Title: Nori 海苔 :: Sushi Ingredients :: Sushi PRO
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Content: Nori as we see it is pressed, dried sheets of seaweed. This seaweed is a type of red algae, although by the time it's dried and ready to eat it's dark green; almost black in color. Korea and Japan both produce billions of sheets of Nori each year, but increasingly cheaper grades are being supplied by China. Every year the demand in America for nori to make various sushi rolls increases, even though nigirizushi remains the staple of the Japanese sushi experience. Nori production was always unpredictable, as fishermen gathered it off rocks just offshore, and eventually off fencing and netting kept at around 25 feet below the surface. After harvesting the seaweed is washed, shredded and pressed to make giant sheets. It is then roasted, which changes the color to a darker green or even black, then it's cut into small squares ready to be packaged or eaten. Only in the last generation or so have sushi rolls become the top sellers in the world of sushi. As nori harvesting became predictable and steady, and as non-traditional sushi rolls flourished in America, nori gained prominence in the arsenal of the sushi chefs.