A DAY TO celebrate Laverbread
DISCOVER THIS delicious, healthy Welsh seaweed delicacy
We hereby declare April 14th National Laverbread Day!
The Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company are launching a new national day dedicated to the joys of Laverbread – a traditional Welsh seaweed delicacy that can be used in everything from quiches to cooked breakfasts.
We want people to have fun discovering this healthy and delicious but often overlooked ingredient.
We have chosen April 14 as National Laverbread Day because it is the same day the Japanese celebrate “Mother of the Sea Day” in honour of Kathleen Mary Drew-Baker, whose research into the cultivation of porphyria seaweed led to a commercial breakthrough for the Japanese Nori (laver) industry.
Laverbread Day 2024
Sunday April 14th 2024
at The Old Point House, Angle.
We a fun-filled day planned for National Laverbread Day this year. See our poster for full details.
WANT TO BECOME A LAVER LOVER?
Any local restaurants/cafes/delis/businesses who would like to get involved, please get in touch, we can help with your laverbread celebrations.
See our Laver Lovers page to who else has joined the fun.
DID YOU KNOW LAVERBREAD NOW HAS PDO STATUS?
OK so what is PDO ?
Protected Designation of Origin is a mark of excellence that denotes a food made in a unique way and within a certain geographical location. This applies to food and drink items within the European Union and Great Britain. Each part of the production, processing and preparation must take part in a certain and specific region and be carried out in a certain and specific way.
So Why is this great for Laverbread ?
As we know Laverbread is embedded in the roots of Welsh History and its culture, so it is wonderful news that Welsh Laverbread now has its own PDO status. Products with PDO status give you confidence that the product you are buying/consuming is authentic and has been made in the correct way. This reflects in the quality of the product itself.
Think Champagne ..... you can only call a drink Champagne if it is from that particular region and produced by a certain method .......
To find out more about PDO status of Welsh produce visit:
Laverbread Day 2022
Our first ever Laverbread Day took place on 14th April 2022, and what a wonderful day it was. We had an interactive display, lovely laverbread wraps, fire pits, a local male voice choir, competitions, a seaweed shop and we celebrated everything Laverbread! Take a look at our video opposite.
Come and join us on 14th April 2024! See poster for details.
Some of the great moments from 2022 at The Old Point House and some of the fantastic Laverbread dishes cooked up by our Laverbread loving friends.
Some of the lovely Laverbread dishes prepared by our friends at the following restaurants :
See our Laver Lovers page for more details
“For too long we feel laverbread has been cast aside as a footnote in the culinary world”, says Jonathan – the owner of The Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company. “But not anymore: from now on this incredible ingredient shall be celebrated, revered around the world for the marvellous delicacy it is. So cast aside your inhibitions: life is an adventure, food is an adventure. Be bold, be brave and make this day and every day forth the day of Laverbread, born from land as ancient as the oceans themselves. To me, Laverbread has to be one of the food wonders of the world. The use of laverbread has declined and we believe that this is just not acceptable: this food wonder should be celebrated as much as possible.”
Jonathan Williams
The Pembrokeshire Beachfood Co.
what is Laverbread?
Laverbread is the cooked version of ‘laver’ – porphyra seaweed – a diaphanous red algae found abundantly along Wales’ rocky coastline. Cooked for many hours, it produces a green, gluey sludge that is a delicacy for many, but a challenge to others. Needless to say, it tastes much better than it looks.
The raw ingredient
Cooking
The final product
10 fascinating Laverbread facts
The KING OF SEAWEED superfoods
*"Seaweed contains more vitamins and minerals than any land-based vegetable". Laverbread is rich in potassium, manganese, iron, calcium and protein. The level of protein is the highest of all the seaweeds and said it can be between 30 - 50% protein. I found this percentage staggering and didn't quite believe it so I've been sending a sample of dried laver to the labs every month for a year to monitor protein levels and how they change according to the seasons: On average per 100g sample, dried laver holds 35% protein, which is amazing, this means, gram for gram, Laver contains more protein than chicken. In addition, Laverbread is a powerhouse of vitamins and amino acids and has particularly high concentrations of Vitamin A, B2, B9, and C. It contains 10x as much vitamin A as spinach and 4x times as much vitamin C as apples”. *“Out of all the seaweeds Laver is the healthiest, it’s the king of all the seaweeds”.
*Ole G.Mouritsen
“Gram for gram, Laver contains more protein than chicken.”
“Laver is particularly high in Vitamin A, B2, B9, and C.”
“Laver contains 10x as much vitamin A as spinach and 4x times as much vitamin C as apples.”
how can you celebrate National Laverbread Day?
Help us champion the wonder and nutritional powerhouse that is Laverbread!
-
Purchase some Laverbread to try.
For pure ease, there are some fantastic companies still producing laverbread and selling it online, such as The Pembrokeshire Beach Food Co, Parsons, Gower Coast Foods and Selwyn's. It’s also available at Swansea and Cardiff markets and any decent deli or fishmonger in Wales.
-
Try some new Laverbread recipes
Laverbread is a versatile ingredient. Take a look at some of the delicious everyday dishes that use this superfood.
-
Make it an 'everyday' ingredient
Now you have tried Laverbread get creative – try new recipes and try adding to everyday and ordinary dishes, curries, pasta etc. Remember all that goodness you will be packing, as well as flavour.
-
Laverbread Day events
We hope to host events and competitions every Laverbread Day, to celebrate this Welsh Miracle!. Keep checking our website and sign up to our laverbread Day newsletter to stay in the loop.
-
Tell your friends and family
Spread the word, can you make them into Laverbread converts too? Cook them a meal using Laverbread.
-
Tell us about your Laverbread Stories and share your photos.
Send us your favourite recipes and stories about all things Laverbread. Contact us by email, join us on social media and post your photos and comments.
LAVERBREAD PRODUCTS
The easiest way to try Laverbread is to order a ready-made product online. Here are a few for you to try.
FRESH FROZEN LAVERBREAD
The Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company
Frozen when fresh to retain as much of the unique flavour as possible.
TINNED LAVERBREAD
The Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company
Our new tinned Laverbread has a longer shelf life and can be easily stored in your pantry.
TINNED LAVERBREAD
Parsons
Laver seaweed cooked and sealed in a ring-pull tin for freshness.
Laverbread Recipes
A DELICIOUS WELSH TRADITION
Laverbread Patties
Laverbread patties are great with a cooked breakfast
The classic Laverbread dish is Laverbread mixed with oats fried in bacon fat and served with eggs, crispy bacon and if you were luckily enough also fried cockles. This was and still is the culinary DNA of Wales. Looking for ultimate Welsh food tradition? Then look no further. Old recipes do vary with regional preferences on size of oats to mix it with (fine or medium or even large) while some would have no oats at all. Either way, find your preference, cook up a storm, sing a hymn while watching the green, green grass of home outside your kitchen window and let Wales flood your heart.
Laverbread Patties recipe
Ingredients
Laverbread (either ready-made from a shop or harvested and cooked yourself) x 100g
Oats (large, medium or fine) 20g
(Traditionally, fine grade oatmeal was used but I prefer the larger oats but this is personal taste)Salt and Pepper to taste
Bacon fat (traditional or olive oil)
Method
Place your frying pan on a low to medium heat, and put either your bacon fat or oil in to warm up.
While the fat is heating up mix the laverbread in a bowl with your oats until you get a good consistent patty. If it’s too dry add more laverbread or if it is too sticky add more oats.
Add a pinch of salt and pepper.
Use a tablespoon and drop the laverbread and oat mix into the frying pan and shape it with the spoon into a round patty around 0.5mm thick
Cook for around 5 minutes on each side or until golden and crispy.
Serve hot and enjoy
More Laverbread recipes TO TRY
The following recipes are from The Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company website and will be opened in a new window.
-
Beef and Oyster Pie with laverbread, Guinness and Mor Ketchup gravy
-
Laverbread, Manchego and Spinach Omelette
-
Laverbread Pesto Pasta
-
Cheesy Laverbread Scones
-
Chorizo, Laverbread and Pea Soup with vegan alternatives
-
Laverbread Butter
-
Pan fried Dab with Welsh Sea Black Butter, anchovies and mixed salad
-
Laverbread on toast - The Old Sea Dog
-
Laverbread Sourdough
-
Asparagus, Laverbread and Pea soup
-
Cod with Tomato and Laverbread sauce
-
Welsh Rarebit with Laverbread
-
Pan Fried Sea Bass with Laverbread and Dill sauce
-
Butternut, Laverbread and Coconut Curry
A '‘potted’ history of Laverbread
No one knows precisely when people in west Wales first started eating laver, some say it was first introduced as a survival food by the Vikings, while others say it goes back to the very first inhabitants of Wales.
It may have been the first coastal inhabitants who took that bold step into the unknown world of laver seaweed and put it on their plate. In doing so it started a food culinary wonder which became the very fabric of Welsh culture and traditions.
The history of Laverbread is a fascinating story.
Laverbread 100
In celebration of this food wonder of the world The Captain (Jonathan Williams) set himself the challenge to have laverbread everyday for 100 days in 100 different recipes.
Below are a few images of the recipes and dishes he came up with! More Information can be found at Laverbread 100 - The Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company
