See weeds and eat them
On this walk we'll find seaweeds and forage them and edible plants along the cliffs. I'll help you identify some basic seaweeds and wild flowers and suggest ways you can collect them and use them in cooking. You'll start with a quick guide to foraging and then walk the beach and visit rockpools and the cliff edge and you can have a go yourself.
This is a basic discovery session where the emphasis is on inspiring you to find out more. We'll share seaweed tasters and suggest ideas for cooking any wild plants that are in season. This basic fun session allows you to enjoy being on the beach and sharing experiences and knowledge with others!
Other things to note: the rockpools and coastpaths include some steep sections and can be slippery.
The secret world revealed at low tide among the rocks near Polzeath
You can actually eat almost all types of seaweed apart from one. Often considered a superfood you have easy access to try Dulse, carrageen, sea lettuce, laver, kelp, sugarwrack, dabberlocks, pepper dulse and bladderwrack. You just need some scissors and an open mind. The Japanese have 21 seaweeds they use in their everyday cooking!
Marine species, including seaweed, produce as much as 70-80 percent of the oxygen in the atmosphere of the Earth – scientists estimate that algae produce an astonishing 330 billion tons of oxygen a year. More than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is water, and only about 30 percent is land.
This is the seaweed that wraps your sushi and is the most domesticated of all marine algae known as laver or nori (Japanese). There are about 70 species of this marine red alga and it's been cultivated extensively in many Asian countries as an edible seaweed. You'll have eaten it as the wrapping to the rice and fish of sushi.
At low tide, the exposed rocks on either side of Polzeath beach combine to form one of North Cornwall’s largest inter-tidal areas
Limpets eat by grazing on algae found on rock surfaces. They scrape films of algae from the rock with a radula, a ribbon-like tongue with rows of teeth. This one is also being grazed on by something else!
We are all born natural foragers but somewhere along the line it is taught out of us. Foraging affects an animal's fitness because it plays an important role in an animal's ability to survive and until about 12,000 years ago everyone of us was a forager.
This seaweed, cut with scissors, is one of the most delicious. The Pepper Dulse adds flavour stir-fires and, as the name implies, has a peppery taste.
Scurvy Grass leaves and flowers have a strong, peppery taste (a cousin to horseradish) that make them a delicious addition to salads, quiches, coastal dishes or early springtime soups. It is relatively potent so be sure you like it before filling your basket!
Once a popular and highly regarded plant, Rock Samphire has now been taken over by Marsh Samphire which is in a different family and tastes different apart from the saltiness.
Rock Samphire is a bit of a Marmite plant, you love it or hate it, but it is great source of Vitamin C and was taken by sailors on long journeys to ward off scurvy!