| ≥1 piece |
Kombu, several Pacific species of kelp, is a very important ingredient in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean cuisines. Kombu is used to flavor broths and stews , as a savory garnish for rice and other dishes, as a vegetable, and a primary ingredient in popular snacks . Transparent sheets of kelp are used as an edible decorative wrapping for rice and other foods.
Kombu can be used to soften beans during cooking, and to help convert indigestible sugars and thus reduce flatulence.
Because of its high concentration of iodine, brown kelp has been used to treat goiter, an enlargement of the thyroid gland caused by a lack of iodine, since medieval times.
In 2010 a group of researchers in the University of Newcastle found that a fibrous material called alginate in sea kelp was better at preventing fat absorption than most over-the-counter slimming treatments in laboratory trials. As a Food Additive it may be used to reduce fat absorption and thus obesity.