nori
{{short description|Edible seaweed species of the red algae genus Pyropia}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Infobox food
| name = Nori
| image = Nori.jpg
| image_size = 300px
| caption = Nori sheets
| alternate_name = Seaweed
| place_of_origin = Japan
| region =
| associated_cuisine = Japanese cuisine
| creator =
| year =
| mintime =
| maxtime =
| type = Edible seaweed
| course =
| served =
| main_ingredient = Dried red algae
| minor_ingredient =
| variations =
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| similar_dish = Gim, Kombu, Laverbread, Gamet
| other =
}}
Nori {{Nihongo||海苔|lead=yes}} is a dried edible seaweed used in Japanese cuisine, usually made from species of the red algae genus Pyropia, including P. yezoensis and P. tenera.{{Cite journal|last=Niwa|first=Kyosuke|date=November 2020|title=Molecular evidence of allodiploidy in F1 gametophytic blades from a cross between Neopyropia yezoensis and a cryptic species of the Neopyropia yezoensis complex (Bangiales, Rhodophyta) by the use of microsatellite markers|journal=Aquaculture Reports|volume=18|page=100489|doi=10.1016/j.aqrep.2020.100489|doi-access=free}} It has a strong and distinctive flavor, and is generally made into flat sheets and used to wrap rolls of sushi or onigiri (rice balls).
The finished dried sheets are made by a shredding and rack-drying process that resembles papermaking. They are sold in packs in grocery stores for culinary purposes. Since nori sheets easily absorb water from the air and degrade, a desiccant is needed when storing nori for any significant time.
Nori—despite not being cultivated by humans until the 1600s—has been popular since the pre-modern era in Japan, having been used as currency, offerings at shrines, and food since the 700s.{{Cite web |last=Olson |first=Danielle |title=Saving Nori {{!}} Smithsonian Ocean |url=https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/plants-algae/saving-nori |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=ocean.si.edu |language=en}}
History
=Ancient=
File:Shinagawa nori Utagawa Kuniyoshi 1864.jpg, print by Hiroshige, 1864]]
File:FMIB 53529 On etale l'Asaksanori en plein air pour le fair secher.jpeg
Originally, the term nori was generic and referred to seaweeds, including hijiki.{{cite book|title=Kodansha encyclopedia of Japan|volume=6|publisher=Kōdansha|isbn=978-0-87011-620-9|year=1983|page=[https://archive.org/details/kodanshaencyclop0000koda/page/37 37]|quote=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.|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/kodanshaencyclop0000koda/page/37}} One of the earliest descriptions of nori is dated to around the eighth century. In the Taihō Code of 701 CE, nori was already included in the form of taxation.{{cite journal|last=Nisizawa|first=Kazutosi|author2=Noda, Hiroyuki |author3=Kikuchi, Ryo |author4= Watanabe, Tadaharu |title=The main seaweed foods in Japan|journal=Hydrobiologia|date=September 1987|volume=151-152|issue=1|pages=5–29|doi=10.1007/BF00046102|s2cid=39736004|quote=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.}} Local people were described as drying nori in the Hitachi Province Fudoki (721–721 CE), and harvesting of nori was mentioned in the Izumo Province Fudoki (713–733 CE).{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vQc3AAAAMAAJ|quote=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.|title= 和漢古典植物考 (Japanese and Chinese Classical Botany)|first=Terayama |last=Hiroshi| publisher=asaka Shobō|year= 2003 |page=588|isbn=9784896948158}} In the Utsubo Monogatari, written around 987 CE, nori was recognized as a common food.
=Modern=
Nori had been consumed as paste form until the sheet form (ita-nori 板海苔) was invented in Asakusa, Tokyo, around 1750 in the Edo period through the method of Japanese paper-making.{{cite book |title=海苔 |trans-title=Nori |first=Akira |last=Miyashita |publisher=Hosei University Press |isbn=978-4588211119 |year=2003 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V_IwAQAAIAAJ}}{{cite book |title=浅草海苔盛衰記 |trans-title=Asakusa nori rise and fall |first=Minoru |last=Katada |publisher=Seizando-Shoten Publishing |year=1989 |isbn=978-4425822515 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jjw0AQAAIAAJ}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VWLTngEACAAJ&dq&hl=en |title=The Japanese kitchen: 250 recipes in a traditional spirit|first= Hiroko |last=Shimbo |publisher= Harvard Common Press|year= 2001 |isbn= 1558321772|quote=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.|page=128}}{{cite news |title=After 40-year no-show, famed Asakusa nori makes comeback |newspaper=The Asahi Shimbun |date=January 6, 2005 |quote=Inspired by Japanese paper-making, fishermen processed harvested seaweed into thin, square-shaped sheets. |url=http://www.asahi.com/english/nation/TKY200501060116.html}}
The word "nori" first appeared in an English-language publication in C. P. Thunberg's Trav., published in 1796.{{cite web|title=Nori|url=http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/128255|publisher=Oxford English Dictionary, Third Edition|access-date=25 March 2013|date=September 2012}} It was used in conjugation as "Awa nori", probably referring to what now is called "aonori", i.e., green laver.
When Japan was in need of high food production after World War II, production of nori was in decline. They sought to cultivate nori in addition to traditional wild harvesting from the sea. Due to a lack of understanding of nori's three-stage life cycle, however, those attempting to produce nori artificially did not understand why their cultivation methods were not being productive with nori. The industry was rescued by knowledge derived from the work of British phycologist Kathleen Mary Drew-Baker, who had been researching the organism Porphyria umbilicalis that grew in the seas around Wales and was harvested for food (laverbread), as in Japan. Her work was discovered by Japanese scientists who applied it to artificial methods of seeding and growing the nori, rescuing the industry. Kathleen Baker was hailed in Japan as the "Mother of the Sea" and a statue was erected in her memory.{{Cite web |last1=Graber |first1=Cynthia |last2=Twilley |first2=Nicola |title=How this British scientist saved Japan's seaweed industry |url=https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/12/japan-seaweed-gastropod-kelp/ |access-date=2023-01-24 |website=Mother Jones |language=en-US}}{{Cite journal |last1=Harris |first1=Constance |last2=Matsuda |first2=Kazuhiko |last3=Sattelle |first3=David B. |title=Dr. Kathleen Drew-Baker, "Mother of the Sea", a Manchester scientist celebrated each year for half a century in Japan |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23943287/ |journal=BioEssays |year=2013 |publication-date=September 2013 |volume=35 |issue=9 |pages=838–839 |doi=10.1002/bies.201300061 |issn=1521-1878 |pmid=23943287|s2cid=23155509 }} She is still revered as the savior of the Japanese nori industry.
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 {{cite news|title=Natural Foods Pioneer Michio Kushi Dies at 88|url=http://www.rafu.com/2015/01/natural-foods-pioneer-michio-kushi-dies-at-88/|access-date=4 February 2016|publisher=The Rafu Shimpo|date=2015-01-07}} and in the 1970s with the increase of sushi bars and Japanese restaurants.{{cite journal|last1=Allen|first1=Matthew and Rumi Sakamoto|title=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|journal=The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus|date=2011-01-24|volume=9|issue= 5, No. 2|url=http://apjjf.org/-Mathew-Allen/3481|access-date=4 February 2016}}
In the 21st century, the Japanese nori industry faces a new decline due to increased competition from seaweed producers in China and Korea, and an increase in domestic sales tax.{{cite news|last1=Oi|first1=Mariko|title=Japan's seaweed harvesters miss out on growth plans|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-31585251|access-date=4 February 2016|agency=BBC News Services|date=2015-02-23}}
Nori tori Hiroshige.jpg|Women gathering nori, print by Hiroshige, 1849
Hiroshige Hundred views Edo 109 Minami-shinagawa samezu kaigan (南品川鮫洲海岸).tif|Nori farm in Shinagawa, by Hiroshige, 1857[https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/minami-shinagawa-and-samezu-coast-no-109-from-one-hundred-famous-views-of-edo-utagawa-hiroshige-ando-japanese-1797-1858/rwHPko_SmvhcDw Google Arts and Culture, Minami-Shinagawa and Samezu Coast]
Woman placing seaweed, which is an important item of the Japanese diet, on rack to dry, Japan LCCN2001705652.jpg|A woman drying nori, 1890-1923
Monument Kathleen Mary Drew-Baker.jpg|Monument to Kathleen Mary Drew-Baker in Uto, Kumamoto. Her research revived nori production in Japan.
Production
File:Gokasyo Port Nori cultivation ac (1).jpg]]
Production and processing of nori is an advanced form of agriculture. The biology of Pyropia, although complicated, now 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 approximately 45 days from "seeding" until the first harvest. Multiple harvests can be taken from a single seeding, typically at approximately 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 {{convert|18|×|20|cm|0|abbr=on}} and {{convert|3|g}} in weight.
File:Nori making, Mishima Island.jpg]]
Several grades of nori are available in the United States. The most common (and least expensive) grades are imported from China, costing approximately 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 the Ariake Sea, off the island of Kyushu in Japan.{{cite news|last=Goode |first=J. J. |title=Nori Steps Away From the Sushi |newspaper=The New York Times |date=January 9, 2008 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/09/dining/09nori.html?pagewanted=2 |access-date=25 March 2013}}
In Japan, more than {{convert|600|km2|mi2}} of coastal waters are given to producing {{convert|350000|t|LT}} of nori, worth more than a billion dollars. China produces approximately a third of this amount.{{cite book |last=Thomas|first=David|title=Seaweeds |year=2002|publisher=Natural History Museum |location=London|isbn=978-0-565-09175-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/seaweeds0000thom_i6s1/page/86/mode/1up|page=86|via=Archive.org|url-access=registration }}
Wild seaweed is still gathered to make nori, often found growing on rocks at the beach. Such wild nori is called iwanori ("rock nori"), and are known for their rougher texture and taste.
Culinary uses
Nori is commonly used as a wrap for sushi and onigiri (rice balls). The dry seaweed is used to pick up rice balls without getting the hands sticky. Senbei (rice crackers) sometimes contain a piece of nori as well.
Strips or small sheets of nori are used as garnish for noodles, soups, and rice dishes. Flakes of nori are used in furikake seasonings, to be sprinkled over rice or added to onigiri. Very small flakes or powdered nori can be dusted over a variety of savory foods.
Typically, nori is toasted prior to consumption. Toasted nori is called 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.{{cite book |title=The Book of Tofu: Food for Mankind, Volume 1 |first1=William |last1=Shurtleff |author-link=William Shurtleff |first2=Akiko |last2=Aoyagi|author-link2=Akiko Aoyagi |publisher=Soyinfo Center |year=1975 |isbn=978-0394734316 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7rmfYjEYyu8C&q=%22ajitsuke-nori%22&pg=PA327 |page=327}} Nori is also eaten by making it into a soy sauce-flavored paste, nori no tsukudani ({{lang|ja|海苔の佃煮}}). Sometimes it is also used as a form of food decoration, such as creating faces or anime characters in bento boxes.
A related product, prepared from the unrelated green algae Monostroma and Enteromorpha, is called aonori ({{lang|ja|青海苔}} literally blue/green nori) and it is used as an herb on everyday meals, such as okonomiyaki and yakisoba.
Ikura 001.jpg|Nori used to wrap sushi with ikura (salmon eggs)
家系ラーメン 吉村家 (52723741330).jpg|Bowl of ramen with nori sheets
Temaki thon durant le confinement 2020 - vue de dessus.jpg|Temaki is always wrapped with nori for easy holding
Senbei 003.jpg|Senbei cracker wrapped with nori
Mentai-don.jpg|Rice bowl topped with mentaiko and nori
Meshi 004.jpg|Rice with furikake seasoning made of nori flakes
Nutrition
File:Nori for Sushi micro photo 200x.jpg
Raw seaweed is 85% water, 6% protein, 5% carbohydrates, and has negligible fat. In a 100 gram reference amount, seaweed is a rich source (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of vitamin A, vitamin C, riboflavin, and folate. Seaweed is a moderate source (less than 20% DV) of niacin, iron, and zinc. Seaweed has a high content of iodine, providing a substantial amount in just one gram.{{cite web |url=https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Iodine-HealthProfessional/ |title=Iodine Fact Sheet for Health Professionals |publisher=National Institutes of Health |date=February 11, 2016 |access-date=May 1, 2016}} A 2014 study reported that dried purple laver ("nori") contains vitamin B12 in sufficient quantities to meet the RDA requirement (Vitamin B12 content: 77.6 μg /100 g dry weight).{{Cite journal|last1=Watanabe|first1=Fumio|last2=Yabuta|first2=Yukinori|last3=Bito|first3=Tomohiro|last4=Teng|first4=Fei|date=2014-05-05|title=Vitamin B12-Containing Plant Food Sources for Vegetarians|journal=Nutrients|volume=6|issue=5|pages=1861–1873|doi=10.3390/nu6051861|issn=2072-6643|pmc=4042564|pmid=24803097|doi-access=free}} By contrast, however, a 2017 review concluded that vitamin B12 may be destroyed during metabolism or is converted into inactive B12 analogs during drying and storage.{{cite journal| vauthors=Bito T, Teng F, Watanabe F| title=Bioactive Compounds of Edible Purple Laver Porphyra sp. (Nori) | journal=J Agric Food Chem | year= 2017 | volume= 65 | issue= 49 | pages= 10685–10692 | pmid=29161815 | doi=10.1021/acs.jafc.7b04688 | type=Review }} The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics stated in 2016 that nori is not an adequate source of vitamin B12 for humans.{{cite journal|vauthors=Melina V, Craig W, Levin S|year=2016|title=Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Vegetarian Diets|journal=J Acad Nutr Diet|volume=116|issue=12|pages=1970–1980|doi=10.1016/j.jand.2016.09.025|pmid=27886704|s2cid=4984228 |url=https://www.eatrightpro.org/~/media/eatrightpro%20files/practice/position%20and%20practice%20papers/position%20papers/vegetarian-diet.ashx|url-access=subscription}} {{failed verification|date=October 2024}}
Health risks
Similar food
The red algae genera is also consumed in Korean cuisine as gim, in Chinese cuisine as haitai (海苔) or zicai (紫菜), and in Wales and Ireland as laverbread.
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Nori (food)}}
{{Cookbook}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20080616010414/http://www.surialink.com/HANDBOOK/Genera/reds/Porphyra/Porphyra.htm Suria Link Seaplants Handbook]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20210905151741/http://sushi.pro/ingredients/nori.html Nori 海苔 : Sushi Ingredients]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20230531182712/http://www.seaweed.ie/aquaculture/NoriCultivation.php Description and images of cultivation and harvesting]
- [http://marutokunori.jp/en/nori/ Nori Dishes (w/video)]
- [http://marutokunori.jp/en/about/ Marutoku Nori: About Nori]
- [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/09/dining/09nori.html Nori Steps Away From the Sushi]
{{Japanese food and drink}}
{{Authority control}}