Norway Women Bring Seaweed to Culinary Heights in Europe

Lofoten Seaweed co-founder Angelita Eriksen picks kelp from the icy Norwegian waters. Olivier MORIN / AFP
Lofoten Seaweed co-founder Angelita Eriksen picks kelp from the icy Norwegian waters. Olivier MORIN / AFP
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Norway Women Bring Seaweed to Culinary Heights in Europe

Lofoten Seaweed co-founder Angelita Eriksen picks kelp from the icy Norwegian waters. Olivier MORIN / AFP
Lofoten Seaweed co-founder Angelita Eriksen picks kelp from the icy Norwegian waters. Olivier MORIN / AFP

In the glacial waters of the Lofoten archipelago in Norway's far north, Angelita Eriksen uses a knife to cut a handful of seaweed that will soon end up in a fancy European eatery.
"We have the cleanest and clearest waters in the world. We're very lucky that we have this really important resource growing right outside our doorstep," Eriksen told AFP in a cabin on the shores of the northern Atlantic Ocean where the seaweed is laid out to dry.
"We want to show that to the world."
The daughter of a Norwegian fisherman, Eriksen joined forces with New Zealand-born Tamara Singer, whose Japanese mother served seaweed with almost every meal, to start the company Lofoten Seaweed -- specializing in harvesting and preparing seaweed for the food industry.
With the help of six others, they hand-pick 11 tons of seaweed a year, the snow-capped mountains plummeting into the sea behind them in a dramatic tableau.
It's a demanding and "physical job", said Eriksen.
The peak season runs from late April until June, but "we harvest the dulse, the nori and the sea truffle in the winter and fall".
"It can be quite cold, as we can stay out for about an hour along the shore", with lower legs and hands submerged in the chilly water.
By "late May, I'm actually sweating in my suit".
One time, she said, "I took my glove off and the steam was just rising up".
"It's physically hard but at the same time it's very meditative, or therapeutic in a way, to harvest," she says.
'Delicate'
Truffle seaweed, winged kelp, nori, dulse, sugar kelp, oarweed kelp: the pair focus on about 10 types of seaweed, long eaten in Japan and increasingly popular in Europe for their nutritional qualities.
The seaweed is sold locally or shipped to gourmet restaurants in Norway and the rest of Europe.
The two women organize workshops to teach chefs about the different varieties and the qualities of each type.
"Seaweeds are like vegetables, they have their own texture, taste and colors," says Singer.
She said it was a "huge surprise" how many European chefs had little or no knowledge of the different flavors and ways of preparing seaweed.
The duo have worked with Japanese chefs "who know exactly what to do, you don't have to tell them anything".
"It's just so natural for them. It's like giving a piece of fish to a North Norwegian," says Singer.
Some 20 kilometers (12 miles) away, chef Josh Wing has been serving the pair's products in his high-end restaurant Hattvika Lodge for about five years.
He is well versed and does not need to take part in their workshops anymore.
Wing is particularly fond of the dulse, a "very delicate purple seaweed", which he serves with local fish dishes or bread.
It "can provide a physical texture in a dish that you can't get from other products", he tells AFP.
To ensure that their business is sustainable, Eriksen and Singer have mapped and dated their harvest sites, as well as the volumes of each species, for the past four years.
"Our results show that the regrowth in recently-harvested patches is actually faster than anticipated, almost as if a harvest actually stimulates growth," says Singer.



Saudi-US Partnership to Advance Arabic and English Education

Photo from the Saudi-US Higher Education Partnership Forum in Riyadh (Ministry of Education)
Photo from the Saudi-US Higher Education Partnership Forum in Riyadh (Ministry of Education)
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Saudi-US Partnership to Advance Arabic and English Education

Photo from the Saudi-US Higher Education Partnership Forum in Riyadh (Ministry of Education)
Photo from the Saudi-US Higher Education Partnership Forum in Riyadh (Ministry of Education)

The Saudi-US Higher Education Partnership Forum kicked off in Riyadh, bringing together leaders from Saudi and US institutions to strengthen knowledge exchange and establish long-term collaborations between universities in both countries. The forum seeks to implement innovative projects aligned with national priorities and strategic goals.

The event saw the signing of a memorandum of understanding to enhance educational exchange, foster new academic and scientific partnerships, and facilitate the mobility of students and researchers between Saudi Arabia and the United States.

Michael Ratney, the US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, stated that the forum is the fruit of a year-long collaboration between the US Embassy and Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Education, and aim is to expand and deepen bilateral educational exchange.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Ratney noted that while hundreds of thousands of Saudi nationals have studied in the US over the years, the forum aspires to establish a reciprocal relationship, including bringing American students and educators to Saudi Arabia.

The forum explored areas for collaboration and identified opportunities through discussions between the participating universities.

Asked about plans to open US university branches in the Kingdom, Ratney noted that educational exchange can take various forms, such as student mobility, faculty exchanges, joint research projects, and the establishment of shared research centers.

He highlighted a recent agreement between Saudi Arabia and Arizona State University, one of the largest universities in the US, to establish a joint campus in the Kingdom in collaboration with a local university. The campus will offer degrees recognized in both countries, reflecting an innovative approach to educational cooperation and the expansion of bilateral ties.

The forum featured sessions on opportunities for student and researcher exchange, the objectives of the King Salman Scholarship Program, the transformation of Saudi cultural missions, mechanisms for developing joint academic programs, and the establishment of international university branches in Saudi Arabia.

Rafik Mansour, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Education and Culture, emphasized the strong historical ties between the two nations. He noted that approximately 700,000 Saudi students have studied at American universities over the past decades, making Saudi Arabia the largest source of students from the Middle East studying in the US.

Looking to the future, Mansour stressed the importance of enhancing educational exchanges to meet critical needs in fields such as artificial intelligence, arts, and medicine. He expressed optimism that the agreements reached through the forum would accelerate collaboration and further strengthen the Saudi-US educational partnership.