You will now want to eat your vegetables

ExpendableYouth · July 2015

Superfood Dulse is already harvested and usually sold for up to 240 a kilo in dried

THE smell of sizzling bacon is one of the most irresistible kitchen aromas and now even vegetarians might be able to enjoy it without feeling bad.

Oregon State University researchers have patented a new strain of red seaweed that they say tastes just like bacon.

Called dulse, the marine algae has a “pretty strong bacon flavour” but has “twice the nutritional value of kale”, said lead researcher Chris Langdon.

Mr Langdon said the algae is already harvested and usually sold for up to $240 a kilo in dried form as a cooking ingredient or nutritional supplement.

Production potential ... Mr Langdon produces up to 13kg a week of Dulse in two tanks at Oregon State University. Picture: Oregon State University Source: Supplied

“In Europe, they add the powder to smoothies, or add flakes onto food,” he said. “There hasn’t been a lot of interest in using it in a fresh form. But this stuff is pretty amazing. When you fry it, which I have done, it tastes like bacon, not seaweed. And it’s a pretty strong bacon flavour.”

He added that the red lettuce-resembling superfood, which is packed full of minerals, vitamins and antioxidants, can be grown incredibly fast using a water recirculation system.

Mr Langdon, who produces up to 13kg a week of Dulse in two tanks, said all that is needed is “a modest amount of seawater and some sunshine.”