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''Konbu'' (from ja,
昆布
''Konbu'' (from ja, 昆布, konbu or kombu) is edible kelp mostly from the family Laminariaceae and is widely eaten in East Asia. It may also be referred to as ''dasima'' ( ko, 다시마) or ''haidai'' ().
Kelp features in the diets of many ...
, konbu or kombu) is edible
kelp
Kelps are large brown algae seaweeds that make up the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera. Despite its appearance, kelp is not a plant - it is a heterokont, a completely unrelated group of organisms.
Kelp grows in "underwat ...
mostly from the family
Laminariaceae
Laminariaceae is a family of brown algal seaweed
Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of '' Rhodophyta'' (red), ''Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ''Chlor ...
and is widely eaten in
East Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...
.
It may also be referred to as ''dasima'' ( ko, 다시마) or ''haidai'' ().
Kelp features in the diets of many civilizations, including Chinese and Icelandic; however, the largest consumers of kelp are the Japanese, who have incorporated kelp and seaweed into their diets for over 1,500 years.
Prominent species
There are about eighteen edible species in Laminariaceae and most of them, but not all, are called kombu. Confusingly, species of Laminariaceae have multiple names in
biology
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...
and in
fisheries science
Fisheries science is the academic discipline of managing and understanding fisheries. It is a multidisciplinary science, which draws on the disciplines of limnology, oceanography, freshwater biology, marine biology, meteorology, conservation, eco ...
. In the following list, fisheries science synonyms are in parentheses, and Japanese names follow them.
* ''
Saccharina japonica
''Saccharina japonica'' is a marine species of the Phaeophyceae (brown algae) class, a type of kelp or seaweed, which is extensively cultivated on ropes between the seas of China, Japan and Korea. It has the common name sweet kelp. It is widely ...
'' (''Laminaria japonica''),
* ''Saccharina japonica'' var. ''religiosa'' (''Laminaria religiosa''),
* ''Saccharina japonica'' var. ''diabolica'' (''Laminaria diabolica''), l
* ''Saccharina japonica'' var. ''ochotensis'' (''Laminaria ochotensis''), – commonly used for soup stocks
* ''
Saccharina latissima
''Saccharina latissima'' is a brown alga (class Phaeophyceae), of the family Laminariaceae. It is known by the common names sugar kelp, sea belt, and Devil's apron, and is one of the species known to Japanese cuisine as kombu. It is found in the ...
'' (''Laminaria saccharina''), Karafuto-kombu – contains
mannitol
Mannitol is a type of sugar alcohol used as a sweetener and medication. It is used as a low calorie sweetener as it is poorly absorbed by the intestines. As a medication, it is used to decrease pressure in the eyes, as in glaucoma, and to lower ...
and is considered sweeter
* ''
Saccharina angustata'' (''Laminaria angustata''), – commonly used in the making of
dashi
is a family of stocks used in Japanese cuisine. ''Dashi'' forms the base for miso soup, clear broth soup, noodle broth soup, and many simmering liquids to accentuate the savory flavor known as umami. ''Dashi'' is also mixed into the flour ba ...
* ''
Saccharina longissima
''Saccharina'' is a genus of 24 species of Phaeophyceae (brown algae). It is found in the north Atlantic Ocean and the northern Pacific Ocean at depths from 8 m to 30 m (exceptionally to 120 m in the warmer waters of the Mediterran ...
'' (''Laminaria longissima''),
* ''
Saccharina coriacea'' (''Laminaria coriacea''),
* ''
Saccharina sculpera
''Saccharina'' is a genus of 24 species of Phaeophyceae (brown algae). It is found in the north Atlantic Ocean and the northern Pacific Ocean at depths from 8 m to 30 m (exceptionally to 120 m in the warmer waters of the Mediterran ...
'' (''Kjellmaniella sculpera''),
* ''
Saccharina longipedalis
''Saccharina'' is a genus of 24 species of Phaeophyceae (brown algae). It is found in the north Atlantic Ocean and the northern Pacific Ocean at depths from 8 m to 30 m (exceptionally to 120 m in the warmer waters of the Mediterra ...
'' (''Laminaria longipedalis''), Enaga-kombu
* ''
Saccharina gyrata
''Saccharina'' is a genus of 24 species of Phaeophyceae (brown algae). It is found in the north Atlantic Ocean and the northern Pacific Ocean at depths from 8 m to 30 m (exceptionally to 120 m in the warmer waters of the Mediterran ...
'' (''Kjellmaniella gyrata''),
* ''
Saccharina cichorioides
''Saccharina'' is a genus of 24 species of Phaeophyceae (brown algae). It is found in the north Atlantic Ocean and the northern Pacific Ocean at depths from 8 m to 30 m (exceptionally to 120 m in the warmer waters of the Mediterra ...
'' (''Laminaria cichorioides''), Chijimi-kombu
* ''
Arthrothamnus bifidus
''Arthrothamnus'' is a genus of brown alga comprising approximately 2 species. It includes the algae commonly known as nekoashi-kombu, oarweed and chishima-nekoashi-kombu. ''Bifurcariopsis'' reproduces by means of conceptacles; it produces tetr ...
'',
Etymology
Kombu is a
loanword
A loanword (also loan word or loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in two or more languages that are similar because th ...
from
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
.
In Old Japanese, edible seaweed was generically called "''me''" (cf.
wakame
Wakame ''(Undaria pinnatifida)'' is a species of kelp native to cold, temperate coasts of the northwest Pacific Ocean. As an edible seaweed, it has a subtly sweet, but distinctive and strong flavour and texture. It is most often served in soups ...
,
arame
, sea oak is a species of kelp, of the brown algae, best known for its use in Japanese cuisine.
Description
''Eisenia bicyclis'' is indigenous to temperate Pacific Ocean waters centered near Japan, although it is deliberately cultured elsewh ...
) and
kanji
are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...
such as "軍布", 海藻 or "和布" were applied to transcribe the word. Especially, kombu was called
''hirome'' (from ''hiroi'', wide) or
''ebisume'' (from
''ebisu''). Sometime later the names ''konfu'' and ''kofu'' appeared respectively in two editions of Iroha Jiruishō in 12th–13th century.
Various theories have been claimed for the origin of the name kombu, with the following two predominant today.
One is that it originated from the
on'yomi
are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subsequent ...
(
Sino-Japanese reading) of the Chinese name 昆布 (kūnbù). The kanji itself already could be seen in ''Shōsōin Monjo'' (8th century) and ''
Shoku Nihongi
The is an imperially-commissioned Japanese history text. Completed in 797, it is the second of the ''Six National Histories'', coming directly after the '' Nihon Shoki'' and followed by ''Nihon Kōki''. Fujiwara no Tsugutada and Sugano no Mamichi ...
'' (797) in Japan, and furthermore trace back in China, as early as 3rd century, to the book ''Wupu Bencao'' (around 239).
Li Shizhen
Li Shizhen (July 3, 1518 – 1593), courtesy name Dongbi, was a Chinese acupuncturist, herbalist, naturalist, pharmacologist, physician, and writer of the Ming dynasty. He is the author of a 27-year work, found in the ''Compendium of M ...
wrote the following in his ''
Bencao Gangmu
The ''Bencao gangmu'', known in English as the ''Compendium of Materia Medica'' or ''Great Pharmacopoeia'', is an encyclopedic gathering of medicine, natural history, and Chinese herbology compiled and edited by Li Shizhen and published in the ...
'' (1596):
Another possibility to explain the association arises because descriptions of kūnbù in Chinese documents are vague and inconsistent, and it is impossible to identify to which seaweed the term might have applied. For instance, Chen Cangqi (681–757) noted: "kūnbù is produced in the
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...
; its leaf is like a hand and the size is the same as a
silver grass and a
reed
Reed or Reeds may refer to:
Science, technology, biology, and medicine
* Reed bird (disambiguation)
* Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times
* Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales
* ...
, is of red purple; the thin part of leaf is seaweed",
which is similar to wakame, arame, kurome, or kajime (''
Ecklonia cava
''Ecklonia cava'' (or paddle weed, , ''noro-kajime''), is an edible marine brown alga species found in the ocean off Japan and Korea.
It is used as an herbal remedy in the form of an extract called ''Seanol'', a polyphenolic extract, and ''Vento ...
''). The difficulty is that, at least in that time, kombu was not produced either in the East nor in the South China Sea. Moreover, following Zhang Yxi, Li Shizhen classified kūnbù and haidai (stands for kombu in Chinese) as different things,
and this classification continues in China today.
History
The Erya (3rd–2nd century BC) noted that "Qūan resembles 綸 (lace, cord or rope). This is in the
East China Sea
The East China Sea is an arm of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. It covers an area of roughly . The sea’s northern extension between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula is the Yellow Sea, separated b ...
." The Wupu Bencao (3rd century) mentions it as "Gūanbù, alias kūnbù".
Tao Hongjing
Tao Hongjing (456–536), courtesy name Tongming, was a Chinese alchemist, astronomer, calligrapher, military general, musician, physician, and pharmacologist, and writer during the Northern and Southern dynasties (420–589). A polymathic indiv ...
(456–536) noted kūnbù is edible.
As previously mentioned, however, kūnbù can not be identified with kombu. Zhang Yuxi referred to haidai in the book ''Jiayou buzhu Shen Nong bencao'' (嘉祐補註神農本草; 1060).
Although archaeological evidence of seaweed is hard to find because of its easy decomposition, some plant remains of wakame seaweed are found in some ruins of the
Jōmon Period
The is the time in Japanese history, traditionally dated between 6,000–300 BCE, during which Japan was inhabited by a diverse hunter-gatherer and early agriculturalist population united through a common Jōmon culture, which reached a c ...
which leads to the supposition that kombu was also eaten at that time. As to surviving documents, the letters 軍布 (in Sino-Japanese reading 軍 is gun/kun; 布 is fu/pu/bu) appeared in Man'yōshū and wood strips from Fujiwara-kyō, and may have indicated kombu. The ''Shoku Nihongi'' (797) reports: in 797 of
Emishi
The (also called Ebisu and Ezo), written with Chinese characters that literally mean "shrimp barbarians," constituted an ancient ethnic group of people who lived in parts of Honshū, especially in the Tōhoku region, referred to as in contemp ...
(Ainu or Tohoku region people) stated they had been offering up kombu, which grew there, as tribute to the
Yamato court every year without fail. The
Engishiki
The is a Japanese book about laws and customs. The major part of the writing was completed in 927. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Engi-shiki''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 178.
History
In 905, Emperor Daigo ordered the compilation of the ...
(927) also reports that kombu had been offered up by
Mutsu.
During the
Muromachi period
The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...
, a newly developed drying technique allowed kombu to be stored for more than a few days, and it became an important export from the Tohoku area. By the
Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
, as Hokkaidō was colonized and shipment routes were organized, the use of ''kombu'' became widespread throughout Japan. Traditional
Okinawan cuisine
is the cuisine of the Okinawa Prefecture of Japan. The cuisine is also known as , a reference to the Ryukyu Kingdom. Due to differences in culture, historical contact between other regions, climate, vegetables and other ingredients, Okinawan cu ...
relies heavily on ''kombu'' as a part of the diet; this practice began in the Edo period. Okinawa uses more ''kombu'' per household than any other prefecture. In the 20th century, a way to cultivate kombu was discovered and it became cheap and readily available.
In 1867, the word "kombu" first appeared in an English-language publication—''A Japanese and English Dictionary'' by
James Curtis Hepburn
James Curtis Hepburn (; March 13, 1815 – September 21, 1911) was an American physician, translator, educator, and lay Christian missionary. He is known for the Hepburn romanization system for transliteration of the Japanese language into ...
.
Umami
Umami ( from ja, 旨味 ), or savoriness, is one of the five basic tastes. It has been described as savory and is characteristic of broths and cooked meats.
People taste umami through taste receptors that typically respond to glutamates and ...
, a
basic taste
The gustatory system or sense of taste is the sensory system that is partially responsible for the perception of taste (flavor). Taste is the perception produced or stimulated when a substance in the mouth reacts chemically with taste receptor ...
, was first scientifically identified in 1908 by
Kikunae Ikeda
was a Japanese chemist and Tokyo Imperial University professor of chemistry who, in 1908, uncovered the chemical basis of a taste he named umami. It is one of the five basic tastes along with sweet, bitter, sour and salty.
Ikeda graduated in 1 ...
through his experimentation with ''kombu''.
[ (Partial translation of )] He found that
glutamic acid
Glutamic acid (symbol Glu or E; the ionic form is known as glutamate) is an α-amino acid that is used by almost all living beings in the biosynthesis of proteins. It is a non-essential nutrient for humans, meaning that the human body can synt ...
was responsible for the palatability of the ''dashi'' broth created from ''kombu'', and was a distinct sensation from sweet, sour, bitter, and salty tastes.
Ikeda named the newly-discovered taste ''umami'' (うま味), from the Japanese word ''umai'' (うまい, "delicious").
Since the 1960s, dried ''kombu'' has been exported from Japan to many countries. It was available initially at Asian, and especially Japanese, food shops and restaurants, and can be found in supermarkets, health-food stores, and other nonspecializing suppliers.
Cooking
Japan
Kombu is sold dried (''dashi konbu'') or pickled in vinegar (''su konbu'') or as a dried shred (''oboro konbu'', ''tororo konbu'' or ''shiraga konbu''). It may also be eaten fresh in ''
sashimi
is a Japanese delicacy consisting of fresh raw fish or meat sliced into thin pieces and often eaten with soy sauce.
Origin
The word ''sashimi'' means "pierced body", i.e. "刺身" = ''sashimi'', where 刺 し = ''sashi'' (pierced, stuck) ...
''.
Kombu is used extensively in
Japanese cuisine
Japanese cuisine encompasses the regional and traditional foods of Japan, which have developed through centuries of political, economic, and social changes. The traditional cuisine of Japan (Japanese: ) is based on rice with miso soup and other ...
s as one of the three main ingredients needed to make ''
dashi
is a family of stocks used in Japanese cuisine. ''Dashi'' forms the base for miso soup, clear broth soup, noodle broth soup, and many simmering liquids to accentuate the savory flavor known as umami. ''Dashi'' is also mixed into the flour ba ...
'', a soup stock. ''Konbu dashi'' is made by putting either whole dried or powdered kombu in cold water and heating it to near-boiling. The softened kombu is commonly eaten after cooking or is sliced and used to make ''
tsukudani
is small seafood, meat or seaweed that has been simmered in soy sauce and mirin. As a flavorful accompaniment to plain rice, tsukudani is made salty enough to not go bad, allowing high osmotic pressure to preserve the ingredients from microbial ...
'', a dish that is simmered in soy sauce and ''
mirin
is a type of rice wine and a common ingredient in Japanese cooking. It is similar to sake but with a lower alcohol content and higher sugar content. The sugar content is a complex carbohydrate that forms naturally during the fermentation pro ...
''.
Kombu may be pickled with sweet-and-sour flavoring, cut into small strips about 5 or 6 cm long and 2 cm wide. These are often eaten as a snack with
green tea
Green tea is a type of tea that is made from '' Camellia sinensis'' leaves and buds that have not undergone the same withering and oxidation process which is used to make oolong teas and black teas. Green tea originated in China, and since the ...
. It is often included when cooking beans, putatively to add nutrients and improve their digestibility.
''
Konbu-cha
Kelp tea is a traditional East Asian tea made by infusing Saccharina japonica, kelp in hot water. It is called ''kobu-cha'' or ''konbu-cha'' () in Japan, ''haidai-cha'' () in China and ''dasima-cha'' () in Korea.
Preparation Korea
Either ...
'' or ''kobu-cha'' () is a tea made by infusing kombu in hot water. What Americans call
kombucha
Kombucha (also tea mushroom, tea fungus, or Manchurian mushroom when referring to the culture; Latin name ''Medusomyces gisevii'') is a fermented, lightly effervescent, sweetened black tea drink commonly consumed for its purported health ben ...
is called "kōcha kinoko" in Japan.
Kombu is also used to prepare a seasoning for rice to be made into
sushi
is a Japanese cuisine, Japanese dish of prepared , usually with some sugar and salt, accompanied by a variety of , such as seafood, often raw, and vegetables. Styles of sushi and its presentation vary widely, but the one key ingredient is " ...
.
Tsukudaniphoto.jpg, A dish of ''tsukudani
is small seafood, meat or seaweed that has been simmered in soy sauce and mirin. As a flavorful accompaniment to plain rice, tsukudani is made salty enough to not go bad, allowing high osmotic pressure to preserve the ingredients from microbial ...
'' made from kombu
Oden,_Japanese_food_for_winter.jpg, Kombu in ''Oden
is a type of nabemono (Japanese one-pot dishes), consisting of several ingredients such as boiled eggs, daikon, konjac, and processed fishcakes stewed in a light, soy-flavored dashi broth.
Oden was originally what is now commonly ca ...
''
Kobumaki,_Kombumaki,_Kombu_roll.jpg, '' Kobumaki'' (kombu roll). Usually fish like herring
Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae.
Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, i ...
is inside.
Nimono_with_kombu.jpg, ''Nimono
is a simmered dish in Japanese cuisine. A nimono generally consists of a base ingredient simmered in ''shiru'' stock & seasoned with sake, soy sauce, and a small amount of sweetening. The nimono is simmered in the shiru over a period of time un ...
'' with kombu.
Nutrition and health effects
''Kombu'' is a good source of
glutamic acid
Glutamic acid (symbol Glu or E; the ionic form is known as glutamate) is an α-amino acid that is used by almost all living beings in the biosynthesis of proteins. It is a non-essential nutrient for humans, meaning that the human body can synt ...
, an amino acid responsible for
umami
Umami ( from ja, 旨味 ), or savoriness, is one of the five basic tastes. It has been described as savory and is characteristic of broths and cooked meats.
People taste umami through taste receptors that typically respond to glutamates and ...
(the Japanese word used for a
basic taste
The gustatory system or sense of taste is the sensory system that is partially responsible for the perception of taste (flavor). Taste is the perception produced or stimulated when a substance in the mouth reacts chemically with taste receptor ...
identified in 1908). Several foodstuffs in addition to ''kombu'' provide glutamic acid or
glutamate
Glutamic acid (symbol Glu or E; the ionic form is known as glutamate) is an α-amino acid that is used by almost all living beings in the biosynthesis of proteins. It is a non-essential nutrient for humans, meaning that the human body can syn ...
s.
''Kombu'' contains extremely high levels of
iodine
Iodine is a chemical element with the symbol I and atomic number 53. The heaviest of the stable halogens, it exists as a semi-lustrous, non-metallic solid at standard conditions that melts to form a deep violet liquid at , and boils to a vi ...
. While this element is essential for normal growth and development, the levels in kombu can cause overdoses; it has been blamed for thyroid problems after drinking large amounts of soy milk in which ''kombu'' was an additive.
It is also a source of
dietary fiber
Dietary fiber (in British English fibre) or roughage is the portion of plant-derived food that cannot be completely broken down by human digestive enzymes. Dietary fibers are diverse in chemical composition, and can be grouped generally by the ...
. Algae including kombu also contain entire families of obscure enzymes that break down complex sugars that are normally indigestible to the human gut (thus gas-causing), including the well-studied
alpha-galactosidase
α-Galactosidase ( EC 3.2.1.22, α-GAL, α-GAL A; systematic name α-D-galactoside galactohydrolase) is a glycoside hydrolase enzyme that catalyses the following reaction:
: Hydrolysis of terminal, non-reducing α-D-galactose residues in α-D- ...
and
beta-galactosidase
β-Galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.23, lactase, beta-gal or β-gal; systematic name β-D-galactoside galactohydrolase), is a glycoside hydrolase enzyme that catalyzes hydrolysis of terminal non-reducing β-D-galactose residues in β-D-galactosides.
β- ...
.
Biofuel
Genetically manipulated ''
E. coli
''Escherichia coli'' (),Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. also known as ''E. coli'' (), is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus ''Escher ...
'' bacteria can digest ''kombu'' into
ethanol
Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl ...
, making it a possible maritime
biofuel
Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels, such as oil. According to the United States Energy Information Administration (E ...
source.
An Engineered Microbial Platform for Direct Biofuel Production from Brown Macroalgae
Science
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
, 2012-01-20
See also
*
*
Notes
References
* Davidson, Alan. Oxford Companion to Food (1999), "Kombu", p. 435
Culture of Kelp (Laminaria japonica) in China
*
External links
{{portal bar, Food
Plant common names
Japanese condiments
Japanese cuisine terms
Laminariaceae
Edible seaweeds
Umami enhancers