Nori

For other uses, see Nori (disambiguation).
Nori sheets
Nori sheet under a microscope, magnification 200x

Nori (海苔) is the Japanese name for edible seaweed species of the red algae genus Pyropia, including P. yezoensis and P. tenera. Nori is familiar in the United States and other countries as an ingredient of sushi, being referred to as "nori" (as the Japanese do) or simply as seaweed. Finished products are made by a shredding and rack-drying process that resembles papermaking.

Pyropia is also called laver in Wales and other English-speaking countries.[1]

History

Cakes and Food Made of Seaweed by Kubo Shunman, 19th century
Toasting a sheet of nori. 1864

Originally, the term nori was generic and referred to seaweeds including hijiki.[2] One of the oldest descriptions of nori is dated to around the 8th century. In the Taihō Code enacted in 701, nori was already included in the form of taxation.[3] Local people have been described as drying nori in Hitachi Province Fudoki (721–721), and nori was harvested in Izumo Province Fudoki (713–733), showing that nori was used as food from ancient times.[4] In Utsubo Monogatari, written around 987, nori was recognized as a common food. Nori had been consumed as paste form until the sheet form was invented in Asakusa, Edo (contemporary Tokyo), around 1750 in the Edo period through the method of Japanese paper-making.[5][6][7][8]

The word "nori" first appeared in an English-language publication in C. P. Thunberg's Trav., published in 1796.[9] It was used in conjugation as "Awa nori", probably referring to what is now called aonori.[9]

The Japanese nori industry was in decline after WWII, when Japan was in need of all food which could be produced. The decline was due to a lack of understanding of the plant's three stage life cycle so that local people did not understand why traditional cultivation methods were not effective. The industry was rescued by knowledge deriving from the work of British phycologist, Kathleen Mary Drew-Baker who had been researching the organism porphyria umbilicalis, which grew in the seas around Wales and was harvested for food, as in Japan. Her work was discovered by Japanese scientists who applied it to artificial methods of seeding and growing the plants, rescuing the industry. Kathleen Baker was hailed as the 'Mother of the Sea' in Japan and a statue erected in her memory; she is still revered as the savior of the Japanese nori industry.

In the 21st century, the Japanese nori industry faces a new decline due to increased competition from seaweed producers in China and Korea and domestic sales tax hikes[10]

The word nori started to be used widely in the United States, and the product (imported in dry form from Japan) became widely available at natural food stores and Asian-American grocery stores in the 1960s due to the macrobiotic movement,[11] and in the 1970s with the increase of sushi bars and Japanese restaurants.[12]

In one study by Jan-Hendrik Hehemann, subjects of Japanese descent have been shown to be able to digest the polysaccharide of the seaweed, after gut microbes developed the enzyme from marine bacteria. Gut microbes from the North American subjects lacked these enzymes.[13]

Production

Production and processing of nori is an advanced form of agriculture. The biology of Pyropia, although complicated, is well understood, and this knowledge is used to control the production process. Farming takes place in the sea where the Pyropia plants grow attached to nets suspended at the sea surface and where the farmers operate from boats. The plants grow rapidly, requiring about 45 days from "seeding" until the first harvest. Multiple harvests can be taken from a single seeding, typically at about ten-day intervals. Harvesting is accomplished using mechanical harvesters of a variety of configurations. Processing of raw product is mostly accomplished by highly automated machines that accurately duplicate traditional manual processing steps, but with much improved efficiency and consistency. The final product is a paper-thin, black, dried sheet of approximately 18 cm × 20 cm (7 in × 8 in) and 3 grams (0.11 oz) in weight.

Several grades of nori are available in the United States. The most common, and least expensive, grades are imported from China, costing about six cents per sheet. At the high end, ranging up to 90 cents per sheet, are "delicate shin-nori" (nori from the first of the year's several harvests) cultivated in Ariake Sea, off the island of Kyushu in Japan".[14]

In Japan, over 600 square kilometres (230 sq mi) of Japanese coastal waters are given to producing 350,000 tonnes (340,000 long tons) of nori, worth over a billion dollars. China produces about a third of this amount.[15]

Use

Negitoro gunkanmaki (葱トロ軍艦巻き)

Nori is commonly used as a wrap for sushi and onigiri. It is also a garnish or flavoring in noodle preparations and soups. It is most typically toasted prior to consumption (yaki-nori). A common secondary product is toasted and flavored nori (ajitsuke-nori), in which a flavoring mixture (variable, but typically soy sauce, sugar, sake, mirin, and seasonings) is applied in combination with the toasting process.[16] It is also eaten by making it into a soy sauce-flavored paste, nori no tsukudani (海苔の佃煮).

Nori is sometimes used as a form of food decoration.

A related product, prepared from the unrelated green algae Monostroma and Enteromorpha, is called aonori (青海苔 literally blue/green nori) and is used like herbs on everyday meals, such as okonomiyaki and yakisoba.

Since nori sheets easily absorb water from the air and degrade, a desiccant is indispensable when storing it for any significant time.

Nutrition

Seaweed, laver, raw
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 35 kcal (150 kJ)
5.11 g
Dietary fiber 0.3 g
0.28 g
5.81 g
Vitamins
Vitamin A equiv.
(33%)

260 μg

Thiamine (B1)
(9%)

0.098 mg

Riboflavin (B2)
(37%)

0.446 mg

Niacin (B3)
(10%)

1.470 mg

Folate (B9)
(37%)

146 μg

Vitamin B12
(0%)

0.000 μg

Vitamin C
(47%)

39.0 mg

Vitamin D
(0%)

0 μg

Vitamin E
(7%)

1.00 mg

Vitamin K
(4%)

4.0 μg

Minerals
Calcium
(7%)

70 mg

Iron
(14%)

1.80 mg

Magnesium
(1%)

2 mg

Phosphorus
(8%)

58 mg

Potassium
(8%)

356 mg

Sodium
(3%)

48 mg

Zinc
(11%)

1.05 mg

Other constituents
Water 85.03 g
Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults.
Source: source_usda=1

While seaweed has by far the highest proportion of iodine by weight of any food,[17] Pyropia yezoensis has less than any other type of seaweed; it is nonetheless an excellent source of iodine.[18]

It has also been found to contain sufficient vitamin B12 to prevent vitamin B12 deficiency in rats.[19] Though nori has long been considered to be an important source of vitamin B12 for vegans,[20][21] its vitamin B12 may actually not be biologically available to humans. It may contain cobalamin analogues which block absorption of B12.[22][23] A study on mice found that Nori (Pyropia yezoensis) contains a significant amount of bioactive vitamin B12, not the inactive analogues.[24] However, a study showed that in humans both dried and raw nori reduced the vitamin B12 status.[25][26]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Nori". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  2. ↑ Kodansha encyclopedia of Japan. 6. Kōdansha. 1983. p. 37. ISBN 0-87011-620-7. The word nori is used in Japan both as a general term for seaweed and as a name for a species of red algae (Pyropia tenera) that is commonly used as a foodstuff and is also known as asakusa- nori.
  3. ↑ Nisizawa, Kazutosi; Noda, Hiroyuki; Kikuchi, Ryo; Watanabe, Tadaharu (September 1987). "The main seaweed foods in Japan". Hydrobiologia. 151-152 (1): 5–29. doi:10.1007/BF00046102. Retrieved 25 March 2013. In the Law of Taiho (AD 701) which was established by the Emperor at that time, marine algae such as Laminaria, Undaria and its sporophyll, Pyropia and Gelidium are included among marine products which were paid to the Court as tax.
  4. ↑ Hiroshi, Terayama (2003). 和漢古典植物考 (Japanese and Chinese Classical Botany). asaka Shobō. p. 588. There is a description "local people were drying nori" in Hitachi Province Fudoki (721–721), and also there is a description "nori was harvested" in Izumo Province Fudoki (713–733). These show nori was used as food from ancient times.
  5. ↑ Miyashita, Akira (2003). 海苔 [Nori]. Hosei University Press. ISBN 4588211110.
  6. ↑ Katada, Minoru (1989). 浅草海苔盛衰記 [Asakusa nori rise and fall]. Seizando-Shoten Publishing. ISBN 442582251X.
  7. ↑ Shimbo, Hiroko (2001). The Japanese kitchen: 250 recipes in a traditional spirit. Harvard Common Press. p. 128. ISBN 1558321772. Unlike wakame, kombu, and hijiki, which are sold in the form of individual leaves, nori is sold as a sheet made from small, soft, dark brown algae, which have been cultivated in bays and lagoons since the middle of the Edo Era (1600 to 1868). The technique of drying the collected algae on wooden frames was borrowed from famous Japanese paper-making industry.
  8. ↑ "After 40-year no-show, famed Asakusa nori makes comeback". The Asahi Shimbun. January 6, 2005. Inspired by Japanese paper-making, fishermen processed harvested seaweed into thin, square-shaped sheets.
  9. 1 2 "Nori". Oxford English Dictionary, Third Edition. September 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  10. ↑ Oi, Mariko (2015-02-23). "Japan's seaweed harvesters miss out on growth plans". BBC News Services. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  11. ↑ "Natural Foods Pioneer Michio Kushi Dies at 88". The Rafu Shimpo. 2015-01-07. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  12. ↑ Allen, Matthew and Rumi Sakamoto (2011-01-24). "Sushi Reverses Course: Consuming American Sushi in Tokyo　　寿司逆流−−東京におけるアメリカ風寿司". The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus. 9 (5, No. 2). Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  13. ↑ Hehemann, Jan-Hendrik; Correc, Gaëlle; Barbeyron, Tristan; Helbert, William; Czjzek, Mirjam; Michel, Gurvan (April 2010). "Transfer of carbohydrate-active enzymes from marine bacteria to Japanese gut microbiota". Nature. 464 (7290): 908–12. doi:10.1038/nature08937. PMID 20376150.
  14. ↑ Goode, J.J. (January 9, 2008). "Nori Steps Away From the Sushi". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  15. ↑ Thomas, David (2002). Seaweeds. London, England: Natural History Museum. ISBN 0-565-09175-1.
  16. ↑ Shurtleff, William; Aoyagi, Akiko (1975). The Book of Tofu: Food for Mankind, Volume 1. Soyinfo Center. p. 327. ISBN 0394734319.
  17. ↑ "Iodine Fact Sheet for Health Professionals". National Institutes of Health. February 11, 2016. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  18. ↑ "How can I safely consume seaweed?". Examine.com. It is relatively easy to consume most seaweeds safely, but high intakes of raw Kelp (Kombu, or any seaweed starting with Laminaria) are a very significant concern for iodine toxicity. For daily Kombu intake, proper cooking techniques should be followed for safety.
  19. ↑ Takenaka, S.; Sugiyama, S.; Ebara, S.; Miyamoto, E.; Abe, K.; Tamura, Y.; Watanabe, F.; Tsuyama, S.; Nakano, Y. (June 2001). "Feeding dried purple laver (nori) to vitamin B12 deficient rats significantly improves vitamin B12 status". British Journal of Nutrition. 85 (6): 699–703. doi:10.1079/BJN2001352. PMID 11430774. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  20. ↑ Goode, J. J. (2008-01-09). "Nori Steps Away From the Sushi". The New York Times Company. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  21. ↑ Watanabe, F; Takenaka, S; Katsura, H; et al. (December 2000). "Characterization of a vitamin B12 compound in the edible purple laver, Porphyra yezoensis". Biosci. Biotechnol. Biochem. 64 (12): 2712–5. doi:10.1271/bbb.64.2712. PMID 11210144.
  22. ↑ Watanabe, Fumio (November 2007). "Vitamin B12 Sources and Bioavailability". Experimental Biology and Medicine. 232 (10): 1266–74. doi:10.3181/0703-MR-67. PMID 17959839. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  23. ↑ Allen, Lindsay H. The United Nations University, Food and Nutrition Bulletin, vol. 29, no. 2. "Causes of vitamin B12 and folate deficiency". Accessed June 30, 2013.
  24. ↑ Fumio Watanabe, Yukinori Yabuta, Tomohiro Bito, and Fei Teng H. Nutrients. 2014 May; 6(5): 1861–1873 "Vitamin B12-Containing Plant Food Sources for Vegetarians".
  25. ↑ Yamada, K; Yamada, Y; Fukuda, M; Yamada, S (1999). "Bioavailability of dried asakusanori (porphyra tenera) as a source of Cobalamin (Vitamin B12)". Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 69 (Nov;69(6)): 412–8. doi:10.1024/0300-9831.69.6.412. PMID 10642899.
  26. ↑ Norris, Jack (August 30, 2014). "Vitamin B12 in Nori". JackNorrisRd.com. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
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