Seaweed Workshops
Primary tabs
NH Sea Grant & UNH Cooperative Extension are working to help people in New Hampshire understand:
- The benefits of and possibilities offered by the use of seaweed in cooking.
- The way in which seaweed can be used in aquaculture.
Why Seaweed?
Seaweed as Food
NH Sea Grant has partnered with UNH Cooperative Extension, Maine Sea Grant, and Stages at One Washington (Dover, NH) to host local events and workshops that bring you into the field and into the kitchen with seaweed! Attend our Seaweed Mania! events and learn about the health benefits of seaweed and how to incorporate sea vegetables (what seaweed is called once prepared for culinary uses) as an ingredient in your cooking. Don't know where to buy or find seaweed? No problem! We can shows you the best, local sources for seaweed foraging.
Recent workshops have featured an introduction to the types of seaweeds found on the NH coast. Learn how to identify different species of seaweed, how to handle seaweed, and how to safely forage. Culinary demonstrations with will teach you how to prepare creative and healthy dishes, alongside professional chefs and chocolate makers!
SEAWEED FORAGING
Our field guide "Common seaweeds on New Hampshire shores" features different types of local seaweeds, images for identifying, seasonal availability, and likely intertidal location. If you have an interest in foraging for seaweed, check out our Seaweed Mania! workshops, listed at the bottom of this page.
VIEW/DOWNLOAD OUR SEAWEED FIELD GUIDE
Seaweed Foraging Tips:
- When foraging seaweeds for personal use, be aware of pertinent state regulations, do your research and use common sense when looking for safe, clean sites to harvest.
- Harvest each organism in a way that allows it to regenerate and reproduce. Do not pull seaweeds or damage or remove them by their holdfast. Never harvest more than 25% of the seaweed in a stand.
- Depending on the species of seaweed you are harvesting, only cut the tips. Look for fresh, healthy, "floating" seaweeds, as these are easier to collect and still edible.
- Do not go to the same harvesting site repeatedly; give the site time to recover.
- Always use what you collect, never collect more than you can use, and remember to enjoy!
- For more detials, visit our Seaweed Foraging FAQs
Seaweed Mania! Workshops
This year, we're offering Seaweed Mania! virtually. We hope to be able to offer our in-person workshops again in spring 2022. To 'participate' this year, you can watch recordings of our two virtual workshops:
TYPES OF WORKSHOPS:
Come to the New Hampshire coast and learn how to identify and forage for edible seaweeds! You will learn about the benefits of incorporating seaweed into your diet and how to forage responsibly and sustainably. Currently,
New Hampshire residents are allowed to collect up to three bushels of seaweed per day. In this class, we'll learn how to collect seaweed in areas where the water is clean, make sure the seaweed looks healthy, and clip the seaweed so that some of the blade remains to allow for sustainable regeneration.
This workshop is fun for adults and kids and is a great introduction to the amazing world of seaweeds!
Cost: $15 per adult and children over 10 years old. Children 10 years & under are free. Space is limited.
Know before you go: We will be moving over wet, slick, and rocky terrain. Participants should wear proper foot gear (rubber boots or shoes with good traction that can get wet). Children must be closely supervised during the workshop. Thank you!
Location: Location will be announced prior to each workshop date. Locations will be in the NH Seacoast area. Previous workshops have taken place at Odiorne State Park and Drowned Forest Beach, Rye, NH.
Join Chef Evan Hennessey of Stages at One Washington and "Stages Projects" in a state-of-the-art restaurant kitchen where you will learn how to process and work with fresh sea vegetables and create your own three-course meal from soup to dessert, all while learning why seaweeds are amazing power foods!
Dr. Gabriela Bradt (Fisheries Extension Specialist) will guide the discussion about New Hampshire's local seaweed resources, sustainable fisheries, and aquaculture research.
Cost: $35 per adult participant. Space is limited.
Location:
Stages at One Washington
#1 Washington Street, #325
Dover, NH
Known as 'sea vegetables' or 'ocean herbs,' seaweeds (marine macro-algae) are undoubtedly the ocean's most versatile and sustainable resource. Seaweeds are used the world over for food, extracts, personal care products, health products, artistic creations, textiles, and soon, possibly, as alternative fuel!
Join us as we gather for a unique "bean to bar" experience, When Chocolate Meets Seaweed. Guided by Enna Grazier of Enna Chocolate, a local gourmet chocolate maker, and Chef Evan Hennessey of Stages at One Washington, you will test the boundaries of tastes, textures, smells. Explore the world of exquisite "bean to bar" chocolate and local seaweeds to create a unique chocolate confection!
Dr. Gabriela Bradt (Fisheries Extension Specialist) will guide the discussion about New Hampshire's local seaweed resources, sustainable fisheries, and aquaculture research.
Cost: $35 per adult participant. Space is limited.
Location:
Enna Chocolate
131 Main Street
Epping, NH
Keep Me Updated
Sign up for Seaweed Mania! Updates
Subscribe to get email alerts about future foraging workshops, culinary events, and the latest NH seaweed news!
CONTACT THE EXPERT
Gabriela Bradt, Ph.D.
Fisheries Extension Specialist
gabriela.bradt@unh.edu
(603) 862-2033