5 Some Oregon seaweed tastes like bacon
Some people like bacon. Bacon is pork. It is meat from a pig.
Some people like seaweed. Seaweed is a vegetable. It is a plant in the ocean.
But one seaweed tastes like bacon!
The red seaweed is called dulse. It tastes salty and sweet. It is a healthy sea vegetable.
A business in Oregon wants to grow the plant. They want to sell it for food. But it is expensive to grow.
Would you eat it? How much would you pay for seaweed if it tastes like bacon?
-This story was first published in ESOL News Oregon July 26, 2019.
Check
Discuss
- Would you eat this seaweed? Why or why not?
- How much would you pay for seaweed that tastes like bacon?
- Have you ever eaten something that had a surprising flavor or a flavor you were not expecting, such as something that was very spicy or very bitter? What was your first reaction?
- Other foods have unusual tastes or smells. For example, some people think that cilantro tastes like soap. Have you ever smelled a durian fruit? It has a very strong smell that many people do not like, but some people think it tastes delicious.
Write
- To substitute something is to replace something. Could you substitute seaweed for bacon? Think about a recipe with seaweed instead of bacon. What are the ingredients? Describe. How do you make it? Explain.
- What other food do we eat that comes from the ocean? Write about the different plants and animals. You can write about food from your culture or food from other cultures, including American culture.
- Seaweed bacon can give food an interesting flavor. What other spices do you add to your food?
- Vegetarians are people who do not eat meat. Is this seaweed OK for vegetarians? Why or why not?
Sources
Banse, Tom. “The Dream Of A Viable Bacon-Like Seaweed Is Still Alive In Oregon.” Opb.Org, Northwest News Network, 26 July 2019, www.opb.org/news/article/dulse-oregon-state-university-seaweed-bacon-market/. Accessed 26 July 2019.
Oregon Dulse. 2019, www.oregondulse.com/. Accessed 26 July 2019.
Image: Peter Southwood, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
