Emerald Cove Silver Grade Kombu (Dried Seaweed), 35-Ounce Bag

Good value for amount/size received in pouch

I bought this to add a bit when making short-grain white rice (like sushi rice). You just break off a bit of this (a couple square inches) and toss it into the pot (or Zojirushi rice cooker, which is what I use) with the recommended amount of water and a pinch of (non-iodized) salt. It adds a very subtle bit of umami to the rice, and is good, especially if what you're serving with it *doesn't* have a heavy sauce or gravy (i.e.: a saucy curry would be the same w/or w/o the kombu in the rice). It does not change the color or texture of the rice at all.By the way, you can just toss out the kombu after cooking the rice, though you can eat it if you want. I have, but mainly just out of curiosity and/or boredom.I think that using dried kombu in your rice maker is approved of by most otters, and since they are essentially the terriers of the sea, that's probably worth considering. ;-)

Great lamaria seaweed product. This seaweed can be cooked with dried beans and it gives the enzymes needed to digest the beans without the usual problem many people have. It's great in any dish too.

it has many deferent use and most of all it is very good for your health. like the product.

Good quality product

This is my second time ordering this product. I didn't really know what to do with these big pieces of kombu the first time, except put a piece in a pot of beans, rice or soup. Some of the pieces are on the thick side, but not all. With my second order I ground up a bunch of it using a nutri bullet to make a powdered seasoning. I sprinkled some of it on a bowl of brown jasmine rice and gave it a minute to hydrate. It has a wonderful oceanic flavor. As someone who loves the ocean, yet happens to live in a dry climate far from the ocean I couldn't be happier.My main complaint is that the packaging is not ideal. It comes in a large plastic bag that isn't resealable. Due to the long, large size of the product, there are no zip-lock bags that it could be transferred into. I cut the first 4-5 inches off all of the pieces to grind them up, leaving enough extra plastic to hold a rubber band, which solved this dilemma.I have not found a better deal for kombu elsewhere online, although maybe there are good prices at asian grocery stores.I'm a fan of blue zone/longevity diets and the Okinawan people, who are known for their longevity eat a lot of kombu. Japanese people in general seems to incorporate it into their diet a good amount and Japan has the longest average lifespan out of all the other countries researched. I don't know how much of that is thanks to the kombu, but it is interesting that all the blue zone/longevity communities are coastal. With kombu being a sea food, there does seem to be a correlation.

I liked that these are cut into smaller pieces, for ease of use. They also seemed more clean than other brands of kombu I’ve used. I use it to make dashi, and it gives a really nice fresh flavor.

The price for this product initially sounded high to me, but from the reviews here on Amazon, I assumed it would be a big package, and it is. Very big. Thus the price per ounce is actually relatively low. To give you an idea how long it might last, for a huge pot of soup (24 cups), I used 1/3 of what I will call a "frond" of seaweed--which is perhaps 1/30th of the package, or about $1 worth of seaweed.There are no instructions on the package for proper storage, but looking it up on the Internet, I learned that it will stay fresh for 2-4 months unrefrigerated and 4-6 months refrigerated. I believe that freezing it will make it last even longer, which is what I'm going to do.I used some of this kombu tonight in a vegan, Thai, coconut-curry soup, mainly in order to counteract the gas creating effects of the legumes in the soup. Though the seaweed had a bit of a fishy smell when I was cutting it up, after it had cooked in the soup, that smell went away. In taste it is very mild, with barely any flavor of its own. This to me is a plus in its favor.The kombu, when cooked, has a dense, somewhat chewy texture. It also looks quite attractive in the soup itself, creating a pleasing presentation when the soup is served.Kombu provides excellent additional nutrition to any dish it is added to. It contains vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E (as alpha tocopherol), vitamin K, niacin, pantothenic acid, phosphorus, iodine, riboflavin, folate, calcium, iron, magnesium, copper and manganese. It is high in sodium, but it is a healthy, mineral-rich form of sodium.Overall, I am very satisfied with my purchase. I feel I got good value for the money I spent, and I would order this product again.