Hidaka Kombu

Hidaka Kombu

Hidaka Kombu is harvested in Hokkaido. It makes a characteristic deep rich slightly cloudy stock that is not overpowered by the flavours of shoyu and miso. The broth makes an excellent base for simmered dishes and leftover hidaka kombu is often used for pickling. Approx 50g.

About Kombu

Kombu is a sea vegetable that is the cornerstone of Japanese cuisine. It is rich in iron, calcium and fibre and has very few calories. It also has the highest glutamate level of any food. Glutamate is the source of umami - the fifth taste.

Kombu is the main ingredient of dashi (Japanese stock) and works synergistically with ingredients that are high in inosinitic acid such as katsuobushi (dried bonito) and foods rich in ribonucleotides such as dried shiitake mushroom. The combination of these ingredients creates an intense umami character not found in the individual ingredients alone.

A well crafted dashi can have savoury characters as powerful as any meat based broth and can be made in a fraction of the time.

Cooking Tip:
When making dashi the optimal temperature for extracting the flavor from kombu is 60 – 65 degrees Celsius.