In the test kitchen at SINTEF Ocean in Trondheim, there is a steady stream of tasters coming through the door. Research colleagues have prepared Korean rice balls with tuna and nori (a red algae), white fish cakes with ulva (a green algae) and cornflakes, and salmon fish cakes with ulva. Confused? We’re talking about food enriched with macroalgae.
More than 4,500 people from Ireland, Norway, Spain, and Turkey have taken part in a survey through the project Seafoodture, sharing their views on seaweed as food, what they would like to try, and how much they actually know about the use of seaweed in food production.
“Seaweed in fish burgers, fish cakes, and rice balls stands out as the preferred options,” says senior scientist Guro Møen Tveit at SINTEF Ocean.
Seaweed, or macroalgae, represents a major potential as an alternative source of nutritious products and is a raw material that could help increase seafood consumption in Norway.
Tveit and her colleagues are now testing how much macroalgae can be added to food without negatively affecting taste, smell, and texture. That’s why they’ve invited people in for tasting sessions—to find out what works for the Norwegian market.
When tasting really matters
In the kitchen, the tasters smell, taste, take notes, think, and reflect. The fish cake with nori is green on the inside, bringing to mind broccoli or pistachio. The texture is slightly crumbly, but the taste isn’t very different from regular fish cakes. Could this be a hit with children, who after all tend to think colors are cool?
Erlend Indergård is one of the tasters and finds this particular fish cake fairly average. But then he tries the fish cake with cornflakes and ulva—and breaks into a broad smile. This one is definitely his favorite.
These are exactly the kinds of reactions Tveit, and her colleagues are looking for.
“We conduct these tests to measure how different consumers like the products, or whether a product can be accepted,” says Tveit, as she stands at the counter rolling up new rice balls.
The Korean version with tuna, chili mayo, and nori seems to be a favorite among several of the tasters. But regardless of personal preference, seaweed contains important nutrients such as minerals, antioxidants, vitamins, proteins, and fiber. With Norway’s long coastline and a land surface where two‑thirds is covered by water, harvesting seaweed is both a local and sustainable endeavor.
Ole Jacob Broch and Camilla Berge have worked their way through all five variants.
“They all taste very different, which makes it quite fun,” says Broch.
His personal favorite is the haddock fish cake with ulva, while Camilla gives a thumbs‑up to the tuna and nori rice ball.
Now the recipes will be refined, and Tveit and the team will select the ones they have the most confidence in. This autumn, seaweed extracts with high protein content from Spain will arrive for testing. And then it’s back to it again—with new combinations and new tasters.
