern seaboard shorelines that are rocky and have low tide water marks. This sea vegetation is olive-green in color, regularly branched, with branches of spiraling shape and leathery feel. They may occasionally lack air bladders, but usually occur with paired bladders. The midrib is distinct and the stipe unbranched as it comes out of the disc-shaped holdfast.

 Kelp should be used to correct an insufficiency of normal glandular performance. The best way to do this is to make a simple clear broth using fresh or dried kelp. The liquid is strained and consumed like soup; kelp is sweet and delicious and increases glandular activity.


 Habita and Cultivation: Kelp is native to the shores of the North Atlantic and western Mediterranean, and is harvested throughout the year.

Reference:

• 1.Algae is your friend,algae is the super food,seaweed is high in fiber,kelp is used in many different ways.

This article written and edited via herbalist of MDidea Extracts Professional. They run a range of online descriptions about this herb,including general information related and summarized updating discoveries from findings of professional scientisits this field related.Describe style aimed to form a useful detecting literature space where the intertwined threshold and related questions raise out and visualize themselves.

♣ last edit date:26th,Oct.2010.