A remote island in the Northern Territory is getting ready to farm native varieties of seaweed, including a sea grape “that bursts in your mouth like caviar”.
Chief executive Steve Westley said the remote community was excited about the opportunities.
"It has that popping sensation when you eat it and you get this explosion of salty flavours.
An ocean of flavours Dr Alex Campbell is a seaweed expert from the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) and said Australia’s edible seaweed industry was still in its infancy compared to other nations.
“There’s some really amazing seaweeds growing around Australia’s coast and lots of them don’t grow anywhere else in the world,” Dr Campbell said.
“I’m really excited about the sea grapes because, regardless of external markets, this could become something the community can harvest and consume, something that’s really healthy,” she said.
I like sea grapes as a garnish but had never considered them as another roe option for something like gunkan. Would definitely be interested though, they’re good and ethically easier to justify.
Been a while since I had them but I don’t recall the texture at all, which probably indicates that they’re closer to masago or tobiko than proper caviar? I feel like I’d remember if the texture was like caviar— it’s pretty unique— but at that point I’m guessing about myself, thereby making this comment a worthless contribution.