Some seaweed companies sell seaweed incorporated into candy or chips. Some mix it with spices and sell it in shakers. Some sell it in small retail packages, and the price per pound is more than $100. If the packages are exposed to direct light, the pigments will degrade. Call me a purist if you like, and thank me when you do, because my intent is to deliver the essences of various seaweeds to you, bone dry when appropriate and protected from humidity and direct light, and offer you recipes for using them. Most of the recipes at theseaweedman.com and larchhanson.com are wet recipes because iodine is a volatile, and roasting kelp or alaria will drive off the iodine. The soak water and the cooking water should be used. This water transfers the iodine to people, and since we all need iodine to protect our thyroids in a world of failing nuclear reactors that emit radioactive iodine, this is the most important point. Seaweed candy, spice shakers, and chips won’t deliver the iodine necessary to health.
So here’s a recipe using Soup Mix that is designed to deliver all the nutrients: