What does fake seaweed look like

People in modern life pay great attention to the balance of dietary nutrition. Various ingredients need to be consumed appropriately. Among them, seafood is a very popular ingredient. Delicious seafood vegetables, mainly seaweed, have become the main force on people's tables. However, driven by profit, some unscrupulous businesses illegally produce counterfeit and shoddy seaweed, which seriously affects people's lives. Let's take a look at what fake seaweed looks like and how to tell it apart.

Porphyra is a general term for the mutualistic algae in the sea. Rhodophyta, Rhodophyceae. The algae body is membranous and is called a thallus. Purple or brownish green. The shape varies with the species. Porphyra is a marine red algae. The thallus consists of a single layer of cells embedded in a thin layer of colloid and is dark brown, red or purple. The holdfast of laver is disc-shaped and the rhizoids are thread-like. It grows on rocks in shallow intertidal zones. There are many varieties, the main ones are striped laver, kelp, sweet laver, etc. Artificial cultivation has been carried out in China's coastal areas.

How to identify the authenticity of laver:

First, we can observe through the color of the seaweed. Nori contains phycoerythrin, so the nori we usually buy should be dark brown or purple-brown in color and have a natural luster.

The main thing to look at when checking nori is its gloss. Fresh nori is dark green and shiny. Because nori absorbs moisture easily, if it is not stored properly or over time, its color will turn purple and its surface will be uneven, like a piece of rough paper. Although nori's name contains the word "purple", it cannot be eaten if it turns purple. In addition to looking at the color, you should also pick up the packaging bag to see if there is any sand on the bottom. Only nori without sand is clean.

Good quality seaweed has a purple-black luster (some are purple-red or purple-brown), thin flakes, soft texture, fragrant and delicious taste, and is clean and free of impurities. It turns green when roasted over fire.

Inferior quality seaweed has poor surface gloss, uneven thickness of the sheets, and is red with green mixed in. Poor taste and aroma. There are many algae and inclusions.

Good quality seaweed has a purple-black luster. Thin, soft texture, fragrant and delicious taste, clean, without sand impurities, dry. It turns green after roasting.

Inferior quality seaweed has poor surface gloss, uneven thickness of the sheets, and is red with green mixed in. Poor taste and aroma. There are many algae and inclusions.

Wild seaweed is black and purple in color, soft in texture and can be chewed, while dried seaweed is green in color, rough in texture and difficult to chew. Those soaked in pigments can be harmful to human health.

Normal seaweed soup is light green in color, just like spinach soup, while fake seaweed is dyed, so the soup is purple and the seaweed has no color.