Sea spaghetti: nutritious and healthy innovation

Although delicious, pasta is rich in carbohydrates and low in fiber. What if there was a healthy and tasty alternative? Find out about the sea spaghetti! You will be amazed!

The Dutch startup Seamore is the largest sea spaghetti enthusiast. We talked about the seaweed that tastes like bacon here. The news now are another algae, Himanthalia elongata, that is migrating from the sea to the plate. It is a healthy substitute for conventional pasta because it has more fiber, vitamins, minerals and Omega 3. And does not contain gluten, being indicated for celiac.

There are more than 10,000 species of seaweed in the world, but this one is only found on the Atlantic coast of Europe. Hand harvested in Ireland it is washed, dried and then goes to the packaging that gets to the consumer. With an eye on sustainability, only 15% of the algae volume is harvested in an area, so it is guaranteed to never go missing in the future. However, the startup is already studying cultivate their own crops. The cost is still higher than that of conventional wheat pasta, but with the increasing cultivation the price will be competitive, ensures the company.

Himanthalia elongata

Willem Sodderland, Seamore‘s founder, discovered Himanthalia by accident. He was on vacation in Ibiza when proved a seaweed salad in a restaurant and thought he was eating pasta. He immediately realized there was a market for the product and in the following year his startup started production of sea spaghetti with the money raised in a crowdfunding campaign. Best known in Asia, where they eat various species of algae, the company believes that soon it will become a common item in our meals in the West. It has a neutral taste, so you can prepare even desserts with the versatile ingredient.

The next steps? Make the seaweed widely accepted and introduce new products with the ingredient such as bread and potato chips. Hmmm, we eagerly await!

References: The Daily Meal, Holland Food Valley