The rice of the sea: how a tiny grain could change the way humanity eats........

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Chef Ángel León found eelgrass seeds have 50% more protein than rice – and the plant stores carbon far faster than a rainforest. Photograph: Álvaro Fernández Prieto/Aponiente





Seascape: the state of our oceans
Plants
The rice of the sea: how a tiny grain could change the way humanity eats

Ángel León made his name serving innovative seafood. But then he discovered something in the seagrass that could transform our understanding of the sea itself – as a vast gardenhttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/09/sea-rice-eelgrass-marine-grain-chef-angel-leon-marsh-climate-crisis?utm_source=pocket-newtab




Chef Ángel León holds a strand of Zostera marina, or eelgrass
Chef Ángel León found eelgrass seeds have 50% more protein than rice – and the plant stores carbon far faster than a rainforest.

Fri 9 Apr 2021 01.00 EDT

Last modified on Fri 9 Apr 2021 14.24 EDT

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Growing up in southern Spain, Ángel León paid little attention to the meadows of seagrass that fringed the turquoise waters near his home, their slender blades grazing him as he swam in the Bay of Cádiz.

It was only decades later – as he was fast becoming known as one of the country’s most innovative chefs – that he noticed something he had missed in previous encounters with Zostera marina: a clutch of tiny green grains clinging to the base of the eelgrass.

His culinary instincts, honed over years in the kitchen of his restaurant Aponiente, kicked in. Could this marine grain be edible?
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Lab tests hinted at its tremendous potential: gluten-free, high in omega-6 and -9 fatty acids, and contains 50% more protein than rice per grain, according to Aponiente’s research. And all of it growing without freshwater or fertiliser.

The find has set the chef, whose restaurant won its third Michelin star in 2017, on a mission to recast the common eelgrass as a potential superfood, albeit one whose singular lifecycle could have far-reaching consequences. “In a world that is three-quarters water, it could fundamentally transform how we see oceans,” says León. “This could be the beginning of a new concept of understanding the sea as a garden.”

It’s a sweeping statement that would raise eyebrows from anyone else. But León, known across Spain as el Chef del Mar (the chef of the sea), has long pushed the boundaries of seafood, fashioning chorizos out of discarded fish parts and serving sea-grown versions of tomatoes and pears at his restaurant near the Bay of Cádiz......................................................

[dameatball]

1. This is so interesting. first time I have heard of it. Thanks for posting.

[intrepidity]

2. "sea-grown versions of tomatoes"

I'm intrigued. Pre-salted tomatoes? Either way, I'd try them!

[Goonch]

3. ;-{)

[niyad]

4. Fascinating. Thank you so much for sharing.

[exboyfil]

5. You have to wonder if the biochemists get involved

If the plant can't be genetically optimized for food consumption. Many of our fruits and vegetables have undergone 1,000s of years of directed selection. Could we bypass those steps, or could we end the world as we know it with an out of control genetically modified seaweed?

It does seem that the promised innovations in recombinant DNA and direct genetic manipulation have been slow to materialize.

[Jilly_in_VA]

6. What's interesting about this

is that several years ago when I began world-building for a prospective SF novel, I imagined something called "salt rice" which was similar but not the same, more like regular rice, that grew in saltwater marshes of my world and had become one of the primary grains feeding the colonists.

[KPN]

7. This has exciting possibilities -- on a few fronts really. Thanks for posting.

[Chellee]

8. That is amazing.

Thank you for posting.