Using sea-water in cooking

[Shalmanese]

Given that sea-salt generally sells for grossly inflated prices over here and the ocean is about 20 minutes walk from my door, is there anything wrong with just using sea-water in my cooking rather than salt?

I'm thinking just go down with a big stockpot and scoop out about 20 gallons of water. Get home, boil to get rid of the bugs. then strain to get rid of the grit and store. When I need to blanch veggies or flavour soups/stews/braises etc, just use my sea water rather than salt.

Thoughts?

[johnnyd]

We used to throw a clove of garlic and a chopped onion along with a little white wine in an inch of sea water to steam fresh mussels on the beach.

[jsolomon]

Boy, oh, boy does that bring up a W.C. Fields quote in my mind :)

I can't see any reason why one oughtn't use it in that method. It would certainly impart a unique twist.

The other thing you can do is collect your seawater, strain it, and place it in wide shallow, stainless containers and dehydrate the seawater to get the salt on your own. You can use either a dehydrator, or store in a dry place and let time do it's work.

[zeitoun]

Sure, it is used in cooking in many seaside restaurants. You can't use it for everything though and I would not use it as a general substitute for salt and water. Sea water has a unique quality that you just can't replicate, it tastes and smells like the ocean.

[Wolfert]

There is a famous dish from the Canary Islands called wrinkled potatoes. It is prepared at the beach (see zeitoun's note above) in the following way: you put very firm but small potatoes in a pot, cover with very salty sea water. You might even add a little extra salt if you want. The potatoes are covered tightly and boiled for 30 minutes. Then the water is poured off (you can keep it for successive cookings, they say the potatoes are even better with each successive round.). The fire is lowered and the potatoes are left to steam in a covered pan for about 10 minutes. They are served hot or warm with spicy red sauce called a mojo. I've had it with cilantro sauce as well. It is great beach bar food.

[Ladybug]

Given that sea-salt generally sells for grossly inflated prices over here and the ocean is about 20 minutes walk from my door, is there anything wrong with just using sea-water in my cooking rather than salt?

I'm thinking just go down with a big stockpot and scoop out about 20 gallons of water. Get home, boil to get rid of the bugs. then strain to get rid of the grit and store. When I need to blanch veggies or flavour soups/stews/braises etc, just use my sea water rather than salt.

Thoughts?

←

Are you going to walk the 20 minutes back, lugging a stock pot full of 20 gallons of seawater?

[origamicrane]

In the UK they have a map of areas where its safe to pick shellfish

and where its not, because of pollution.

So if the area you live in is safe to pick shellfish then i think it be fine for you to use the seawater.

But personally i think i would collect my sea water from an area away from where people go, filter, boil and skim before evaporating the water to just leave the salt itself.

Although anyone know how many gallons of sea water

you need to evaporate before you got say 100 grams of salt?

[HOOLIGAN]

Growing up in Maine with summers spent on the boat, I can't think of any other way to cook lobster.

[andiesenji]

There are few areas in southern California where you would want to use seawater from near the shore, or even 10 miles offshore. If, however you live along the central coast, (away from the power plant) or along the Mendocino coast (assuming you could get down to the beach from the top of the cliffs, the highest point along the Pacific coast), then you should be able to use the water safely.

I used to do a lot of fishing and our boats always went out quite far to get away from the effulvia from the shore.

There is also always a lot of muck in the water, just from being stirred up by the breakers. One of my stepsons was an avid surfer and you wouldn't believe the amount of sand that came out of his baggies when I washed them.

Compared to the water up around Big Sur and points north, our water down here is very dirty, particularly at this time of the year. Having flown over it, out to sea, then back again, it is very obvious how far out the stuff from run-off goes. (Years ago I got a ride on the Goodyear blimp, a run out to Catalina and back, a high point in my life!)

Edited January 29, 2005 by andiesenji (log)

[pedro]

There is a famous dish from the Canary Islands called wrinkled potatoes.

. . . . .

←

Indeed, papas 'arrugás' (wrinkled potatoes) are served with mojo rojo, also called mojo picón (hot mojo) and mojo verde. The former is usually used when you're having a meat dish along with the potatoes and the latter for fish dishes.

Both sauces are used for dishes other than potatoes, usually with grilled fish or meat.

You can take a look to:

More info on mojos.

More info on papas (Canary potatoes.)

Coming back to the use of sea water in cooking, in Spain this has always been the recommended method to boil marisco (seafood.)

[fifi]

Years ago, during my fishing days, when we were out for a two or three day trip about 100 miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, I didn't really think about it. I would commonly grab a bucket of sea water to poach eggs or make a soup or stew from some of the catch. I do remember the seineing parties when I was a kid. We always had a big bonfire on the beach. When we were lucky enough to get a batch of big shrimp in the seine, they would go into the big cast iron pot set over the coals and steamed in settled sea water. My grandma always got a bucket and filled it when we first arrived so that it could settle in case something came out of the seine that she wanted some sea water for cooking.

[Shalmanese]

Are you going to walk the 20 minutes back, lugging a stock pot full of 20 gallons of seawater? 

←

No, I would take a car, the reason why I said 20 minutes walking is that I have no idea how long it would take in the car as I have never driven down there.

According to wikipedia, sea water is 3.5% salt so about 30 liters of water is required for 1kg of salt. I think I use about 1 kg of salt every 6 months so it sounds reasonable practical to me.

I'm not too crazy about dehydrating it though, it seems like a huge waste of time when most of the time, my salt is going to be eventually re-hydrated again anyway. Since sea-water is so concentrated, I doubt subbing water for dried salt is going to throw out most recipes significantly. If I need dried salt, I think I'll just buy it.

[FaustianBargain]

cooking seafood (esp oysters..as they have a filter feeding system and hence will take in any seawater contaminants) in sea water is especially not recommended during warm months or where the sea/ocean body is warm. nasty virii and bacterium pass on from ocean to body. once again, its a general warning and may affect only high-risk individuals. however, many of these nasties are housed in us and we may not always be aware of their existence. they(esp virii) sometimes have the urge to spread to another individual. of course, one may always choose to live dangerously.

not that there is anything wrong with that!!

[Shalmanese]

Surely a preliminary boiling will get rid of all nasty virii/bacteria.

[davebr]

Mario Batali has a recipe in his Holiday Food Cookbook for Gamberoni Al' Acqua Pazza--Shrimp in Crazy water.

The crazy water is sea water with chiles, fennel, ect..

[chapeaulong]

One vivid memory that still haunts me to this day: While collecting four large buckets of seawater from the Mediterranean for use cooking and cleaning various seafoods, I turned towards the small beach 15 yards over to witness a young girl as she squatted to use the sea as her toilet. I just collected my water and went back to work. The restaurant I was working for wasn't too fond of slowness!! I never thought it seemed safe, but apparently it's more common than one thinks. Although I wouldnt get my seawater from the Jersey Shore!!!

[scott123]

Hey, the Jersey Shore is pretty darn clean these days! :)

Shalmanese, I'd go rent Ghandi and watch the scene where they are making salt from seawater. That might be a little low tech, though.

I think grit is a fairly major concern. You could collect it and store it a day or two and allow the grit to fall to the bottom or you could pass the whole thing through a coffee filter or cheesecloth.

[budrichard]

Boiling or high temperature will kill organisms but will not destroy toxins or heavy metals/PCB present.

Kosher sea salt was formed from dried up seas from eons ago and is very pure and safe. It is sea salt. What it does not have is contaminants which are in colored salts and may or may not be safe.

Sea water or kosher salt dissolved in water, it doesn't make a difference. -Dick

[Sam Salmon]

Sea water often tastes like Seaweed smells-at least where I live.

So while it's fine for boiling Dungeness Crab and will as mentioned do for Bivalves be sure to 'go easy'.