Marine algae

Difference between seaweed and kelp

Image credit: Martin Dawson on Unsplash. Deep green seaweed.

Image credit: Frank Zhang on Unsplash. White rice balls wrapped in seaweed, and sesame seeds.

Image credit: James Lee on Unsplash. kelp with brown leaves.

The first time I tried seaweed, I had a flavor explosion in my mouth. The use of this algae is so versatile. You can find it in many recipes, and mostly utilized in Asian cuisine. It adds umami flavor—meaty or brothy— with different ingredients, such as, miso and tofu, or as simple as a seaweed salad with sesame seeds sprinkled on top. Personally, I like it as a snack. For example, gimMe product has several flavors, and I usually go with the extra virgin olive oil, or wasabi.

You might think what is kelp and seaweed? is there a difference? Let’s talk about this today. My main focus for this blog is how to differentiate each marine algae.

Relationship between Umami and Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), sources, and discovery

Image by dreamstime

Discovery of Umami and MSG

The use of Umami and MSG (Monosodium Glutamate) are closely related topics that have been discussed and researched extensively since the 1980. It was all started by Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikedas after he investigated the tastes of his wife’s rich kelp broth. Ever since, many discoveries such as receptor locations on the tongue have led to the understanding of this elusive flavor. When we eat, there are several factors that contribute to the flavor of food. One of these factors are the taste buds – small sensory organs on the tongue. The taste buds are composed of several taste cells that react to taste stimuli. They are situated on microvilli of taste buds in papillae. As you can see in the picture above, umami taste is located in the middle of the tongue.