How is the Equa’s seaweed farmed?
Our kelp is cultivated on suspended long lines in the Salish Sea, less than 100 miles from Vancouver. We use no land, freshwater or fertilisers in the cultivation process – only seawater and sunshine – au natural!
Equa’s seaweeds are delivered alive to the kitchen. What does that mean, and why is it important?
Our kelp is delivered in its natural state, completely unprocessed. When the kelp is harvested, it is lifted out of the ocean, hand-picked, weighed, then packaged in filtered, sterile seawater before being sent off directly to chefs. This ensures that chefs have the freshest, best quality and most versatile ingredient with which to work.
How are Equa’s seaweeds packaged?
Our seaweeds come in filtered, sterile seawater. They are fresh, raw and still living. When removing our kelp from the packaging, it is recommended that clean hands or thoroughly rinsed kitchen utensils are used to avoid contaminating the remaining kelp in seawater with chemical sanitisers, potentially damaging the kelp.
What is the shelf-life of Equa’s seaweeds?
Our seaweeds are packed in filtered, sterile seawater and have no nutrients. If kept under stable, refrigerated conditions and no cross-contamination occurs, you can expect a week of freshness. If, for some reason, the seaweeds need to be refreshed, a mixture of 35 grams of salt and 1 litre of cold freshwater can be used to replace the original water the kelp came in.
How should the kelp be prepared?
Remember, the kelp is unprocessed, so it is vital to wash it upon removing it from the filtered seawater, just as you would wash any other freshly picked vegetable. Although excessive biofouling is unlikely, some sneaky stuff may be hanging onto the kelp blades, including shellfish. It is recommended that you wash fresh seaweeds using clean saltwater; simply mix 35g of sea salt per litre of water.
How nutritious is fresh seaweed?
Each species of seaweed offers a different nutritional profile. We complete the nutritional analysis of each species annually to provide you with accurate information. We are still optimising our cultivation methods and want to know what’s best! Our 2022 batch nutritional analysis is in progress and should be completed by mid-February.