Consider, for example, one of the favorites, nori. When processed, this seaweed looks like sheets of dry, greenish-​black paper and is prized for its aroma. Some 8,500 million sheets of it are consumed each year, which works out to about 70 letter-​pad-​sized sheets per person. What is so remarkable about nori? From 35 to 40 percent of it, by dry weight, is good protein that is easily digested. It is also a storehouse of vitamins. Compared to spinach, nori has 8 times more vitamin A, 9 times more vitamin B₁, 15 times more vitamin B₂, and 1.5 times more vitamin C. In addition, it is one of the few foods that is rich in vitamin B₁₂, and it contains six other types of B vitamins.

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Delicious Ways to Sample Seaweeds

Various kinds of seaweeds may be purchased from Japanese, Korean, or Chinese grocery stores, health-​food shops, or even some of the larger grocery markets. They usually come in packages of dried sheets. Some stores may sell them marinated in soy sauce. The most common varieties are wakame, nori, and kombu.

The very popular sushi is simply rice wrapped in nori, with the addition of cucumber, egg, or different seafoods​—tuna, salmon, shrimp, lobster, and so on. If you find the raw fish a little too much, try rolling cheese or cucumber sticks in seasoned sheets of nori.

Left: Nori, or laver, is used abundantly in sushi, a favorite dish in Japan