10.3 Crops and food production
by Annie Matheson
Redware, sloke and dulse are seaweeds which used to be eaten regularly in coastal areas, often added to soup or roasted and eaten with potatoes or a buttered bannock. In Orkney and parts of the Hebrides, children ate the raw stems of redware (also known as tangle) as a treat. “Natives of Caithness used to visit the shore at ebb tide in May to indulge in the consumption of fresh dulse and seawater. This was said to be ‘cheaper and better than Strathpeffer (spa)’ ”.
Rich in minerals, seaweed has become a fashionable food in recent years. Dulse [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] , allegedly ‘tasting like bacon’, is hailed in some advertising as a new “superfood”.
10.2 Traditional trades in Orkney & Shetland