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Laver is an edible, littoral alga (seaweed). In Wales, laver is used for making ''laverbread'', a traditional Welsh dish. Laver as food is also commonly found around the west coast of Britain and east coast of Ireland along the Irish Sea, where it is known as slake.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://everything2.com/title/British+food+seaweeds )〕 It is smooth in texture and forms delicate, sheetlike thalli, often clinging to rocks. The principal variety is purple laver (''Porphyra umbilicalis'').〔 〕 Purple laver is classified as a red alga, tends to be a brownish colour, but boils down to a dark green pulp when prepared. It is unusual amongst seaweeds because the fronds are only one cell thick.〔 〕〔(Wells, Emma (2010), ''A Field Guide to the British Seaweeds'', National Marine Biological Analytical Quality Control Scheme (p 24) ).〕 Laver has a high content of dietary minerals, particularly iodine and iron. The high iodine content gives the seaweed a distinctive flavour in common with olives and oysters.〔 〕 ''Porphyra'' is also consumed in East Asia, where it is known as ''zicai'' in China, ''nori'' in Japan, and ''gim'' in Korea. ''Ulva lactuca'', a green alga, also known as sea lettuce, is occasionally eaten as green laver, which is regarded as inferior to the purple laver.〔 〕 ==Cultivation== Laver cultivation as food is thought to be very ancient, though the first mention was in Camden's ''Britannia'' in the early 17th century.〔 〕 It is plucked from the rocks and given a preliminary rinse in clear water. The collected laver is repeatedly washed to remove sand and boiled for hours until it becomes a stiff, green mush.〔 〕 In this state, the laver can be preserved for about a week. Typically during the 18th century, the mush was packed into a crock and sold as "potted laver". Cultivation of laver is typically associated with Wales, and it is still gathered off the Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire coasts,〔 〕 although similar farming methods are used at the west coast of Scotland. Laver can be eaten cold as a salad with lamb or mutton. A simple preparation is to heat the laver and to add butter and the juice of a lemon or Seville orange. Laver can be heated and served with boiled bacon. It is used to make the Welsh dish known as laverbread. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Laver (seaweed)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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